Some nights, building a cabin and calling it a day sounds like the entire mission. Under Canopies is aiming at that kind of session, with a forest to explore, a home to shape, and animals to get to know. The extra reason this one caught my eye: there is one developer behind it.
Roberto Ortiz, the Mexico-based creator working as Novemtails, has spent almost four years bringing the project to Steam Early Access. Assemble Entertainment is publishing it. The game arrived on October 23, 2026, and Ortiz is continuing development with player feedback.
Here’s the official trailer for a look at the forest life he’s building:
One developer, a clear direction
Ortiz says this is the first commercial game he has developed and released on his own, following experience working with other companies. He also shares his workspace with nine cats. I’m assuming their contribution to quality assurance involves walking across the keyboard.
Getting a personal project this far takes persistence. What catches my attention is the direction he chose: a survival game built around making yourself comfortable. That gives Under Canopies an identity I can understand immediately. I want a little cabin, a productive garden, and a reason to wander off with a camera.
Survival with room to exhale
According to Ortiz’s launch announcement, you still manage hunger, thirst, energy, and temperature. There is no combat, hunting, or killing animals, and the developer says your character cannot die. Those choices leave room for a gentler rhythm while keeping resources and everyday needs part of the routine.
I like that premise. Survival systems can give a session direction without making every walk outside feel like an emergency. Preparing food, improving a shelter, and learning your surroundings can be satisfying goals all by themselves. Sometimes dinner and a decent roof are enough of an achievement.
Build a home, then get to know the neighbors
The forest is called the Sanctuary. You can gather materials, craft tools, build and decorate a cabin, grow crops, and cook, with the Steam page listing more than 30 recipes. The game is single-player, so the pace of that woodland routine is yours to set.
Animal care and wildlife photography give you more reasons to explore. The launch materials describe earning animals’ trust, gathering eggs and wool from livestock, and recording wildlife discoveries in a photo album. That sounds like a good use for a quiet evening: head out looking for a photograph and come home with another idea for the cabin.
The appeal for me
The appeal for me is having something to work toward at a manageable pace. A garden gives you a reason to return. A cabin gives those gathered materials a purpose. A wildlife album gives a walk through the trees a little more direction. Those are the parts of this concept I have to spend more time with.
Under Canopies is still in Early Access. Its Steam page says the narrative conclusion and the full depth of its planned content are still in development, alongside work on stability, performance, and progression.
Check the current version and recent updates when deciding whether to jump in.
Ortiz has reached a meaningful milestone after almost four years of work. Now comes the job of refining that forest with the people playing it. I’m interested in seeing how it grows—and whether that little cabin becomes somewhere players keep wanting to return.
Check out Under Canopies here.
