CGM first covered Roots of Pacha for Nintendo Switch back in 2023. After setting my eyes on it for the first time at Summer Game Fest, and as a huge fan of Stardew Valley at the time, I couldn’t help but be obsessed with it.
After spending more than 90 hours on Roots of Pacha on Switch, I still don’t feel like I ever quite scratched the surface of the game—I realize how wild that sounds. For games that I would consider Stardew Valley-likes, that is pretty common, easily sinking hundreds of hours into them. With Coral Island, Roots of Pacha, Fields of Mistria and more all coming out in the last few years, sim lovers have been eating well. That being said, Roots of Pacha has by far been the most intricate and unique of all of them.
That brings us to the Roots of Pacha 1.3 “Sun and Moon” free content update, launching on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch today, April 22. As a Switch player, the Sun and Moon update was only available to me on Steam, where I had very little progress, though I did own it already! Luckily, developer Soda Den was kind enough to offer a boosted account so I could take on all that Roots of Pacha 1.3 has to offer.
“After spending more than 90 hours on Roots of Pacha on Switch, I still don’t feel like I ever quite scratched the surface of the game…”
Now, even after my 90 hours of gameplay in the original release, apparently, that was nothing compared to this boosted account. To put it into perspective, my Nintendo Switch clan had 9494 prosperity when I moved on to other games. This boosted account was over 50,000. Needless to say, though I thought I was a major fan, I have missed a lot and will promptly be catching up, especially now that Roots of Pacha 1.3 is out!
But what does Roots of Pacha 1.3 bring to the game? A lot, actually. After completing the Forest Caves, NPCs Zeda and Inza will chat with you and invite you to their worlds, the Yakutan Islands and the Mograni Mountains. In doing so, we are introduced to six new areas, and all that comes with that: new people, ideas, animals, seeds, plants, and more.
I first went to the Yakutan Islands, which are made up of three parts— the Main Island, Mangrove Island and Mountain Island. This area is really peaceful and bright, with lots of water, boats to get from area to area, and some beautiful waterfalls. This area brings Pandas and Dodo Birds to the game, plus new Grape and Rice seeds, as well as a new gatherable, Sugarcane. This will start a “New Idea” to create Jam! (Hint: You will need two Sugarcane and 5 Fruit)
You will meet a whole bunch of new NPCs, including Ugvin and Sayra, siblings. Ugvin can trade for a new outfit, and Sayra is romancable. There are also kids, Hunna and Fayra, Akhi, the cook and more. Eventually, there will be another new idea to bring line fishing to the clan.
I also began checking out the Morgani Mountains and its three areas, the Main Camp, the Mograni Plains and Mogra’s Fire. These areas are a lot more forest-focused, with tons of greenery. The other new romancable, Azkel is here—a very distinguished looking gentleman, I might add. Jiyla is available to trade for a new outfit here, too. The new seeds are Rye and Lentil, the new animals are Mouflon and Sivatherium.
“The other new romancable, Azkel is here—a very distinguished looking gentleman, I might add.”
Soaproot is the new gatherable, starting the idea “All Washed Up.” (Hint: You will need two Soaproot and five of any Herb) Eventually, you will also come across the idea for fishing traps from Todu, too.
In each new area in Roots of Pacha 1.3, there is also a new game. In the Mograni Mountains, there is a Dice Game, where you roll the dice and mark off the total using the numbers one through nine. The other is a rhythm game in the Yakutan Islands on a stage, but if I am honest, I have had enough music and rhythm in this game. Each area also has a new festival, Festival of the Lune for the Yakutan clan, which happens on Spring 8, and I didn’t quite make it to Spring 26 for the Mograni festival.
There is, of course, a main story that accompanies the Roots of Pacha version 1.3 Sun and Moon update. As you explore these areas, you’ll notice strange comments about how things are changing. After accessing both areas, someone named Martina McFly appears from the future—I died laughing at that reference—to tell you that you’re the one who can save it all.
I’ll avoid full story spoilers, but essentially, there are six trees in six regions that are dying. You’re introduced to bug-catching mechanics to capture insects and reintroduce them to each tree in an effort to restore balance. Catching bugs is done using an ocarina—another musical reference—though you don’t need to play a song this time. I only progressed far enough to see what happens with one tree, as I want to save the rest of the story for my own save file, but here’s what I know so far:
Here are the Roots of Pacha 1.3 Trees, Locations and Bugs Needed:
Mograni Mountains Trees
- Mograni Plains – Fig Tree – 10 Fig Wasps
- Mograni Main Camp – Blackcurrant Bush – 10 Clearwing Moths
- Mogras Fire – Cherry Tree – 10 Mason Bees
Yakuan Islands Trees
- Main Island – Banana Tree – 10 Bat
- Mountain Island – Vanilla Orchid – 10 Melipona Bees
- Mangrove Island – Cacao Tree – 10 Midge
As you heal these trees, this is where the Sun and Moon caves come into play. The caves are a series of caverns that each unlock with a sigil gained by healing a tree. In the Sun Caves, you’ll find petroglyphs that allow you to breed animals like cows, sheep, chickens, pigs and goats with new traits. The Moon Caves contain altars that provide evolved versions of plants if a certain number of them are offered. The examples given were yellow tomatoes and white eggplants.
Roots of Pacha version 1.3’s Sun and Moon update brings a wealth of content to the 2023 title, giving me more than one reason to jump back in, especially considering how much I didn’t realize I missed in the first place. The best part is that the update is completely free, and it’s out now on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, and Nintendo Switch.
