Screenshots
Watch trailer on Steam ↗Research Story
Petal Cat Games · Published by Petal Cat Games, Electronic Sheep Games · Official site ↗
Very Positive — 95% positive (344 reviews) · 40 achievements
Last updated 27 Sept 2026
Set out to discover and record plants and creatures for the Violet Archive. Grow crops, tame animals, and build the perfect farm! Forge friendships along the way as you begin your life as a researcher!
£12.99
Lowest price we've ever recorded
View on SteamPrices can lag the live Steam store — always confirm before buying.
Price history
Indie, RPG, Simulation, Casual · 2025 · More £5 - £15 games
Embark on a journey to record plants and creatures for the Violet Archive. Grow crops, tame animals, and construct the ideal farm while forming connections with fellow researchers.
About this game
Marriage Candidates
About the Game
The Violet Archive needs your help! 
Sightings of exotic plants and creatures near the town of Shimmerbrook have attracted a wave of new settlers. The Violet Archive was set up to record the development in the region, and is looking for researchers to aid its cause!
A game about research and discovery
Discover and record 90+ plants, creatures, and fish at various locations around Shimmerbrook, and contribute your findings to the Archive.
Forage for seeds, grow crops with different growth conditions
Observe wild plants and grow them as crops based on their requirements!
Tame and raise 32 unique creatures! 
Tame creatures as part of research! Observe wild creatures, learn their diet, and tame them with their favourite food!
Raise creatures, meet their needs, and unlock their perks! Each creature has a unique ability: Chickens find you seeds, Sproutkittens grow seeds into sprouts instantly!
Collect Shimmers! These rare coloured variants give double the Produce!
Fishing - some common fish, but also unique fish requiring research!
Find Fish Parts and use different bait to hook various fish!
Dive deep into the Mines!
Mine ores and gems in the Mines.
Certain plants and creatures can be found only in the Mines!
Explore the puzzle caves to uncover the mystery behind Shimmerbrook
Complete puzzles to obtain Artifacts! Each puzzle you solve brings you one step closer to learning the truth behind the proliferation of flora and fauna in Shimmerbrook.
Cook, craft, build, and more!
Cook meals to gain buffs!
Craft and automate with sprinklers, auto-feeders, and more!
Meet the townsfolk!
Befriend townsfolk! From a druid whose family has lived for generations in the mountains, to a featherfolk whose first job is in this new town - many characters await in Shimmerbrook!
Schedule Hangout Events with them to learn more about their stories!
Romance any of the 10 romanceables and marry your favourite!
System Requirements
Will my PC run this? →Minimum
- OS *: Windows 7, 8, 8.1 and 10
- Processor: 2 Ghz
- Memory: 2 GB RAM
- Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660Ti
- Storage: 1 GB available space
Supported Languages
Latest news
AnnouncementsOfficial
Research Story is out now on Switch!
Research Story is officially out now on the Nintendo Switch! 🎉🎉 The game is available on the eShop in the US, European, and SEA regions. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWJr9mBtkUg After spending close to 6 years making this game, reaching this milestone feels surreal. Thank you so much to this incredible community for your continued love and support. I hope you enjoy playing on the go! 💜 {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/40811669/e262a81e9ae2726188a8a0d4f30c856e30dbbb27.jpg To our new players, here are my top 3 tips for starting your journey: 🌼Forage everything daily! New plants spawn every day in the wild. Gathering these wild plants early on is your best source of reliable income. 🦊Take it slow with taming. You get the best out of your creatures if you can feed them consistently. Don't rush to tame every animal you see until you have the resources to keep them happy, even though it's tempting! They'll stay for the entire season. ⚙️Tweak your game options to fit your playstyle! If the early game feels too tight, check out the Options menu. You can turn on Relaxed Mode, disable fainting, give yourself more energy, and make the days longer. If you have any questions or encounter any bugs, please let us know in our Discord or reach us at petalcatgames@gmail.com. I will be resting a bit post-launch, but I appreciate your patience and support! 🌿✨ Happy researching! Miki 🤍Read full article on Community Announcements (Mikixen)Patch NotesOfficial
Hotfix v1.2.4
Fixes - Fixed the player being unable to place items sometimes (since the v1.2.3 patch). - Fixed some typos. --- Player report for game freezing I received one player report regarding random freezing in-game, happening since the last patch. If you're affected: - Please try verifying file integrity on Steam, to see if that helps. If not, let me know: 1) How long were you playing before the freeze(s) happened? 2) What's your PC specs, including the GPU model/driver version? Thank you! MikiRead full article on Community Announcements (Mikixen)Patch NotesOfficial
Patch v1.2.3
Fixes - Fixed rare crash when deactivating tool immediately after chopping a tree. - Fixed an area in the Cliffside where you can go out-of-bounds. - Fixed a visual bug when opening the Fish Map UI. Changes - When Clay Silo is on the farm, Auto-feeders that'll be filled no longer shows the "!" bubble. - When fishing at a sparkling spot, fish parts of incomplete researchable fish will now take priority over other fish parts of completed fish. Thank you for playing Research Story! Miki 🤍Read full article on Community Announcements (Mikixen)Patch NotesOfficial
Hotfix v1.2.2
Fixes Fixed an uncommon bug that allows placing items in out-of-bound areas when using touchscreen. You can now also pick up the items stuck in out-of-bound areas if you previously ran into this bug. Fixed a bug where Vallee's dialogue can be set to "S_Vallee_R0_WELCOME_GH", resulting in the bugged message displayed. Thank you for your reports!Read full article on Community Announcements (Mikixen)Patch NotesOfficial
Hotfix v1.2.1
Fixes - Fixed V-sync "On" setting not applied when first launching game. - Fixed 滩 character not rendering correctly. Changes - Crouching is disabled while you're mounted. Thank you for playing Research Story! MikiRead full article on Community Announcements (Mikixen)
