Veil of Dust: A Homesteading Game
Veil of Dust: A Homesteading Game aims expand the Farm Sim genre and be more adult-oriented by being more task-centric, less grindy, and having more grown-up themes for its longer, more substantial storylines. Characterizations are deeper and their endeavors touch on relatable, sometimes heavy topics, while humor and struggle go hand-in-hand with heartfelt moments.
Inspired by games from different genres like Don’t Starve and Stardew Valley, Veil of Dust is a historically-grounded fantasy homesteading/ survival game about finding your way after loss. Accompany the Callahan Siblings, Shane and Áine, as they learn to cope in the wake of the complete upset of their lives – journey through magic, intrigue and small-town politics to resolve the sudden appearance of dangerous, magical beasts.
Farm, Forage, & Hunt to Survive
Living in the desert isn’t easy, but the magical abilities that force the protagonists to isolate themselves also helps them make the most of the environment. Farm, forage, and hunt to scrape by in the sparse desert of Eastern Oregon.
Unravel a Mystery
Guide Shane and Áine through the twists and turns of their search for answers about the monster attacks that threaten their fragile livelihood. Where will this undertaking lead these unlikely adventurers?
Forge Relationships
Survival isn’t just about finding food and shelter. It’s also about making life worth living. The support and attention of loved ones, romantic and otherwise, will bolster your spirit and give you strength.
Fight & Prevail
A homesteader isn’t usually well-equipped for armed struggle, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Stand shoulder-to-shoulder with your sibling to defend your homestead against magical monsters.
Cook & Craft
Frontier cuisine is more about filling bellies than making an impression – scrape together what you can to conquer scarcity. Overcome challenges with tools and handicrafts that you create. Build upgrades to increase your comfort and profit.
Make the Homestead your own
Decorate your house, choose the colors, and add stock animals. Turn your home from a lonely dirt patch to a bustling and comfortable home.
Accessibility Features:
– Dyslexia-Friendly and Visual Impairment text settings for dialog
– Speed settings for hand-eye coordination mini-game
– Key re-binding
– Quick-scroll for dialog
Steam User 4
TLDR:Veil of Dust: A Homesteading Game is a historical adventure that challenges you to imagine the difficulties, love, and mysteries of the Old West.
This game is a strange, but wonderful, mix of a farming simulator, romance, and light combat.
Brief Summary:
You have the choice to play as either Aine, (sorry, I am missing the accent here) the sister, or Shane, the brother, two new arrivals to Oregon into 1860. The siblings arrive after a series of tragedies to find themselves in charge of a patch of land and the duty to figure out how to use it. However, things on the homestead are more than what they seem.
The first important choice of the game is to choose your player character. In another game, this is just the choice between which gender you want to play as, but in Veil of Dust the question is much more important. The narratives of both siblings follow the same throughline, but we experience the plot through two incredibly different lenses.
As Shane you play the world through the eyes of a man, viscerally aware of your place in society, the racism against Irish Americans (among many others) faced in 1860s Oregon, and the burden of leading a family with secrets when you’re just becoming a man yourself.
- OR -
You can play as Aine, a young woman distinctly outside of even the realm her brother can interact with. She sees the magic of the world, and for her safety, she must find her place in nature, rather than with other people.
Both siblings are treating their homestead as a new beginning, but it becomes obvious that the world around them, and the past they’ve left behind, are more than just the background to their new lives.
What It’s Like to Play:
Balance is key. Each character in your household has mood bars that need to be maintained: Health, Morale, Hunger and Stamina.
Health is affected by potential attacks. Health will recover a little bit per night, but if it reaches zero things become more drastic.
Morale is the true *mood* bar. Life on the ranch can be harrowing. Your characters will naturally wonder if their desperate bid to make a better life for themselves through farming will work out. Characters can get depressed (especially if you feed them certain food), which can affect your stamina. Pleasant conversations and good food improve morale.
Cooking, not just what you plant, but what products you get from animals and nature, means that what you cook and eat matters just as much as how often you eat. Your meals might improve your hunger or stamina, but they could bring down your morale or health. As the player, you have to find the right balance between what you can afford to eat instead of selling, what the benefits are of the meals you can make, and when you feed your household (the player character is responsible for giving food to their siblings). Hunger will always drain over time.
Stamina is your energy to *do* things. Whether that’s hunting, climbing, watering crops, planting crops, swinging a weapon, or any number of physical activities. Stamina improves while you sleep, so it’s worth it to try and get a full night of rest. However, that might mean getting less work done.
While actively juggling your mood bar, your character is also playing the main story. The theme of the main plot surrounds family, outsiders, society, and personal growth. I found the main story compelling and fulfilling for both characters, and I was more than a little sad when I reached the end of the game. Luckily, ending the main plot doesn’t end the game, it just gives the player more time to devote to the other aspects of it.
One of those aspects is romance. Your player can pursue romances with one of three characters (each sibling has three potential romantic interests), which will progress at certain intersections with the main plot. I only played through three of the six total (because of the save system, more on that later), and found each to be impressive. All the romanceable characters reveal another area of this society, what problems the characters might be facing, and what they want out of life. It was great to see these characters grow as individuals and flourish into a healthy and loving partnership.
Another key aspect of the game is the farming simulator. You need to take care of the ranch, both by farming and by making your ranch an actual home (which will increase your statistics and unlock other streams of income). Building and improving the ranch requires certain materials, which you will either need to find or buy. Money is hard to come by, but you can sell your goods at the local store, or work at the store for some additional income.
Veil of Dust unfurls based on your timeline and wishes, but it requires a careful balancing act that highlights the difficulty of what life back then must have actually been like.
So What?
Oh, I loved this game. I didn’t think I would. I bought it on sale many months ago while it was still in early access, but I do get a general sense of nerves when a game tells me I’m going to play as a set character. I start to wonder how strong the writing is, and if it’s necessary to be set in a specific identity. In this case, yes, I completely understood why Shane and Aine were the main characters, and the way they were written not only made me love them as characters but as a family. I found it particularly fulfilling to play the game from one perspective, and then to play the game from the other sibling’s perspective. It made both characters make more sense, and their teamwork felt more amazing than ever. I wish I had a brother to hug after the game was over.
The farming was FRUSTRATING, and I actually LOVED THIS. I was always struggling between how much food I could sell, how many crops I needed to make new seeds, and what I could keep to feed both siblings. Is it better to have my sibling go out hunting, knowing that they might return with nothing, or spend a full day working at the shop, knowing that they’ll have wasted a day and brought back barely any money? Even at my most successful, there was only ever just enough money, (although ultimately my house improved massively). The farming made me really think about the history of homesteading, what was constantly at risk, and how hard it must have been to depend on so many factors that might not ever pan out. However, love and persistence make you want to try your hardest not to fail.
The game is excellently done. Although I do have a short list of gripes!
Three save slots were not enough!!!! Why would you do us this way? I want to play all six routes, but I’m unwilling to fight that big bad again or lose my save slots.
Why do the monsters still attack after the end game? Shouldn’t that be over?
Lastly, I wish that you could play the main game from one sibling’s perspective and then, once they’re married and happy, play the other sibling’s perspective. As it is now, the epilogue leaves me a bit befuddled. I’m not sure if there’s more after the characters get married, or if this is just the opportunity to get that fancy couch I could never afford before. I think it might’ve been a good idea to let us have the option to switch and play as the other sibling for the epilogue so there was more to do and more to pursue! Just a thought.
Rec or No?
I enthusiastically recommend this game!
One more thing! Thanks to the devs for their help when I was stuck!
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Steam User 5
A fun story-driven game. There is no timeline to follow so you can focus on farming/homesteading or in the very engaging story. So far, i've only played with one of the main chars, but the fact that you can re-play it from another perspective it's an awsome concept.
Totally recomendable!
Steam User 1
SO glad this was featured in the farm fest steam premiere. This game had me blushin, kickin my legs but also bawling my eyes out. The writing is fantastic--a perfect blend of cheeky, feel good romancey, and a VERY good capture of grief and sorrow. The way the relationship between the two siblings is captured is so pure and wholesome, and there are many moments that serve as wonderful reminders for your own self that while life can be extremely grueling and challenging, there are always things worth living and fighting for. If you are someone who enjoys visual novels or short stories, this game is a must play.
The gameplay itself serves its purpose as keeping you more "actively" engaged, and while it may be grindy at times, it never felt intrusive or like it was hindering the real star of the show (the story) from coming through. If you've ever played visual novels with stat-building mechanics, this will feel quite similar to that with a bit of a farming sim twist. It also has some great replay value via having different romance storylines to pursue on top of the ability to play as the sister or the brother, both with different experiences of the story.
100% hope this game gets more attention, as it has definitely put Calamity Bay on my list for studios to keep watch on.
Steam User 1
I really liked the game play loop in the demo, so I bought the game. I played as Aine first, and I haven't played as Shane yet, but I can say from seeing parts of Shane's game play that it definitely makes you feel how empty and mundane Aine's life is. You'll spend a lot of time looking just looking at desert and scrubby little plants while you go about your chores and other tasks, and finally having someone to talk to besides Shane, an owl and a coyote is a genuine relief.
Because Aine doesn't get to have much interaction with others, I was disappointed in the romance system locking you out of getting to know the other characters; once you choose someone to commit to, your relationship with the others can never advance, and you won't be able to have any meaningful conversation with them anymore. That takes away a lot of incentive to continue playing the game after the story is done, because the world immediately becomes stagnant. There are no significant conversations you can have with Shane or your spouse either, so the most you can really do post story is just fully upgrade the homestead if you haven't already done that earlier in the game.
Personally this is the weakest point of the game for me, because the story and overall writing is otherwise pretty strong. But if we can't advance any kind of friendship with the other people around us after the main story is over, I would have preferred if the game simply ended after the main story. As it is, the story just kind of trails off and leads us into a bare bones homestead management game.
That being said, I'm still interested in playing the game through Shane's point of view, and I like the game play and story enough to take advantage of that built in replay value. There's just not much reason to play the game post story.
Steam User 2
Veil of Dust is SO well done. It has so many enjoyable elements - farm sim, crafting, survival and stat-managing, matchmaking, exploring...but the thing that makes it stand out among its peers in the quality of the writing. The main storyline between the siblings is incredible. Moving, nuanced, and two different ways to experience the storyline, which gives extra insight into each character. The romances have some of the strongest, most realistic dialogue and character arcs I've ever seen in the genre. Everything feels authentic and earned and is absolutely adorable. If that wasn't enough, the replay value is high, which is a huge plus.
I'm so glad this game exists, and I look forward to whatever else Calamity Bay Games does in the future.
Steam User 2
This game is an interesting take on many popular farm sims with a fresh art style. It's a good game with some rough edges, but it's a complete game which is great - considering how many games don't feel done. For me, I heeded the intro warning and took the casual option, I'm grateful I did because the game never felt "easy". I still struggled a bit and it certainly took me awhile to forage, etc. The weight of every decision is present, nothing ever becomes easier for the characters, you just improve their sleeping quarters and meals so they restore quicker.
I've nearly finished my first play through - as Aine and decided to pick Laan as her love interest. The plot and desire to upgrade their property kept me engaged for many hours and I never found it boring. All the character relationships are intriguing and well-developed. I appreciate that even though Aine, and likely Shane, has a variety of love interests they fit well with her character. She's outgoing and friendly, all of her love interests have different mannerisms and intrigues, but tend towards shy and awkward. Also, I love the romance/plot tracker as it helped me pace myself without fearing I'd make a decision that irrevocably tied me to one character. The story is amazing as well, something unique and different.
I did have some issues with the game, mainly things I feel like if the developers wanted to take extra time to smooth out they could. However, I can't say if I'd want them to update this so much as invest their time creating another game I could love.
But some things I noticed include: I wish there was somewhere I could put excess items, like the random ashes and flowers I accumulate, such as a chest because my inventory is loaded. Some of the cut scenes don't transition smooth, I noticed like a brief flickering in scenes with the romantic interests and even though it's done well the walking animation seems a bit alien to me. It could be the hands, I'm not sure. Also, I had issues with the mixed dye in game - I mixed it to the color I wanted, but could not apply it to anything, struggled and now the walls of my farmhouse are purple. And it says it can be removed, but I don't know how. In terms of decor - I couldn't take things off the side tables without completely picking up the table. Also - it's not too bad, but after playing so intensely the first few days cause I loved it - I'm getting a bit tired of the foraging/walking between areas bit. To be honest, I wish I could make the farmhouse a bit prettier and the characters could interact with the farmhouse but I also am aware this was made by two people and it does feel complete to me so far.
Overall, it's wonderful and delightful. Again, despite my minor issues the game feels like a complete and well-rounded piece, not something early access or "not early access with many updates coming" you'll be left wondering about years later. I do feel like there will probably be another update at some point but you could finish the game without it. You cannot personalize a lot of their living space I want to note, that's big in some farm sims for people (like Animal Crossing) and this game really fits the feel of people struggling to survive on their farmstead. I mean mine spent weeks in a shack, so a proper wall was nice. This game is definitely worth its full price value, but I did purchase it on sale for about $9. I rarely do replays, unless I truly love a game, but once I finish I might play again some time. I also might replay just to see Shane's side. Oh, I almost forgot - I do love the variety in the love interests. Each of them has three, only Aine has a same sex option for one, but one thing I don't know if I've actually seen before is Shane has a love interest who is a single parent. I could be wrong, but I don't know if I've seen that in a farming sim game before so I love that. Kudos for that. I have a feeling it doesn't go like this, but it'd be nice to play one sibling and continue with the file save like New Game plus and then simply pursue the other sibling's plot line - but that seems quite an endeavor to program. And you'd probably have to balance it with more property updates that just aren't there (at the moment at least).
Steam User 1
This game is sweet. The reviews saying the writing is charming are quite right. :)