Gaucho and the Grassland – Cozy adventure steeped in Latin American culture

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• DEVELOPER: Epopeia Games
• PUBLISHER: Epopeia Games
• PLATFORMS: PC
• GENRE: Cozy / Adventure
• RELEASE DATE: July 16, 2025
• STARTING PRICE: 7,79€
• REVIEWED VERSION: PC

I’ve never seen a game quite like Gaucho and the Grassland, which perfectly blends the cozy feel of a farming simulator with a mystical adventure. Set against a backdrop of Latin American culture and folklore, the game is part of a recent wave of high-quality titles from Brazil. You take on the role of a Latin cowboy on a quest to restore harmony to their homeland.

You begin by creating your character, horse, and faithful dog, who are your constant companions throughout the journey. The game’s story is the primary driver, guided by the spirit of your recently deceased father who tasks you with helping people and mystical beings across four distinct biomes: the grasslands, highlands, a beach, and a magical world.

Riding, Herding, and Restoring

Your horse Alazão is your primary means of transportation. Riding is a core mechanic and feels smooth, allowing you to quickly traverse the huge maps. Your dog Cusco follows you and is crucial for resource gathering; he can dig up glowing spots to find useful crafting items. In general, you enter a new area, find a central mystical problem (a Blight manifested by a fire serpent called a Boitatá), and then help a certain number of locals to resolve the issue.

“Gaucho and the Grassland’s resource and crafting systems are heavily tied to animal products.”

Completing these quests for villagers opens the path to the main quest for that region, which involves purifying a labyrinth and restoring the land’s guardian. Your encounter with this creature is not a fight, but a puzzle-like challenge. You must fix totems to banish the creature and restore harmony to the land. The character designs, environments, and mythical creatures are all beautifully rendered, bringing the world to life.

Perhaps the most interesting part of the game is the ability to build barns on your ranch to house animals like chickens and cows. The herding process involves using your horse and dog to gently guide animals into their pens when you catch them with rope. Gaucho and the Grassland’s resource and crafting systems are heavily tied to animal products, so you’ll need to breed and care for your animals to get eggs, wool, and other materials required for quests and crafting.

Exploring a World of Folklore and Friendship

When it comes to survival part, you start with basic tools that can be upgraded or replaced with new ones. Resource gathering is a straightforward process where swinging your axe gets you wood or using pickaxe gets you stone. The crafting system is more streamlined than in other survival games. Many crafting recipes are tied to quest progression, and you’ll often need to trade with NPCs to get certain items or materials.

This means you can’t just farm everything you need; you have to actively engage with the community. However, this system can sometimes feel more like a chore than a meaningful mechanic. You also have the ability to build and decorate your house in an Animal Crossing-like fashion. As you help villagers and complete tasks, you’ll unlock new building materials, furniture, and decorative items to personalize your space.

“The game respectfully integrates Brazilian gaucho culture through traditional attire and regional music.”

What sets this game apart from other farming sims is its central, story-driven focus. It encourages exploration and interaction within a world rich with South American folklore, where you’ll encounter creatures from mythology, such as the fire serpent Boitatá. The game also respectfully integrates Brazilian gaucho culture through traditional attire and regional music (featuring flamenco guitar and accordion).

A Final Verdict

What makes Gaucho and the Grasslands a “cozy game” is its deliberate design. The absence of a traditional economy is replaced by a perfect system of goodwill and trading, which fits the theme of harmony and community. There’s no pressure to rush; you’re encouraged to take your time exploring, fishing, or simply decorating your homestead, making it a perfect, low-stakes experience.

However, the game is not without its flaws. The gameplay loop, while soothing for some, may feel monotonous to others due to repetitive tasks like fixing fences and fetching items. Main quests lack variety across biomes, and side quests can feel unrewarding or grindy. The story, centered on Ghost Dad and restoring guardians, is charming but lacks depth, as there isn’t much lore about the mystical elements or characters.

Overall, there are aren’t major issues with this game. Most of the bugs and technical problems have been fixed over time, making Gaucho and the Grasslands a truly refreshing and heartfelt addition to the cozy game genre. While it does have some minor flaws, they are easily overshadowed by its strengths. The unique cultural setting, strong narrative, and charming blend of adventure and farming make it a must-play for fans of the genre or anyone seeking a rich, culturally inspired experience.

Review copy provided by the publisher