Nine years ago I heard the hosts of videogame podcast Daft Souls describe a perfect game that didn't exist, a management RPG that was a kind of Stardew Valley but for restaurants where you'd hire staff and cook meals and choose the furniture and maybe romance someone on the side. It's taken almost a decade but that idle dream of a game is about to be made real.
Saltstone Studio is the team behind it, a group of developers previously responsible for sailing survival choose-em-up The Pale Beyond. Their next game The Hearth & Harbour will put you in charge of the Silver Spoon, an eatery in the fictional city of Lewthport, which is inspired by the developers' home of Belfast. War's looming over Lewthport, providing a backdrop of social upheaval to the story of a community-minded restaurant owner.
Customizing the menu and decor of The Silver Spoon might see it become a classy gourmet spot catering to the wealthy, an award-winning bistro, or an honest fry-up eatery stocked with working stiffs. When the doors open it becomes a turn-based tactics game of seating and eating, getting orders in and food out in a timely fashion to keep both customers and staff happy.
The RPG side will see you walking the streets of Lewthport to find ingredients and suppliers, make friends, and maybe find love. Sounds like it's got it all? What it doesn't have is a release date, though you can wishlist The Hearth & Harbour right now on Steam.
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