BLACKSMITH MASTER

Who knew working hammer and tongs could feel so relaxing?

- Kerry Brunskill

Cosy isn't the word I'd usually reach for when discussing the hot and sweaty labour that comes with running a medieval forge. But even in its Early Access form, Blacksmith Master's unlikely combination of hard metalwork and decorative drapes brings a pleasantly relaxing vibe to all that smelting and hammering.

My little workshop's comfortably nestled inside an established town, and bustles with activity from dawn to dusk. One blacksmith saws wood while another assembles a sickle at a workbench. An assistant might be hauling ore into my workshop while another lugs a sack of goods over to a merchant waiting by their cart.

Being able to keep track of a dozen different moving parts just by looking over the workshop floor is more than helpful, it makes it easy to believe my business is one part of a wider community. I'm not making a bunch of gauges fill up for no other reason than because I'm supposed to, I'm trading with local merchants and supplying the townsfolk with well-crafted goods.