You wash up on a small island in a wide pixel sea with nothing but the Origin Block. By day the islands are peaceful and full of things waiting to be found. By night the beetles come – and that is when you find out how well you built. Alone – or with up to three friends.

PLAY TOGETHER

Open your world via Steam to up to three friends – or to anyone who wants to join. Expand the farmstead together, split up to mine and fish, and hold the fences side by side when the swarms arrive at night. Descend into the dungeons as a group and chat while you work. And when your friends come back later, they pick up right where they left off – with everything still in their backpack.

EXPLORE THE ISLANDS

Swim from island to island, and every one is different: flowering meadows and deep forests, deserts and jungles, snowfields with penguins, mushroom lands and volcanic ash. Canyons with waterfalls cut through the land, and ruined islands and abandoned camps tell of those who came before you. No two worlds are alike. Wind, rain, storms and drifting fog banks roll over the islands, and the tides rise and fall along the shores.

GATHER AND CRAFT

Chop wood, break stone, dig your way down to ore and Mithril. What you find becomes tools, weapons and armor: from a stone axe to a Mithril sword, from a fishing rod to dynamite. Cook at the campfire, smelt in the furnace, grind at the mill and brew at the brewing stand – and every dish heals or strengthens you in its own way. And in the Enchanting Orb a gem and a dragon tooth turn good gear into something of your own.

BUILD YOUR FARMSTEAD

Plant fields and trees, fish from every shore. Keep hens that follow you and fight at your side when it matters – or raise a whole army of them. Trade with the frogs in their villages and markets, furnish your home, and treat your hens to a hot tub and a trampoline. What your home looks like is up to you: fences and gates, tall walls, torches and lanterns against the night.

CAST YOUR LINE

Every shore has its own catch, and it changes with weather, tide and time of day. Dark shapes drift beneath the surface – lure one to your float, then keep the line tight without snapping it. And when a storm rolls in, something much bigger than a fish may take the bait: the Kraken rises from the deep, arms first. There is a second one. It lives in lava.

SURVIVE THE NIGHT

After dusk, beetle swarms gather and hunt as a pack. Dark ones bite, bright ones dazzle, red ones shoot. Keep them at bay with fences and flame turrets, face them with sword and wand – and let the hens join the fight. And every morning the Wheel of Fate spins and decides what the day brings: a gentle rain, a growth spurt for your fields – or a siege, a rain of dynamite, a day of darkness.

DESCEND INTO THE DUNGEONS

Beneath the islands lie dungeons of many kinds: crystal grottos, brood nests, a labyrinth of core stone, a tunnel worm best left asleep. There is a sunken grotto where water beetles cross the lakes, and a marble Lucky Hall where slot machines swallow your gems and, now and then, pay out a fortune. Deep down waits a rare falcon that becomes your companion, fights at your side and carries you across water and cliffs. And if you want more, build a portal shrine and enter the Uber Dungeon: an arena where wave after wave rolls in, each tougher and richer than the last – until you decide to leave.

FACE THE BEETLE KING

Summon the Beetle King and survive his rams, his webs and his brood call. Defeat him and you open the gate to magic: mana, wands and potions – and an island world that is far from done showing you everything. Bugs & Birdies keeps growing with free updates.