Horror & Farming Sims Are A Lot More Alike Than You’d Think, According To Grave Seasons Developers [Exclusive]

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While farming simulators and horror games are common, Grave Seasons stands out as a really interesting blend of the two. Created by Perfect Garbage and published by Blumhouse Games, the game puts you in the role of a newcomer to the quiet town of Ashenridge. You’ll need to grow crops to blend in, but also investigate a string of strange, supernatural murders happening around town.

Grave Seasons combines the charming look of Stardew Valley with genuinely frightening elements, creating a unique and surprisingly effective mix of genres. According to Emmett Nahil and Son M., the co-founders of Perfect Garbage, horror and farming simulations actually have a lot in common. In an interview with egmr.ru, they discussed the inspirations behind Grave Seasons and explained the unexpected connections between these two seemingly different types of games.

CB: Where did the genre fusion at the heart of Grave Seasons come from?

Emmett Nahil explains that the game’s success stems from a natural combination of the team’s passions. The studio is equally split between people who are big fans of horror games and those who love management simulations. This blend wasn’t forced; it genuinely came about because everyone’s interests aligned organically. While team members enjoy both genres, the game’s foundation is built on a sincere merging of these two distinct areas of enthusiasm.

Farming simulation games are great because they emphasize being prepared. Just like in those games where your crops fail if you don’t get ready for the changing seasons, horror movies—especially those featuring a ‘final girl’—show us that you only have a limited time to prepare for what’s coming. I think these two types of games actually have a lot in common because of that shared focus on preparation.

Emmett Nahil explained that their priority was to appeal to both management sim players and horror fans. They recognized that someone who enjoys one genre might not necessarily enjoy the other, and they wanted to create a game that didn’t exclude either group. By considering what each type of player wanted, they aimed for a narrative that would feel balanced and satisfying for everyone.

We avoided creating a situation where players who liked the relaxing parts of the game would feel silly for enjoying them. At the same time, we didn’t want to lose the scary, suspenseful elements either. Our main goal was to satisfy both types of players and treat both sides of the game with respect and sincerity while finding the right balance.

Below, we continue our interview with Emmett Nahil and Son M., where we talk about the unexpected game that inspired Grave Seasons, the interesting development of its art style, and how they cleverly used a dating sim element to increase tension.

Grave Seasons really focuses on making players feel like they’re living the life of a farmer, but it also has a strong horror element. Can you talk about how you blended those two aspects – the relaxing farming simulation and the scary stories – when designing the game?

In Grave Seasons, players can fully customize their character, but we also want them to feel truly immersed in the world. We want to avoid limiting players with pre-determined choices, especially in a game like this. It’s important that players feel a sense of ownership over their farm and the story unfolding around them. We’re big fans of story-driven RPGs, and Dishonored was a major inspiration for us.

We believe it’s really effective to give players a character with some history to connect with, but then let them shape that character through their own choices within the game. It was challenging to strike the right balance, but providing a basic framework helps players easily get invested. For example, a player might think, ‘I’m playing a character from Ashenridge who’s been to jail, so now I’ll act in certain ways.’

We were determined to let players break into houses as a key part of the game. We envisioned a character arriving in a town with a dark secret to uncover, but we specifically didn’t want them to be a detective or get involved with the police. Our goal was to create a feeling of being a cunning and resourceful outsider – a bit of a rogue – and the game’s mechanics are designed to support that kind of character in that kind of setting.

We’re trying to understand the motivations behind characters’ actions, keeping in mind that their abilities – like lockpicking or sneaking – likely stem from past experiences. Think of games like farming simulators: you always play the newcomer, the outsider arriving in town. And if the game already has horror elements, being a mysterious and unusual character actually fits the story well.

The game features a wide range of monsters. Can you tell us about how you decided which creatures to include?

We’re keeping details limited for now, but the monsters in our game are heavily influenced by classic horror. You’ll see familiar creatures, but we’ve tried to put a fresh spin on them. We wanted to pay homage to the roots of creature horror while still creating something unique. As a team, we’re also big fans of folklore, and you’ll find a lot of those familiar elements in our game – a town with a mystery, something strange happening. In our case, that ‘something strange’ involves monsters and creatures.

Emmett and I spent a lot of time discussing how we wanted you to connect with these characters, both when they were committing violent acts and in their everyday lives. A central idea for us is that these individuals possess supernatural qualities, regardless of whether they’re murderers. We didn’t want to simply judge them, but instead encourage you to explore the supernatural side of them – in ways that are both captivating and frightening. We approached this as a supernatural story because we want to challenge your perspective and encourage you to consider the full complexity of each character, rather than focusing on just one aspect of who they are, which we think is really interesting.

A really cool part of this game is how it encourages players to play it again and again. The game does this by changing who the ‘killer’ is each time, so players encounter different monsters with every playthrough.

We always intended to include several monsters in the game. I don’t recall the specific moment we decided on this approach, but from the start, we envisioned a game with about a year’s worth of content. As a small independent studio, we wanted to create an experience with a defined ending, rather than a game that could be played endlessly.

We aimed to create a complete story with a clear start, middle, and end. While player choices will significantly shape the narrative, we still need a definite conclusion. However, because this is a farming game, we also want to encourage replayability – letting players continue building and improving their farms in new ways and pursuing different goals after the story ends.

So, that probably extends to how you created the dating parts of the game too. Can you tell me about how you developed those?

We’re big fans of romance at our studio. We believe strong characters and their relationships are a great way to tell a story. When it comes to horror, what truly frightens us isn’t just the scary events themselves, but seeing those events happen to people we’ve grown to care about. Adding a dating sim aspect to our murder mystery really raises the tension and makes the stakes feel higher. Plus, romance is a common element in the genre, and we wanted to make sure we included it in our game’s story.

We definitely enjoy stories about love, but we also love horror and crime – and that’s reflected in Grave Seasons. A key idea we wanted to explore, particularly in this kind of storytelling, is the importance of building relationships. Characters won’t automatically befriend you just because you’ve arrived. We wanted to show that while farming is a significant part of the game, it’s not the only thing that matters.

We designed the game to encourage lots of interaction with the characters. Like many farming simulations, building relationships – both romantic and platonic – is key. We made talking to people a daily, important activity, as it’s a well-loved part of the genre. This allows us to then react to those relationships – and even end them – based on your decisions and how the story unfolds.

The game’s art style beautifully combines pixel art with the elements of both genres, particularly in the character designs and the way things can suddenly become frightening. Can you tell us how the team developed this visual style for Grave Seasons?

We put a lot of thought into how the characters looked, specifically their size and level of detail. Early test versions had a much more pixelated, rough style, and we experimented with a lot of different approaches. We were trying to find the sweet spot – making the characters appealing and cute, while still allowing us to realistically show the gore when they’re defeated. Achieving the right balance between a cozy aesthetic and our overall pixel art style took a lot of discussion and refinement.

The creature designs have more detail, but aren’t overly precise. We carefully balanced the level of detail so that even when characters or objects were damaged or destroyed, they remained clearly visible and the impact felt significant. We avoided making the designs too simple or childish, but also didn’t want to make them overly complex.

We aimed to take inspiration from classic farming games, but we didn’t want to simply copy them. Our visual style is actually a blend of many different influences, and that variety has been key to how the game has developed its unique look.

I constantly praise our art team. They hand-paint all the lighting effects – every color shift, light source, and impact on a character. It’s all done manually, like a 2D painting, and the results are beautiful. We don’t use any pre-made filters or 3D lighting techniques.

Creating the 2D isometric world was a lot of work, and now I mostly just see everything as flat planes and grids! When we started developing Grave Seasons, we decided to go with isometric because you don’t often see that perspective in farming simulation games – most use either full 3D or a top-down, simplified view.

Once we actually built it, everything clicked – we finally understood what had been challenging us. I’m really pleased with the result; it’s visually appealing and feels great to experience. I especially love how interactive it is – running through the plants and seeing them move is fantastic. The biggest surprise was just how much work it took to get here, but we’re thrilled we persevered.

Grave Seasons comes to Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC on August 14, 2026.

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2026-05-12 19:16