PAX East 2023: Mooneye Studios’ Shumi Come Home is Fun Times with Fungi

Mooneye Studios showcased several wholesome and narrative based indie games to the PAX East floor: Lost Ember, Farewell North, and Shumi Come Home. The Boss Rush team had the pleasure to not only demo a few of their games, but we also spoke with game dev, SomeHumbleOnion, the mind behind Shumi Come Home. Now, this is a game to watch.

Play as a tiny lil’ mushroom who’s lost in the forest and can’t find its way home. Explore unique areas freely at your own pace, chat with friendly inhabitants, and take on different adventures to get back home!
-Mooneye Studios

SomeHumbleOnion described his inspiration while we played the demo. He grew up loving The Legend of Zelda franchise and Pikmin, and you can see tributes to them in the same such as a paraglider leaf and your tiny size in a larger, strange word. However, the gameplay is far from a Zelda copy-cat. Shumi Come Home focuses on platforming and a simple puzzle mechanics. There is no combat, so you can take your time to explore the world. There are several areas, levels above and below ground.

During your exploration, you can catalogue mushroom specimens (which are true to real life). The movement is fluid, and the cartoon-like cell shade art style keeps things light and whimsical. The game takes approximately two hours to complete. SomeHumbleOnion wants players to have a relaxed, carefree experience as they traverse the world. Lots of optional content exists in the game as well, particularly education about mycology (the study of mushrooms) as mentioned above, which is a personal passion of the dev. SomeHumbleOnion is still working on a map system without breaking immersion.

It sincerely was a pleasure to discuss his process, and we all look forward to Shumi Come Home–which is anticipated to arrive early this Summer on Steam and Switch.

Check out the trailer:

The Boss Rush Podcast – Mondays at 7AM ET

The Boss Rush Podcast is the flagship podcast of Boss Rush Media and The Boss Rush Network. Each week, Corey, LeRon, Stephanie, Edward, and their friends from around the internet come together to talk their week in games, entertainment, and more while also bringing topics for conversation, answer listener and community questions, and cover major news and events happening in the video game industry. Watch The Boss Rush Podcast Monday mornings at 7AM ET on YouTube and listen on podcast services everywhere. Thanks for listening!

You can get episodes of this podcast one week early by supporting The Boss Rush Network on the Boss Rush Media Patreon.