'Not too cozy' farm sim Everholm has brought back its demo for more mysterious witch simming

Upcoming farm life sim Everholm calls itself "cozy, but not too cozy." Launched through a creepy portal while in search of her sister, Lily lands on a mysterious island where everyone seems to know who she is. It's got the cute cultivation of other Stardew-style farm games, but there's clearly a mystery brewing too. Everholm appeared in today's PC Gaming Show with a fresh trailer to announce that you can once again play its demo.

I got to try Everholm's demo when it popped up in the Steam Next Fest earlier this year and quite liked it. There was a lowkey spooky vibe as I tried to meet everyone in town and always felt like there's something going on around here I should know about as everyone seemed to already know me despite having just plopped through a magical portal into my adorable little homestead.

I admit that I'm quite partial to pixel art in my cozy games so Everholm was in my good graces just from a few screenshots. But it also takes the typical top-down view that we're used to and tilts it into an isometric view instead. It really is the little things, because planting my first little plot of crops outside at a jaunty little angle just made me happy.

Also unlike other farm sims, Everholm calls itself a non-linear adventure. "Help others or choose to ignore them and enjoy the cozy atmosphere and non-linear story as you prefer," says its store page. "Unlock new pieces to the puzzle of where Lilly’s sister is and how to bring her home."

I've not yet gotten to dig too deeply into Everholm myself yet but the first few days I spent farming, fishing, meeting the other mysterious locals, and diving into its mines have left me plenty curious for more. With how many farm sims I have to choose from these days, I've become a bit of a stickler about first impressions and Everholm made a good one with its super cute art style, spooky story, and responsive controls. 

You can give it a try yourself if you missed it last time now that the demo has returned to its store page on Steam.

Lauren Morton
Associate Editor

Lauren has been writing for PC Gamer since she went hunting for the cryptid Dark Souls fashion police in 2017. She accepted her role as Associate Editor in 2021, now serving as self-appointed chief cozy games and farmlife sim enjoyer. Her career originally began in game development and she remains fascinated by how games tick in the modding and speedrunning scenes. She likes long fantasy books, longer RPGs, can't stop playing co-op survival crafting games, and has spent a number of hours she refuses to count building houses in The Sims games for over 20 years.

Read more
Town in Tales of Seikyu with two townsfolk sat on the stairs
Tales of Seikyu is just your regular farming simulator, apart from the fact I've got shapeshifting abilities and I'm engaged to a pretty persistent kappa
Tiny Garden - A digital spherical capsule toy with a crank that has a small garden inside
Tiny Garden is an adorable Polly Pocket-sized farm sim where you crank a handle to grow crops
Book Bound - a player stands in their bookshop while a customer waits at the register and another reads n a chair
My two loves, books and cozy games, meet again in this tiny shop sim demo
A young witch watering a smiling mushroom in a magic garden
Here's a roguelite dungeon crawler Steam reviewers call 'a botanical Diablo' and 'like Cult of the Lamb' except you manage a mystical garden
Journey - a hooded character stand sin the desert
The 20 best cozy games on PC that aren't farm sims
Fields of Mistria with a PC Gamer personal pick banner
The early access for Fields of Mistria was better than every other farm sim this year by a country mile thanks to its cast of hot anime-inspired sweethearts and great dialogue
Latest in Life Sim
Schedule I drug deal going down
Forget REPO, Monster Hunter Wilds and Assassin's Creed Shadows, Steam's current global top seller is an early access game about managing a drug empire
Inzoi
Ultra-realistic life sim Inzoi has officially shoved Hollow Knight: Silksong and Deadlock out of the way to become Steam's most hotly-anticipated game
Two people talking in the street
Inzoi's 'Smart Zoi' AI system sounds great on paper but seeing it in a live demo didn't exactly wow me
Inzoi
Inzoi's attempt to do everything has left it a shallow imitation of The Sims, and I'm not sure it understands what makes those games so special in the first place
Inzoi - A Zoi stands in a neon yellow and pink room wearing polkadot pajamas looking shocked
People expecting Inzoi to be some sort of Sims killer are going to be very disappointed
Inzoi - A character with a long bob in the character creator
Inzoi will cost as much as a Sims 4 expansion pack and until it leaves early access 'all DLCs and updates will be free'
Latest in News
The snazzy red and black HyperX Cloud Alpha wireless headphones float in a teal void. The microphone is attached to the headset.
The best wireless gaming headset is now even better in the Amazon Big Spring Sale, boasting a more than $50 discount
A chip being held up in an Intel fab
Intel is reportedly 'working to finalize commitments from Nvidia' as a foundry partner, suggesting gaming potential for the 18A node
Amazon box
Don't panic! The 'Do Not Send Voice Recordings' option Amazon just removed was only used by 0.03% of customers and they can still have it
Digital generated image of people surrounded by interactive transparent and glowing panels with data. Visualising smart technology, blockchain and artificial intelligence
Now I shall demand the cookies! Proposed new browsing agreement turns the tables and lets users dictate terms to websites
Intel CEO, Pat Gelsinger, with a 18A SRAM test wafer
Former Intel CEO, Pat Gelsinger becomes executive chairman of a 'Technology Platform Connecting the Faith Ecosystem' to work on Christian AI using DeepSeek
Assassin's Creed Shadows immersive mode - Naoe holding a tanto in her hand as two guards fall to the ground behind her.
Assassin's Creed Shadows' first hotfix addresses stability issues and a photo mode crash