Lee D’Amato is a writer born, raised and based in Queens, New York. With thousands of collective hours in games like Final Fantasy, Metal Gear, Elden Ring, and The Legend of Zelda, he now writes gaming features, guides, and reviews for Screen Rant, but has covered a wide range of topics, including ancient history, affordable travel, and general health.
A new game on Steam gets married Valley of Stars-agricultural style with resident Evil-horror inspired, and you can pick it up on sale by the end of May. It seems that there was no end to farming simulators Since Valley of Stars became popular: every week, a new one appears with an intriguing twist.
And although the intersection of farming simulations and horror isn’t even anything new, this week saw the release of another game that mixes the two genres, and yet still manages to seem unique. Tarnish was released on Steam on May 11, 2026. Early reviews on Steam are universally positive at the time of writing, with 17 reviews praising the gameplay, visuals, sound, and writing.
Tarnish describes himself on his Steam page as a “survival horror farming sim”, a designation that’s hard to argue with. The majority of gameplay boils down to this: during the day, you’ll grow crops like you do in Valley of Starsbut at night you’ll fend off hordes of unholy aberrations straight out of your favorite horror game.
The problem here is that the titular town of Besmirch is starving. Led by a greedy baron (much like Lady Dimitrescu in Resident Evil Village), people simply don’t have enough food to sustain themselves. As a farmer, it’s up to you to decide who gets fed and who goes hungry, and it’s not always an easy choice.
THE resident Evil parallels exist, but many Steam reviewers compare it to another horror title: that of Airdorf Games. FAITH: The Unholy Trinity. With their old-school muted color palettes, 8-bit inspired graphics, and demonic monsters, the two games have a lot in common aesthetically and thematically.
It is difficult not to draw parallels with Pathological 2 Also. In this game you have limited resources to cure a scourge which spreads dynamically across the city – in Tarnishyou have limited food and many hungry mouths. There is a similar feeling of inadequacy as a guardian that arises through the gameplay of both.
Of course, you will also be able to get to know the inhabitants of Besmirch, although, beset by hunger and oppression, they will be slow to trust you. You make love less with your neighbors as you would do in Valley of Stars that you convince them not to exile you.
Tarnish is available now in early access. Its version 0.7, released on May 11, adds a fishing mechanic, several festivals, a bandit takeover event and more content for the spring and summer seasons. Version 0.8 is expected in Q4 2026 and will introduce new bosses, social event cutscenes, new town improvements, and a swamp region.
Further updates are planned for early 2027, including breeding additions, multiplayer, and a final boss. The full version 1.0 release is expected by the end of next year (hopefully, the developers say, in time for Halloween). Additionally, between the time of publishing and May 25, you can grab Tarnish with a 20% discount – $7.99 compared to the usual $9.99 – to commemorate its release.
