Japanese indie game developer MofuWorks has unveiled the Steam page for its new life simulation RPG, ‘Pirate & Darkmage’, and announced that it will be released on Steam Early Access in 2026.
MofuWorks is a new Japanese indie game developer, and “Pirate & Darkmage” is its first project. The developer actively engages with the community, sharing its development process through various social media channels, including Discord, X (formerly Twitter), TikTok, and Instagram.
Japan’s indie game scene has traditionally been overshadowed by AAA studios, but in recent years, it has experienced rapid growth thanks to events like BitSummit and government support programs. MofuWorks appears to be embracing this trend with a game aimed at the global market.
Stress-free healing and stamina-free exploration
“Pirate & Darkmage” is a relaxing RPG that players can enjoy at their own pace. Enjoy a variety of activities, including farming, fishing, interacting with locals, and exploring. The world and storyline change depending on the player’s choices.
The game boldly eliminates the cumbersome elements commonly found in traditional life simulations, like watering crops. Instead, it’s designed to seamlessly blend light-hearted life simulation elements like fishing, farming, and interacting with animals into the adventure.
Gathering points are scattered throughout the field, allowing you to defeat monsters and gather materials needed for crafting and quests. Notably, there’s no stamina system, allowing you to explore as freely as you like.
Branching story based on your choices , User-friendly UI
The story branches out based on the player’s choices and relationships with the townspeople. Through adventures and bonds with the townspeople, the world gradually expands, allowing players to create their own unique world. The developers explained, “The player’s choices naturally shape the way the world unfolds and the story changes.”
Battles are menu-based and turn-based. By progressing through crafting and quests, combat can be avoided entirely, making it a fun experience even for those who prefer less combat-oriented gameplay.
Gamers can freely adjust the size and position of the UI with the mouse. The quest navigator can also be resized to suit their playstyle and toggled on and off in the options menu. The game demonstrates a keen focus on user convenience, with features like highlighting the seed pouch slot when approaching a farm holding seeds, and button prompts appearing when seeds are equipped or crops are ready for harvest.
Establishing a phased development direction through early access
The developers stated that since the game includes various features such as farming, fishing, crafting, social interaction, and story content, they decided to develop and improve it in stages through Early Access rather than completing everything at once.
“Gamer feedback plays a very important role in development. During the Early Access period, gamers can share their thoughts and feelings, bug reports, and suggestions for game balance and controls through the Steam community and forums,” the developers explained.
According to the development guidelines, the Early Access period is targeted to last approximately one year, during which time the game will be observed in real-world play environments to improve balance, fix issues, and increase overall quality.
A recent Steam Community update added a freely customizable UI, the ability to see available tools at a glance, and more, and the development team stated that they will “continue to improve the game with a focus on convenience and usability.”
AI-powered open source, multilingual support, and a vibrant community
The developers have also been transparent about using AI-assisted tools during the development process to help generate some of the code and certain visual and audio assets.
The game will support eight languages: English, Korean, Japanese, Chinese (Simplified/Traditional), French, German, and Thai. Interfaces and subtitles will be available in all languages, but full audio will not be supported.
‘Pirate & Darkmage’ is a 2D platformer-style JRPG made with pixel graphics, and is tagged with RPG, 2D platformer, life simulation, JRPG, story-driven, pixel graphics, fantasy, atmospheric, singleplayer, etc.
You can currently add the game to your wishlist on Steam, and you can ask questions or contact us through the official Discord channel. The exact release date will be announced at a later date.
Steam Store Page:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/4330540/Pirate__Darkmage/
