Mossback

A little farm on the back of a very old friend.

Mossback is an ancient sea turtle, and the moss on his shell has grown into a small island. The last keeper has moved on. Now it's your turn to look after the place, and him.

The game is centred around the island, with opportunities for you to customise and explore.

LIVE ON MOSSBACK
FARM twenty-six crops across four seasons, keep bees for honey, and raise puffins.

FISH the sea, ponds and tide pools. Four legendary fish have their own tricks and pose a unique challenge. 

COOK hands-on: chop, fry, stir, knead and bake. Twenty dishes, including turnip soup and a keeper's feast.

DECORATE the island and cottage with furniture you find, build or buy.

GROW bonsai on Sakura Hill. Prune wild shoots, trim shaggy pads, wire a branch and repot until the little tree finds its shape.

WRITE letters with a quill and wax seal, then send them out in a bottle.

When the day is done, lie in the hammock and trace constellations, or watch whales and dolphins pass.

Visitors come and go on their own schedules and each have their own personalities. They form their own opinions of you over time, and eventually may move into houses you prepare in the jungle.

The year turns through Blossom, Sunlit, Amber and Starlit. Each season brings its own crops and weather, and a fair in the meadow with bunting, booths, puffin-run games and fireworks.

MOSSBACK NOTICES
Offer Mossback a home-cooked meal and he hums like a kettle. Well fed, he makes your crops grow faster for the day. A cheerful turtle gives gifts: a fishing rod, rare seeds, a Splash that waters the whole island in one go. Scratch the itches he can't reach and pluck his barnacles. He will hum when he's happy. 

There are no levels to grind. Pim the gull buys what you grow, catch and forage, and sells seeds and furniture. Onions make him cry. He says it's the wind. Spend your shells at the map board and Mossback raises new land from the sea: an orchard hillside, a tidepool cove, a wildflower glade, a hill of cherry trees. A few more places are best found for yourself.

WHEN YOU WANT A LITTLE MORE
Some days you want to leave the farm behind.

FIGHT through Thornback, a roguelike bullet-hell on a much grumpier turtle. Find weapons as you go, evolve them, and beat a big critter every third tide. At each checkpoint buoy, sail home with your haul or press on. Washing out costs only that run's finds.

MINE Old Shell Hollow, where the floors are never the same twice. Carry a pickaxe, sword and bow, ride the old cart line down, and keep an eye out for a very large mole in a miner's helmet.

DIVE the reef that passes every fifth day. Follow the glow through a coral maze to clams and a barnacled chest, while morays, puffers and a curious shark cost you air.

RACE the Splinter Run in a speedboat you mended yourself. Thread buoy gates, launch off driftwood ramps, keep clear of the black rock and whirlpools, and watch the afternoon turn to night.

SOLVE challenging puzzles in the Temple, split across several wings that each utilise a different mechanic. 

BRING A FRIEND
Play alone, or bring a friend in split-screen or online co-op. Each keeper has their own inventory, but everything else is shared. Set off on a trip together or go your separate ways for the day. Full controller support (controller + controller, controller + keyboard & mouse - all supported via Steam Remote Play Together as well), no fiddling required.

NO RUSH, NO FAILURE
No hard deadlines. Crops can't die. You can't lose your inventory. If a trip goes wrong, you come home with everything except that run's finds. Slow the clock or stop it altogether. Turn on gentle trips if you want the action softer.

The story arrives in bottles and carved stones for anyone who wants it, and keeps out of your way. There is no way to lose.