Use your favourite features in-game with our Desktop AppEmberville is an upcoming dark-fantasy 2D pixel Action RPG with elements of a town-building simulator. It is developed by Cygnus Cross and this is their debut release. It is created in partnership with the creator CohhCarnage, who also co-owns the studio and has helped publish many games during his time in and out of the spotlight as a streamer.
Emberville enters Early Access on October 27, 2026!
Please Note: Spoilers Ahead
Early previews suggested it was a cozy game, a mix of Diablo and Stardew Valley. After playing the early preview, we can confirm that this upcoming game includes elements of both.
Emberville has ARPG combat and combines dark-fantasy dungeon crawling with elements of farming, crafting and town-rebuilding. The gameplay is quite Diablo-heavy, with you constantly fighting enemies and bosses, while the UI is similar to Stardew Valley in its graphics style and HUD.
We were fortunate to get our hands on an early version of Emberville, and we played through the opening of the game. The gameplay is very much like Diablo, and you’re constantly fighting enemies. It had some Stardew Valley elements, like basic mining and resource collecting, but it wasn't what I expected.
I felt that you’re thrown into the deep end and need to learn to fight straight away. In Stardew, the very early game isn’t about fighting; it's about exploring the town, picking up resources, and farming. However, in the early game of Emberville, you’re fighting from the get-go. There was very limited gameplay to see the exploration and farming simulation aspect.
I think if you’re into cosy games, then this game might not be for you- at least the beginning might not make you want to invest more in the game. We can't comment on exploration, as the early version didn’t include it.
You start in a prison that seems endless, known as Vitromotus. You have to escape the prison and rescue survivors and other prisoners who are also trapped inside. They’re taken from the town, and your Ultimate goal is to rebuild the town of Emberville. As you progress through the storyline, you gain their trust, help to rebuild the town, and in return you learn their trades, secrets and much more.
As you progress through the game, you will face many different enemies. Some are hard to beat, like an early-game boss called the Spider Matriarch, and these bosses become harder and harder as the game goes along. But as you progress, you can level up your character, increasing their attack and defences, and finding and upgrading your weapons and armour.
There are many different weapons to choose from in the game. Sometimes you will find yourself wielding a sword, and at other times you may need a bow and arrow. In close-range combat, the sword is preferred, but when range is needed, the bow is an excellent choice.
Outside of fighting, you will wish to customise your character and the estate. You can customise your estate and craft anything you want to transform your house into a home.
The only pain point we felt while playing the early access version was that mining and gathering resources were a bit tedious. If they automatically picked up items you’ve mined or come into contact with, it would feel less clunky. Right now, you have to pick each item up individually, which feels weird compared to other games that require gathering resources.
Overall, the game is promising, and if you enjoy a challenge, it could be for you. I hope that there will be more Stardew Valley elements the deeper you go in the game, but as there were fewer than 2 hours of gameplay when writing this guide, so many of the core aspects were missing in the short time we played. Emberville enters Early Access on October 27, 2026, and there will be more updates throughout the lifecycle- completely free.
