Stardew Valley, Project Zomboid Collide In New Zombie RPG

Published Oct 17, 2026, 9:01 AM EDT Chris is a Gaming Editor at ScreenRant. He has been a professional writer since 2009, and has written for top TV, comics, movie, and video game outlets like Engadget, Polygon, Destructoid, and more. He brings with him an expertise in every game genre, no matter how niche or mainstream. You may know him as the former Managing/Reviews Editor of Destructoid, where he published hundreds of game reviews across every genre, including MMOs, sports games, and Metroidvanias. Find Chris on Twitter @_SRChris. Stardew Valley is a powerhouse for a reason. It's not just a genre revival; it's also a masterclass in making and supporting a game, paired with fantastic visuals, sound, and gameplay. It was fully formed out of the gate, but years of support helped ensure it remained beloved for years to come. You still see plenty of support for Stardew Valley to this day, not just from modders and fans, but from the creator Eric "ConcernedApe" Barone himself, even going as far as to have a hand in multiple productions, like the Stardew concert series. Thanks to a new Steam game announcement, fans can enjoy that mashup sooner than expected. In fact, you can try a free demo right now that offers about 10 hours of gameplay. Zombies, Meet Farming Recently announced on Steam, Ashfield Hollow is coming to the platform in "Q1 2027," and it already has a lot of potential, plus positive reviews from players who played the demo. Here's the setup: "Build a life in the ruins. Ashfield Hollow combines deep survival, real-time combat, farming, crafting, and fishing in a post-apocalyptic world that nearly didn't make it. Ten years after the outbreak, Camp Ashfield is one of the last places left. Whether it stays that way is up to you." The idea is that 10 years after a mysterious outbreak, you wake up at a place called Camp Ashfield, and can't remember anything about your past. The only option is to move forward in a zombie-infested world and use real-time combat along with base-building and farming concepts. Combat is a huge part of the game (which makes perfect sense during a zombie apocalypse), but you'll need to square off against both zombies and other hostile survivors in twin-stick shooter extraction/supply runs. The game supports both melee and ranged combat, plus a sleek dash to dodge. Try Out Ashfield Hollow For Free Beyond combat, Ashfield Hollow also has foraging, fishing, farming, and animal raising, just like Stardew Valley. You'll also need to form relationships with other allied survivors, who have personal missions and storylines. Then, of course, exploration is paramount, as you can delve into towns, cities, forests, and sewers. Right now, Ashfield Hollow is slated for the aforementioned 2027 release, but a free demo is available now, just in time for Halloween. The demo provides "50 in-game days" to play, which roughly translates to about 10 hours of gameplay, and progress will allegedly carry over to the finished version. So far, reviews for the demo are positive, including this user: "Best way I can describe this game is a 2D version of 7 Days to Die meeting a farm life sim. The game has some pretty robust gameplay for a demo and you can get far more than the estimated 10 hours out of it quite easily. Some of the mechanics are simplified (such as planting seeds) but this does not mean the game is simple. The dangerous areas are indeed dangerous and the zombies do get stronger over time giving you a steadily rising challenge." The creator is a solo developer who has "worked on the game for the past two years," so checking out the demo and providing feedback is the support they're asking for, even though the game still has a few months until its full release on Steam. Brand Valve Original Release Date September 12, 2003