If there’s one genre of games that seems to be ever-increasing in popularity, it’s the cozy farming sim genre. We’ve come a long way since the release of Stardew Valley, and while it will always be a fan favorite, the competition is strong and only getting stronger. Ritual of Raven may be some of the toughest competition yet. 

Ritual of Raven is a cozy farming sim with added magic, a huge dose of mysticism, and the ability to farm without ever lifting a finger by programming little robots to do the hard work for you. We don’t have long to wait until release, either, with Ritual of Raven planned for release on August 7, 2025. 

Weirdness at its best

It’s hard to describe Ritual of Raven without sounding like a bit of a lunatic. You’ll make friends with various woodland creatures, learn to control the moon to help with your crop-growing endeavors, and program robots to help you with the gardening. When you put it like that, Ritual of Raven sounds completely bizarre, but everything comes together to form something utterly gorgeous and outrageously charming. 

Farming in Ritual of Raven is perhaps the most stand-out feature of the game when compared to other cozy farming sims. You can’t plant, water, or harvest any crops with your own hands. The magic within the plants is unstable, and to get around your inability to touch them, you can enchant (program) Arcana Constructs to do the work for you. 

The friends we make along the way

As with any farming sim, there’s a huge emphasis on creating relationships with those around you in Ritual of Raven. As soon as you step into the magical world, you’re almost adopted by Sage and begin to learn how to survive, and then you meet your sassy familiar, Raven. 

Beyond that, there are villagers who take the form of woodland critters. There’s a squirrel and hedgehog couple, a grasshopper who owns the local store, and many more to meet as you move beyond the restrictions of the demo. All of them have preferred gifts and distinct personalities, so you’ll easily pick a favorite. 

Fishing with purpose

Fishing in Ritual of Raven has a unique twist because it isn’t really fishing at all. Instead, its a claw-grabbing mini game in which you pull things out from a portal. In the demo, there’s nothing to do with these items, but the full game features a museum. In this museum, and a couple of other buildings, you’ll be able to donate these items and earn rewards. 

You’ll also gain items for donation from making friends and building relationships, which is something that makes that relationship mechanic feel worthwhile, even if it’s usually something you do out of obligation rather than because you really want to be friends with everyone. I won’t judge, introverts are just like that sometimes. 

Ritual of Raven is set to release on August 7, 2025 on both Steam and Nintendo Switch. If you want to get some practice in and fall in love with the setting, characters, or story, you can download the demo right now and play through a hefty chunk. I’d recommend doing so, because learning how to program the Constructs can be a little confusing until you get the hang of it.