Village in the Shade
Build a new life in Kagatsu Village by growing crops, raising animals, and getting to know your neighbors. Learn the village's eight rules, choose how you want to play, and prepare for the mysteries that emerge after dark.
Latest Guides & Updates
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Village in the Shade Characters: All 14 Villagers and Friendship Guide
Meet Village in the Shade's 14 named villagers, explore friendship activities, and check birthday requirements and unconfirmed romance features.
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Village in the Shade Guide: Farming, Mining, and Beginner Tips
A Village in the Shade guide to farming, animal care, hunting permits, quarry shortcuts, friendships, modes, and later milestones.
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Village in the Shade Rules: Village Code and Night Exploration Guide
Learn the confirmed Village in the Shade rules, what night exploration reveals, and how Peaceful Life Mode prevents breaking the village code.
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Village in the Shade Sunshine Mode: Peaceful Play and Unlock Guide
Learn when to choose Village in the Shade Sunshine Mode, how Peaceful Life Mode works, and which birthday and farmland requirements differ.
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Village in the Shade Update: Patch 1.30 Unlocks and Event Guide
Explore the Village in the Shade update with Patch 1.30 unlock requirements, birthday events, seeder upgrades, furniture, and event troubleshooting.
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Village in the Shade English: Patch 1.30 and Save Language Guide
Village in the Shade English support is available. Learn how Patch 1.30, Steam language settings, and save-specific choices affect your game.
Explore Life in Kagatsu
Farming, friendships, and the mysteries after dark. Start with these source-checked introductions.
Village in the Shade Beginner Guide
Start your first days in Kagatsu with a clear introduction to tools, crops, and stamina. Follow the opening farm tutorial and learn how gathering, shipping, and crafting fit into your daily routine.
- 1
Clear your plot with an axe for trees and a pickaxe for rocks, following Kisuke's farming tutorial.
- 2
Till the soil with a hoe, sow the starter turnip seeds, and use the watering can on the planted tiles.
- 3
Eat edible wild plants to restore stamina when farm work drains your energy.
- 4
Use the workbench and blueprints Rin gives you in the opening sequence to begin crafting, and ship harvested crops for income.
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Village in the Shade Farming and Money Guide
Build a farming income around seasonal crops, crop quality, and paddy fields. Learn what to grow in flooded plots and how the Seeder reduces planting work as your farm develops.
Seasonal Crops
Available crops change with the seasons, and higher-quality vegetables sell for more.
Rice and Lotus Root
Paddies support rice and lotus roots; ducks can help remove weeds from these flooded fields.
Produce Judging
Winning a produce competition lets you give your products a brand name.
Seeder
After restoring the crossroads hokora to stage 3, read the arriving letter and buy the Seeder at the General Store. It spreads seeds, seedlings, or fertilizer over 3 tiles.
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Village in the Shade Midnight and Game Modes Guide
Understand how nighttime exploration connects to Kagatsu's secrets and choose the mode that suits your playthrough. Learn the role of the flashlight, lost items, and supernatural encounters before exploring after dark.
Village in the Shade
The standard mode includes nighttime horror and the village mystery.
Village in the Sunshine
Select this mode at the start for a rural-life playthrough without the horror elements.
Flashlight and Lost Items
Bring a flashlight on nighttime outings; lost items appear after dark, including objects useful in daily life.
Nighttime Encounters
Kagatsu's nighttime beings behave differently, and some are not hostile. Discovering which encounters to avoid is part of exploration.
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Village in the Shade Villagers and Gifts Guide
Meet Kagatsu's residents and learn how gifts, conversations, and village events improve friendships. Check each villager's preferences and discover the interactions that become available as your relationships grow.
Rin and Komako
Rin leads Kagatsu Village, while Komako is the considerate, soft-spoken first villager your character meets.
Sazanka and Kisuke
Sazanka runs the general store; Kisuke is the village carpenter.
Gift Preferences
The character menu shows villagers' liked and disliked items, so you can check preferences before choosing a present.
Friendship Events
Gifts, helping villagers, and festivals deepen relationships, leading to requests for advice and invitations into villagers' homes.
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Village in the Shade Mining Guide
Explore the Quarry for ores and gemstones while managing your time and stamina. Learn how to descend through the mine and use its minecart checkpoints to make later trips easier.
- 1
Enter the Quarry to gather ore and gemstones.
- 2
Break rocks to uncover stairs leading deeper into the mine, and watch for enemies along the way.
- 3
Monitor your remaining time and stamina as you descend; deeper floors offer better chances of valuable materials.
- 4
Use the minecarts found every 10 floors to travel back to the entrance and return to reached checkpoints.
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Village in the Shade Crafting and Cooking Guide
Turn gathered materials and farm products into useful equipment, furnishings, and food. Learn how the workbench, processing machines, and village friendships expand what you can make.
Workbench and Blueprints
Craft from blueprints at the workbench after gathering the required materials.
Processing Machines
Build processing machines to turn farm products into new goods, including cheese made from milk.
Cooking Recipes
Befriending villagers can unlock recipes, and prepared meals can provide temporary benefits.
Japanese Foods
Foods you can make include soba noodles, soy sauce, miso, and tofu.
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Village in the Shade Fishing and Hunting Guide
Learn the fishing minigame and the permit system used for hunting. Discover how to use your catches and when to choose a bow or traps for wild animals.
Fishing Minigame
Wait for a bite, then respond to the timing markers to reel in your catch.
Fish Uses
Fish can be eaten, shipped, cooked, or raised through fish farming.
Hunting Permits
Obtain the hunting permit that matches your target animal before heading into the mountains.
Bows and Traps
Use a bow for active hunting or place traps while you attend to other work; traps do not guarantee a catch.
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Village in the Shade Animals and Livestock Guide
Plan your livestock purchases around animal products and unlock requirements. Compare chickens, cows, and the additional breeds available from Chinana's stall as your farm progresses.
Chickens and Cows
Raise chickens for eggs and cows for milk; milk can also be processed into cheese.
Ducks
Ducks help weed rice paddies, and Patch 1.20 increases the number of weeds they eat as their affection rises.
Silkie Chickens and Mallards
Available from Chinana's stall starting in Autumn of Year 1. They lay eggs daily and sometimes leave feathers.
Fluffy Cows and Spotted Goats
Unlock at Chinana's stall after you purchase at least one goat. Fluffy Cows provide milk daily, while Spotted Goats provide goat's milk.
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What is Village in the Shade?
Village in the Shade is a single-player life simulation game from Nippon Ichi Software, set in the secluded Japanese mountain village of Kagatsu. Grow crops, raise livestock, gather materials, and create a home of your own.
Fishing, hunting, crafting, and village friendships give you plenty to explore during everyday life. You can choose a peaceful way to play or investigate the village's unsettling secrets after dark.
Explore All Guides- Developer
- Nippon Ichi Software
- Platforms
- PC / PS5 / Nintendo Switch / Nintendo Switch 2
- Genre
- Farming & Life Simulation
- Players
- 1 Player
- Steam Rating · Oct 28, 2026
- 91% Positive
- Game Modes
- 2
- Village Rules
- 8
Ready to Explore Village in the Shade?
Start with your first harvest, get to know Kagatsu's residents, and decide how far you want to explore its mysteries. Find your next step in our community guides.