This cozy cowboy life simulator has just entered open beta, so you can play it for FREE.

Imagine Arthur Morgan from Red Dead Redemption 2, visiting Stardew Valley. Don't imagine it because he would probably rob the station, shoot the mayor and drag Pierre around the town on his horse. Imagine that Arthur Morgan had a twin named Garthur. Garthur Morgan was not a violent outlaw who robbed banks, but a nice, gentle farmer, who enjoyed fishing, crafting, and chatting with the townspeople. He only occasionally killed a few cattle rustlers and bandits.

Cattle Country is a cozy cowboy-style life simulation where you can plant crops, raise animals, go fishing, date the locals and sometimes even get into some scrapes. Guess what, partner? Cattle Country is now available in open beta, so you can enjoy it for free.

Cattle Country is similar to Stardew Valley, with its convenient box that you can dump your stuff into and sell it automatically. The calendar in the town also displays everyone's birthdate. I've played for a few days, but the game starts you with a plot of land and several crops that are already growing. It also comes with tools and supplies to help you get started right away. I have a cat and a dog, I've cooked a few dishes, caught a lot of fish and I've met the majority of the town people including the sheriff and blacksmith.

No outlaws have been seen yet (and I don't know where to find a six-shooter in pixelated form), but for now, that's fine with me. I'm looking forward to some Red Dead Relaxation. Save the Redemption until later.

There are some welcome changes to the Stardew formula. The mines that you must visit to smash rocks and collect minerals change the game's perspective from top-down to side-scrolling, so you will need to use ladders and ledges you can craft to get up and down each level. This is a change. So far, it's not too tedious. My first sprinkler was a pain in Stardew, but on my second day I bought one at the general store in Cattle Country. Did sprinklers exist in the Wild West at all? I'm guessing that they didn't, but I'm willing suspend my disbelief to move past primitive watering cans.

You can download the demo by visiting the Cattle Country Steam Page. The button is located on the sidebar. I mention this only because usually demo downloads have a big green bar at the top of the store page. For some reason, it's hard to find for this cozy cowboy-themed game.