This adorable sandbox RPG looks like Skyrim combined with Stardew Valley, which might be helped by the fact that Skyrim's lead designer is working on it

A screenshot from upcoming sandbox RPG Hawthorn, showing a mouse character looking at a home built into a tree.
(Image credit: NEARstudios)

If you were to put Stardew Valley and 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Skyrim into a pot and mix it up, I'd imagine that the video game soup you'd create would look an awful lot like Hawthorn – an adorable upcoming sandbox RPG from a group of ex-Bethesda, BioWare, and 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Naughty Dog devs.

Hawthorn is the debut game from indie studio NEARstudios, which is led by Heather Cerlan (who previously worked as a senior artist for 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Starfield and a texture artist on The Last of Us, amongst many other things) and Jason Richard♓son. Richardson was a gameplay designer for Mass Effect Andromeda and a systems designer on both Starfield and Fallout 76. What's more, that Skyrim's lead designer, Bruce Nesmith, will also be helping out with Hawthorn. 

Set in what looks like a picturesque fairytale-style setting called Windermere Vaꦓlley, we'll be able to live out our lives as a little woodland creature alongside many fellow animal friends, who all have their own tales to share. Hawthorn will offer both solo and co-op play, and we can expect to fill our in-game lives with farming, fishing, and exploring the wilderness for resources. Charming woodland homes can be rebuilt and decorated to suit your vision – which gives it a touch of an Animal Crossing vibe, too – and you'll have to adapt to 🐻life as the seasons change. 

The says Hawthorn is "inspired by Victorian-era European fairytales and the spirit of 80s and 90s anthropomorphic animal adventure stories," and that 💃vibe definitely comes through with what's been shown 🔯so far. For the time being, there's no release date for the sandbox RPG, but it's already .

In the meantime, be sure to check out our picks of more great 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:games like Stardew Valley.

Catherine Lewis
Deputy News Editor

I'm GamesRadar+'s Deputy News Editor, working alongside the rest of the news team to deliver cool gaming stories that we love. After spending more hours than I can count filling The University of Sheffield's student newไspaper with Pokemon and indie game content, and picking up a degree in Journalism Studies, I started my career at GAMINGbible where I worked as a journalist for over a year and a half. I then became TechRadar Gaming's news writ▨er, where I sourced stories and wrote about all sorts of intriguing topics. In my spare time, you're sure to find me on my Nintendo Switch or PS5 playing through story-driven RPGs like Xenoblade Chronicles and Persona 5 Royal, nuzlocking old Pokemon games, or going for a Victory Royale in Fortnite.