The Living Lands: A solo-developed, ambitious single-player RPG

Hello r/gaming. I've been a big fan of text-based, immersive MUD-style RPGs for a very long time, but I have always been a casual player. In a lot of the MUDs, especially PvP-heavy ones, it is tough to be a filthy casual, like I am. Truly, many times over the last 30 years, I have envisioned what it might be like to take this offline and focus on a more modern (no terminal or client), single-player version of what I enjoyed. At the start of this year, 2026, I took a leap and began designing and developing what I, piece by piece over the years, have thought about. It's taken a lot of wild detours and turns over the course of the year.

My game is called The Living Lands - a single-player MUD experience with a massive world and deep mechanics. Below is a list of features:

• Text-driven single-player RPG with MUD roots
• 10 classes, each with its own resource system and skill tree (6 in the demo)
• 7 races, with legendary gear only some of them can wear (4 in the demo)
• Respec freely, so a dead-end build isn't a dead character
• Day/night cycle and weather that change what spawns and what hunts you
• Rival adventurers who level, roam, and die on their own, and compete with you on the leaderboard
• Enemies carry real equipment and drop it
• Shapeshifting, necromancy, summoning, and taming, depending on class
• A central myth told in fragments you find, not cutscenes
• Hand-placed zones with hidden rooms throughout
• Touch, mouse, or typed commands
• No microtransactions, no ads

The game is still in active development. I have put a 15-level demo on Itch.io (web and downloadable). I hope you will find solid gameplay and unique things that I am able to shape into a really enjoyable experience. Thanks for taking a look, everyone.

Demo - https://thelivinglands.itch.io/game (web playable and downloadable)
Steam - https://store.steampowered.com/app/5185660/The_Living_Lands/ (Wishlist)
Combat Teaser - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfsDNGxOyXg

Screenshot of some combat

I'd love to answer any questions