Yase Plays: Hermit and Pig (Demo)
- Yase Fuyunori
- Sep 6
- 4 min read
Before we begin, I'd like to thank Heavy Lunch Studio LLC for providing me and our community here at Geekset with early access demos for Hermit and Pig earlier this year, before the Demo had launched!
I had the great honor to play the beginning of the game early and can finally share my experience with it, so let's not waste any more time!
Hermit and Pig is an upcoming turn-based, adventure RPG about a introverted, mushroom-loving hermit and his equally quirky truffle-hunting pig, who leave the safety and comfort of their secluded forest home to help out the citizens of the nearby city who have been plagued by a mysterious, sinister company and its corporate schemings.
From the charming, nostalgic pixel aesthetics to the unique battle mechanics Hermit and Pig filled my Indie RPG-loving heart with ease and quickness.
I don't think I'll get around bringing up its peers so I'll just get it over with now by emphasizing that this game will more than likely win over every single person, who has been a huge fan of games such as
Earthbound/MOTHER, Undertale/Deltarune, Omori and other Indie RPGs that all fall under what the Internet so lovingly called the „Earthbound inspired RPGs“.
That said, Hermit and Pig is in no way neither a copy of any of those titles, nor does it stand inferior to them in the slightest.
Beautiful environments, entertaining characters with funny dialogue that definitely makes you look twice and a attention-grabbing plot which leaves open for much speculation, anticipation and curiosity.
I am not one to spoiler people, so I won't get into the details too much, however I will take a minute and go into a couple things regarding the contents of the demo, so if you're someone (like me), who likes to go into games with a blank slate, skip this section of the review, go towards the end,
where you will find links and dive into the adventure yourself!
The game starts with the hermit and his pig waking up in their little forest home and deciding to take a stroll into the woods, to pick up a few mushrooms. The game is all about mushrooms, they serve as healing items, buff and debuff items and even power-up items, not to be confused with another mustached mushroom-connoiseur that a lot of us might know, though.
Not only are there dozens of different fungi in this game, I am also pretty certain that all the ones I found were real, existing ones. So as I played I learned a bunch of mushroom names, what they looked like and which were consumable and which not. As someone who loves to pick up random facts and knowledge, I thought it was really awesome to embark on a journey and get this little extra experience on top of that. My favorite mushroom so far is probably the Portobello mushroom, just because its name is so cute. Maybe in the full version, I will discover a new favorite or even come up with a top 10.
Despite the hermit being a very reclusive person outside of the time he spends with his pig, the game doesn't only contain him and Pig, but also many interesting and peculiar side characters, such as the citizens of the nearby city, the creatures that dwell in the forest and many other beings that the player will meet in different locations, some of which will need your help. That said, not all the people and creatures you meet will be friendly or up for a chat. The new company that has occupied a factory in the city is up to sinister machinations and is upsetting one or the other soul.
Which brings us to the combat system in the game:
I was very delighted by the combat and just in awe of how many turn-based RPGs there are out there by now and how passionate game developers can still come up with unique and fun battle mechanics, that I personally haven't experienced in this way before.
In the Demo you mostly fight critters and their posse, that you discover in the nearby woodland. As enemies do, each of them has their own quirks and weaknesses and with your trusty handbook you find out how to get the best of them. For example, if you encounter a fly, it will be weak to slaps, so you look into your guide and see which button combination lets you execute a slap attack. Or you come across a pile of poop (yes, that does happen) and since you'd rather not step into it, you use your trusty cane.
Running into enemies – or well, more like enemies running into you, as they appear as big comedic balls of violence, chasing after you (one or the other jumpscaring me) – is very fun and entertaining and never gets boring with all the attack possibilities
and combinations of skills and weaknesses you can exploit.
The designs of the enemies also help a lot, as they are very creative and funny. Seeing a dung beetle attack and having a simple turd in its posse was so silly yet so smart, that I couldn't help but smirk throughout battle.
All in all I had a fantastic time with the Hermit and Pig Demo that left me wanting more and letting out a tiny sigh, when I saw no active release date on their Steam page, as I rushed to wishlist the game. Good things do take time however, so I will patiently and anticipatingly wait for release and urge everyone else reading this review, to do the same.
This is definitely on my list of games, I heavily look forward to and if my review left you hungry for more, I say go to Heavy Lunch Studio LLC's Social Media and Steam page, get the Demo for free, wishlist the game, give them a follow, support and keep backing Indie developers and their studios and staff!
Yase out.
Hermit and Pig on Steam:
Heavy Lunch Studio on BlueSky:
Heavy Lunch Studio Email:
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