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11 Relationships are central to both the cozy and the sinister sides of Grave Seasons. Getting close to the townsfolk is how the player embeds into Ashenridge, and it is also how the player gets close enough to the truth to find the killer.
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33 Building Trust
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55 Finding a serial killer is no easy task. To do so, the player completes quests for the townsfolk and builds up their trust. Stronger relationships open up the social side of the town and are tied to the investigation, since trusted residents are easier to learn about.
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77 A task board in town also lets the player trade gathered goods for currency, alongside the quests handed out directly by residents. See Characters for the residents the player can get to know.
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99 Gifts
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1111 Building friendships uses the familiar farming-sim convention of gift giving. Crops, cooked dishes, and crafted items can all be offered to townsfolk to raise their opinion of the player, with some characters reacting positively to specific items and tastes.
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1313 Preferences are specific rather than generic. The studio publishes a short list of loves and hates alongside each resident it introduces, and has warned that not every townsfolk will appreciate what they are handed, so paying attention to tastes is the difference between a warm reaction and an awkward one. The preferences published so far, taken from the studio's own character cards:
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15-ResidentLovesHatesDantePoetic language, lying, new tarot decks, costume jewelryGetting his hands dirty, a lack of dramatic tension, overhead lightingPetrosA cozy poncho, sunny days, cowsTorrential rain, hot chocolate, socializingRoseMint tea, floral scents, crisply folded papersLate returns, noisy eaters, the passage of timeSilviaMedicinal honey, foraging for herbs, peace and quietSocializing, her daughter Althea fussing over herBrentPremium black coffee, yoga, DJingCarrots, formalwear, regular waterIshanSushi, consistency, a well-made messenger bagYapping, pretension, papercutsMaggieMargaritas, yacht rock, complainingSettling, nostalgia, colorful bandagesNayaYellow, 90's pop, constructive criticismDrama, esoterica, a lack of structurePilarCollecting, DIY, exploring the woodsQuietly judgy people, subtlety, littering
15+ResidentLovesHatesDantePoetic language, lying, new tarot decks, costume jewelryGetting his hands dirty, a lack of dramatic tension, overhead lightingPetrosA cozy poncho, sunny days, cowsTorrential rain, hot chocolate, socializingRoseMint tea, floral scents, crisply folded papersLate returns, noisy eaters, the passage of timeSilviaMedicinal honey, foraging for herbs, peace and quietSocializing, her daughter Althea fussing over herBrentPremium black coffee, yoga, DJingCarrots, formalwear, regular waterIshanSushi, consistency, a well-made messenger bagYapping, pretension, papercutsMaggieMargaritas, yacht rock, complainingSettling, nostalgia, colorful bandagesNayaYellow, 90's pop, constructive criticismDrama, esoterica, a lack of structurePilarCollecting, DIY, exploring the woodsQuietly judgy people, subtlety, litteringYvonneSuntanning, the latest gossip, a stylish haircutPilar's messiness, having to take out the trash at night
1616 Crops, cooked dishes and crafted goods all qualify as gifts, which is one of the ways the farm feeds the social side of the game. See Crafting and Cooking for what can be made and Characters for the full roster.
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1818 Romance
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2020 In classic farming sim fashion, the player can romance townsfolk. The player character is customizable, including choosing their gender, and romance options are part of life in Ashenridge alongside farming and investigating. The named cast has a wide spread of pronouns, with several she/her, he/him, and they/them characters all eligible to be pursued.
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2222 Romancing The Killer
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2424 Because the killer is one of the townsfolk and is drawn randomly from a subset of the named cast each playthrough, a romance candidate may turn out to be the murderer. The game openly supports this: the player can romance the killer, whether by accident or on purpose. This ties the relationship system directly into The Murder Mystery, since pursuing someone romantically does not put them above suspicion. Romance interests can also be killed during the run if the player fails to protect them. The writing treats a killer's romance route as the same character rather than a mask coming off: they are still the person the player has been courting, with one or two of their worst traits pushed to an extreme. Supernatural residents stay supernatural whether or not they are that year's murderer, so learning more about someone through a romance always tells the player something about the world. The store listing puts the number of romance candidates at twelve, and notes that a few of them can turn out to be the killer. Which twelve residents those are has not been published, so the roster is still open until launch.