Charlotte, North Carolina, USA, September 18, 2025 - Today, indie developer Heavy Lunch Studio revealed the January 22, 2026 release date of their upcoming turn-based adventure RPG Hermit and Pig. The announcement was made alongside never-before-seen game footage in a new trailer featured in the latest Six One Indie Showcase. Anxious players will soon embark on this mushroom filled adventure about a reclusive hermit and his truffle-hunting pig.
Hermit and Pig is a fresh spin on the retro pixel art adventure RPG. Fans of Earthbound will resonate with the humorous and evocative tones, but find refreshing twists on the core game mechanics. The key-combo combat system draws inspiration from games like Street Fighter and Paper Mario to provide for a more engaging gameplay experience that prioritizes player skill growth over grinding for experience points, while players get to take on Hermit’s own social anxiety through humorous NPC conversation battles that induce real cringe damage.
Since the game’s announcement in the Future of Play Direct in 2023, Hermit and Pig has featured in events by Future Games Show, Day of the Devs, The Mix, Wholesome Games, EGX, Dreamhack, and Magfest, among others.
Game Synopsis:
Hermit and Pig’s woodland solitude is disrupted when a girl from a nearby town approaches them asking for help. The local factory has mysteriously fired all of its workers and brought in new, shady personnel to man the machines. Hermit and Pig head out in hopes of finding an enormous, mythical mushroom to help the town stave off hunger, but they might not be the only ones looking for it…
Key features:
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Leave your comfort zone! Keep your wits about you as you travel far outside your comfort zone through a mystery of local disturbances to hunt for a giant, mythical mushroom. The path is filled with corporate stooges, weird cultists, rival truffle hunters, and uncharacteristically violent animals.
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Engage in tense, time-sensitive combat! Race the clock while you input unique key combos for attacks that grow in complexity as you progress through the world.
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Chat with the locals! Seek clues through anxiety-laden conversations with an eccentric cast of NPCs. Avoid taking cringe damage and level up your social game while you navigate Hermit’s social anxiety.
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Mushroom foraging! Forage dozens of unique, real-life (and a few not-so-real-life) mushroom types to heal, cure ailments, do damage, and cause status effects; use truffles for currency; and track your collection in a mushroom field guide.
Hermit and Pig launches January 22, 2026 on Steam for PC and Mac. A public demo is available on Steam now. You can also join the studio newsletter or Discord for regular updates and playtester opportunities.
About Heavy Lunch Studio
Hermit and Pig is the first game for Heavy Lunch Studio. Lifelong friends and co-founders Mason Dickerson and Nathan Kennedy are compulsive musicians, writers, and schemers, and are responsible for all of Hermit and Pig’s game design, code, sound, and music.
Keep up with Heavy Lunch Studio on TikTok, Bluesky, Instagram, Youtube, and Discord.
A full press kit and asset folder is available at: https://hermitandpig.com/press-kit/.
For more information and press inquiries please contact support@heavylunch.studio or visit the studio website http://heavylunch.studio.