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Forest's Secret is a free (you can donate) adventure game with a nonviolent theme where you play as a traveller who has just arrived at a quiet forest settlement called Wabika.

"Forest's Secret is a cozy, nonviolent adventure game. You play as a traveler who has just arrived at a quiet forest settlement called Wabika, and must explore its mysterious paths, discover its ancient history, and make friends with its quirky inhabitants in order to find what it is you're searching for. There’s lots of neat little stuff to discover!"

It actually released quite some time ago, along with an additional Mystery of the Frost update that came later adding in a new story, new areas to explore and new gameplay mechanics. Shame we only just came across it as it's quite sweet.

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It's made with Java and for the Linux version, it seems to need OpenJDK 8 as it didn't work with later versions. So you can run it directly (on Arch as an example install this and lwjgl, for Ubuntu it's "openjdk-8-jre") then you can run it with this command:

Arch:

/usr/lib/jvm/java-8-openjdk/jre/bin/java -jar forests_secret_v2_1.jar

Ubuntu:

/usr/lib/jvm/java-8-openjdk-amd64/jre/bin/java -jar forests_secret_v2_1.jar

Usually this sort of thing isn't needed, as a developer would bundle the JRE needed along with a launch script.

Nice to see more developers try out a casual adventure that doesn't rely on combat. The art style is absolutely wonderful too, as it looks like you're often walking through a series of paintings.

Find the game on itch.io where it's free and you can donate there if you liked it.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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4 comments

whizse Nov 9, 2020
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Very, very sweet!

There are beetles full of wisdom, a non-judgemental communal garden, complimentary tea for all customers, and that's just after five minutes of gameplay!
tuubi Nov 9, 2020
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It's made with Java and for the Linux version, it seems to need OpenJDK 8 as it didn't work with later versions. So you can run it directly (on Arch as an example install this and lwjgl) with:

'/usr/lib/jvm/java-8-openjdk/jre/bin/java' -jar 'forests_secret_v2_1.jar'
Same problem on Mint (and Ubuntu I suppose). The game works after installing the package openjdk-8-jre and running with:
/usr/lib/jvm/java-8-openjdk-amd64/jre/bin/java -jar forests_secret_v2_1.jar

If you want to run it through the Itch app, just create a simple shell script containing the above launch command in the game's install directory and mark it executable. The app will pick it up automatically.
Liam Dawe Nov 9, 2020
Thanks, added the Ubuntu line to make it simple for the majority.
rafagars Nov 10, 2020
Like the art style. Gonna give it a try
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