Welcome to Elderfield Getting Started: Beginner Guide

Welcome to Elderfield beginner guide covering the daily loop, dice checks, farming basics, and first-week priorities — spoiler-light and source-backed.

Welcome to Elderfield drops you into a secluded town where the abnormal is normal, and this beginner guide helps you survive your first week. The game is a cozy horror farming RPG from solo developer Chris Cote, published by Kwalee, launching on PC via Steam on September 10, 2026. Everything below is based on the official Steam listing, the free demo, and dated press coverage — so it reflects what is actually confirmed, not guesswork.

Understand the premise before you plant anything

You were born in Elderfield, and people born here rarely leave. Now finished with schooling, you have endless free time and very little direction — so you explore, earn money, make friends, solve mysteries, and start a farm. The farm itself belongs to old Hans, a giant skull who grew so large he got stuck and can no longer do his chores. That is how you become the town's newest farmer.

The tone is "cozy horror": hand-drawn, horror manga-inspired visuals, a dark lofi soundtrack by Dated, and local news broadcasts that seem stranger by the day. Expect farming and friendship on the surface, and Lovecraftian dread underneath.

The daily loop

Your days in Elderfield revolve around a handful of connected activities:

Farm — cultivate the land, plant and harvest crops, and stop unruly tentacle growth from taking over.
Gather — fish, mine randomly generated mines, and forage materials that spawn around the world.
Cook and forge — turn ingredients into food that heals, blesses, or curses you, and forge gear to survive tougher encounters.
Socialize — talk to townsfolk, give gifts, and complete tasks; many locals live on their own daily schedules.
Choose when to sleep — the game lets you explore without end, and you decide when to sleep... if at all. Try not to die in your sleep.

Respect the dice

Elderfield borrows from tabletop RPGs: most interactions involve rolling a six-sided die that decides your luck. Opening a trash can might produce a useful weapon — or a two-headed rat. Blessings and curses are not limited to combat, so treat every interaction as a small gamble and keep healing food on hand.

First-week priorities

Play the free demo first. It covers part of the town, the farm and ranch, and the first dungeon — the local mall — and currently holds a 96% "Overwhelmingly Positive" rating on Steam.
Learn the fishing timing. The fishing minigame asks you to hit the cursor timing a set number of times; it is one of the most reliable early income sources.
Cook early, cook often. Food can heal you, bless you, or curse you — carry a buffer before entering the mall dungeon.
Do not overstay underground. In the demo, dying or fleeing a dungeon resets your exploration progress, so bank materials and forge upgrades between runs.
Pick your difficulty honestly. Cozy difficulty offers a laid-back life of harvest and discovery; harder settings invite the Old Gods' attention. The full game promises deep difficulty customization, including a peaceful option for story-focused players.

What to read next

Once the loop clicks, dig into our focused guides: farming and ranching, fishing and cooking, turn-based combat, and mining and foraging. If you are here for the people instead, the townsfolk and romance guide explains gifts, schedules, and marriage.

Sources

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