Cattle Country is a brand new life simulator game developed by Castle Pixel, and published by Playtonic. It offers a unique twist on the popular farming genre, with a brand new demo available at Steam Next Fest.
We here at Netto's Game Room were lucky enough to not only demo the game early, but I also had the pleasure of speaking with Rob of Castle Pixel to learn a little more about the game before release! He was able to share with me some pretty interesting pieces of info, and today I wanted to share the full interview with you all.
Hello and thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to speak with me!
My name is Ben, and I'm one of the founders of our little gaming site Netto's Game Room. To start things off, could you tell me a little about yourself?
I'm Rob, one of the developers behind Cattle Country! I've been creating games with Castle
Pixel since 2014, but my journey in software engineering started way back in 2009. Over the
years, I’ve worn many hats—programming, art, level design, dialogue writing—you name it, I’ve probably done it. I love the creative process of game development, from sketching out an idea to seeing it come to life in a fully playable experience. Games have always been a huge part of my life, and getting to build something like Cattle Country has been an exciting challenge, especially as it blends so many different aspects of what I love about classic life-sim and adventure games.
The first question I'd like to ask is a pretty simple one, but one we often get pretty surprising answers for; besides other life-sim titles, what would you say was the main inspiration for Cattle Country?
While Harvest Moon and Stardew Valley were foundational for the farming aspects, we also
drew inspiration from frontier-themed games. Oregon Trail shaped the atmosphere,
emphasizing survival, resource management, and the unpredictable nature of life in the Old
West. Red Dead Redemption influenced the world-building, with NPCs living their own lives and dynamic elements that make the town feel alive. Wild Guns added to the personality and action, inspiring us to infuse some energetic Wild West spirit into the game, especially with shootouts and more rugged interactions. Cattle Country blends these influences to create a unique frontier experience with farming, exploration, and adventure.
One of the first things I noticed while playing the demo was how familiar the game
initially felt. I personally loved being able to jump in and have a general idea of what to do (I'm a nearly lifelong Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons fan), and I was wondering what
steps you took to ensure players would feel this way—making the game feel familiar, in
an unfamiliar frontier!
Our goal was to create a world that felt instantly comfortable and intuitive for fans of classic
farming sims while also introducing fresh mechanics and a unique setting. We wanted the core loop—farming, socializing, mining, and exploring—to be immediately recognizable, so players could dive in without feeling lost. At the same time, setting the game in a frontier town gave us an opportunity to introduce new challenges, like droughts, shoutouts, and a different atmosphere from what players might be used to.
A little detail that stood out to me was something I've never seen done before in a game like this. When I placed a beehive, I expected my honey (or in this case honeycombs) to be ready within a set time, but instead I got to watch a little bee show up and actually fly to the flowers! It completely made me rethink picking the flowers and cutting them down, because what would the bee do if I removed them all? Can we expect other little features like this in Cattle Country?
Absolutely! We love adding little details that make the world feel alive. From bees finding flowers to NPCs reacting to changes in the town, our goal was to make Cattle Country feel like a living, breathing place where small things matter. Players will discover plenty of these subtle touches as they explore and interact with the world. My favorite thus far is using an outhouse in the morning which will give the player an extra boost lol.
Unlike in most life/farming sims, Cattle Country lets you name your town along with your farm/ranch. Will the town have additional customization features? I realized in the demo I could cut down trees and place objects, but I wasn't sure how deeply I could actually get into this.
Yes! We wanted to give players more control over shaping their town beyond just naming it. In Cattle Country, you’ll be able to influence the layout and look of the settlement in various ways. You can clear land, plant trees, but there’s also a deeper layer of town-building mechanics that will come into play.
For example, as you progress, you’ll have opportunities to invest in the town, helping
businesses grow and even unlocking new services. The choices you make—what you build,
how you interact with NPCs, and where you choose to focus your efforts—will all have a lasting impact. Our goal is to make the town feel like it evolves based on your actions, making it feel more personal and rewarding over time.
What was your main inspiration when it came to the game's art style? I personally was reminded of the clean sprite-work we saw back during the Game Boy Advance days, that helped make those handheld titles really pop!
You nailed it! The art style is heavily inspired by classic SNES and Game Boy games—titles like The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, and other pixel-based adventures. We wanted a clean, readable style that felt warm and nostalgic while still allowing for expressive characters and detailed environments.
A big focus was making sure everything felt handcrafted. We didn’t just want "retro for the sake of retro"—we wanted something that captured the charm of older games while also feeling polished and modern. By using a limited but vibrant color palette and carefully designed animations, we aimed to strike that perfect balance between nostalgia and a fresh, engaging visual experience.
We took a lot of inspiration from classic SNES and GBA-era games. That pixel art style has a
timeless charm, and we wanted to capture that warm, nostalgic feel while adding modern details and animations to make it feel fresh.
Another surprise I came across was the mines. I expected standard "dungeon crawling" with rocks to smash, but instead, I was greeted by a side-scrolling mining experience where I had to think about my footholds and how I would mine the area around me with my tools. What gave you the idea to go in such a different direction with this aspect of the game?
We love mining games, and one big inspiration was the old XBLA Indie game Miner Dig Deep! There was something really engaging about the way that game encouraged careful planning, resource management, and strategic digging, rather than just smashing rocks randomly. The idea of thoughtfully carving your path downward, making sure you have a way back up, and planning your approach to maximize efficiency felt like a perfect fit for a frontier setting—where survival depends on making the most of the land around you.
Speaking of surprises, the opening cutscene featured some voice acting. Will other parts of the game be voiced, or was this a special case?
Yes! While most of the game is text-based to keep the classic life-sim feel, we included a few
voice-acted moments to add depth. The main example is letters from your friend back East,
which are fully voiced to create a more personal connection and reinforce the feeling of a world beyond the frontier. These moments help bring the story to life, making your journey feel more grounded and immersive. We felt this was a natural way to include voice acting without taking away from the nostalgic charm of the genre.
Cattle Country has 18 romanceable characters, and relationships aren’t locked to the prefix you choose at the beginning of the game (Mr., Ms., Mx.). Can you tell me more about what dating and married life will be like in Cattle Country? Are kids in the picture as well?
Romance in Cattle Country goes beyond just gift-giving—you’ll need to see all of a character’s relationship cutscenes before you can propose. This makes each courtship feel meaningful and personal. When you're ready, you’ll craft a special ring and have a wedding ceremony with the whole town celebrating. Each spouse has unique perks, from helping on the farm to unlocking special interactions. Kids won’t be in the initial release, but we plan to add them post-launch as part of expanding family life.
Outside of the in-game characters, is multiplayer (local or online) something you will be adding to the game? If not now, is it a possibility for the future?
No multiplayer at launch, but we haven’t ruled it out for the future! Right now, our focus is on making the best single-player experience possible.
And finally, is there anything else you would like to tell our readers about your game?
We just hope players enjoy Cattle Country and have fun immersing themselves in the world
we’ve built. Whether you're tending your ranch, exploring the mines, or forming bonds with the townsfolk, we want it to feel like a place you can truly call home. Every little detail, from the way the seasons change to the stories of the people you meet, was designed to create a living, breathing frontier town. We want players to carve out their own path, whether that means mastering farming, diving into mining, or just enjoying the quiet moments of country life. No matter how you choose to play, we hope Cattle Country becomes a world you’ll want to return to again and again.
To check out Cattle Country for yourself, or to wishlist the game, head on over to the Official Steam Page today! You can also read our First Impressions article to learn a little more about the game, and see our own thoughts.
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