As a perfect bite-sized treat for the spooky season, a vampire-as-a-farm sim has launched a brief demo that offers a taste of pumpkin decorating and midnight spells.Moonlight Peaks' first demo allows players to forage, farm, and decorate for seven days in the game, After completing the game, users can take snapshots of their creations.

In this demo, I am confined to my land, so I don't check out the town or meet the local supernatural crew, but there is plenty to do on my farm. First order of business, as ever, is to plant some crops. Moonlight Peaks is planting pumpkins instead of parsnips.

Also, the demo is set up with an upgraded set of tools, so you can easily chip away at large trees, rocks, and iron veins on the property that you would probably have to wait a while to tackle in the full release.

You can pick up and move any part of your property as you please, from trails to ornaments to the cursed chicken coop that was rigged in the demo. For now, though, the real stars of Moonlight Peaks are the spells and potions brewing.

Wands can be used to cast spells that automatically water crops, move trees without cutting them, or make crops mature faster. The mini-game for casting spells is to follow the circular cursor movement, which is a bit difficult on the gamepad, but it is a quick and catchy mini-game. The full version will probably have a magic meter to prevent infinite spell casting, but there didn't seem to be any restrictions in the demo. To make potions, magical herbs like Googly Garlic and Glow Ginger must be grown and mixed into a brew that gives you unlimited stamina overnight or temporarily increases the crops you collect.

Since I am a vampire, my day on the farm begins at 4:00 PM and ends at 6:00 AM. Aside from my nocturnal schedule, I do nothing particularly vampire-like in this demonstration. This is because even though I transform into bat form, my purpose of unlocking the secret area is not unveiled while I am confined to the farm. Later in "Moonlight Peaks," the developer says, "you will unlock powerful vampire abilities" such as certain sensory enhancements and further transformations. For now, all I have to do is grow the cursed crop at home and prove to Father Dracula that vampires can live without blood.

Moonlight Peaks will be available in 2024, so if farm and town shimming is your thing, give it a try while you can. The demo starts today, October 26, and developer Little Chicken says it's only available for a limited time. The demo is available for download on Steam.