To attract more animal species in The Regreening, first restore a healthy patch of land, then place the habitat marker for the species you want. The habitat interface checks vegetation, food, safety, rest space and the surrounding environmental connections; planting alone does not summon an animal. Clear scrap with the mattock, prepare and water the soil, grow plants with useful synergies, and keep competing habitat borders from crowding one another. New species are opened through habitat recipes, quests, story items, nature-spirit help and later maps rather than by buying animals.
This guide describes the systems shown in the Steam demo and the October 2026 updates. The full PC release is scheduled for 7 December 2026, and habitat values, recipes and the final animal roster can still change before version 1.0.
What is the animal-attraction loop in The Regreening?
The loop is ecological restoration rather than livestock production. Viri clears a junk-filled world, improves its soil and water cycle, grows plants for their effects, and then creates space where wildlife can live. Positive Impact Games’ design removes currency and profit harvesting: seeds are collected and replanted to improve biodiversity, not sold for money. Creative Director Manny Hachey described plants as tools that can improve soil, shelter animals, retain water or help a biome spread.
- Clear the tile. Remove the scrap blocking the ground. The mattock is the important clearing tool, and the October demo notes specifically warn against deleting it. Scrap becomes crafting material.
- Prepare soil and water. Hard, dry ground will not accept seeds. Water it by hand first, then improve reliability with irrigation bottles, halfmoon berms, straw mulch and hand-pump wells. Rain becomes available through the World Restoration bar, separately on each map.
- Plant for habitat functions. Discover seeds and combine plants whose synergies improve soil, provide food, offer shelter or help greenery spread. A crop chosen only for appearance may leave a habitat short of food or safety.
- Place the species habitat. Use the wooden sign or habitat marker showing the animal’s silhouette. Its interface reports whether the surrounding land has the required vegetation, food, safety and rest space, along with a web of environmental connections.
- Fit the borders. A habitat claims surrounding grid tiles. Move or redesign nearby habitats when their ranges compete; rabbit and fox ranges are the documented example.
- Keep the biome alive. Rewater plants, add water-retaining improvements and use weather intelligently. A dry or crowded habitat can stop supporting an animal even after its initial placement.
- Open the next species. Story items, quests, spirit rewards, crafted habitat recipes and new maps introduce additional wildlife.
There are no shipping timers or failure states tied to a missed day. The pressure is ecological: dry plants, insufficient habitat statistics or borders that leave too little usable space.
How do I prepare soil before placing a habitat?
Soil preparation comes before wildlife placement. If seeds cannot spread roots, the habitat will not develop enough vegetation or food for its animal.
Clear junk with the mattock
Scrap occupies the hexagonal map and must be removed before planting. Keep the mattock in your tool set; the demo patch notes call out accidental deletion as a problem. The resulting scrap is not waste: it supplies crafting material for restoration equipment and upcycled objects.
Water hard ground
Hand watering is the starting method. Once a patch is wet, seeds can take root and the ground gradually turns greener as plants grow. PC Gamer’s Lauren Morton reported that flowers grow in real time and that watered soil becomes green over roughly a day in the Steam Next Fest demo. That observation describes the demo, not a guaranteed 1.0 growth timer.
Use plants as infrastructure
Choose plants for what they do to the system. A tree may improve soil or provide shelter; ground cover can help a biome spread; flowers can supply food for butterflies; other plants can retain water. The store description calls these combinations “plant synergies.” The practical test is the habitat web: if one requirement remains weak, add or relocate plants before placing another animal marker.
How does the hex grid affect animal habitats?
The map is a small city-builder-like planning puzzle. Announce-footage breakdowns by AUTOMATON and 4Gamers describe a top-down 3D hexagonal grid, with each hex divided into three pentagonal sub-cells. You can plant three seeds or plants in one hex.
When a habitat sign is placed, the surrounding grid becomes that species’ range. The marker is therefore more than decoration: it reserves space and changes which plants and neighboring habitats can coexist. Leave room for the animal’s range before filling every nearby sub-cell with another sign or an unrelated structure.
Why rabbit and fox borders need planning
PC Gamer’s demo account specifically notes that rabbit and fox habitats overlap. Overlap is not an automatic bonus. The habitat web must still show enough vegetation, food, safety and rest space for each species. If one marker makes the other’s usable area too crowded, move a habitat, redesign the plant patch or place the two signs farther apart.
What the interface does not tell you yet
No public guide has established fixed numeric food, safety or rest thresholds, universal tile radii, habitat-yield values or a maximum number of habitats per biome. Demo notes say recipes, blooming cycles, habitat yields and restoration values have been rebalanced, so do not treat an observed radius or percentage from a video as a permanent rule.
What habitat requirements does each species show?
Use the silhouette marker and read its requirement web before committing space. The confirmed demo and marketing examples differ in how they enter play.
Rabbits
Rabbit habitats display vegetation types, food sources, safety and rest space. Build a plant-rich patch first, then make sure the surrounding range is not consumed by a fox habitat or another competing border. A rabbit marker that is missing food or safe bedding is a sign to alter the biome, not to keep placing more markers.
Foxes
Foxes use the same style of habitat-stat interface in the demo. Their important planning issue is the shared range with rabbits. Treat the two as a border-management problem: leave each species enough unclaimed and suitable tiles instead of assuming that a single mixed patch will satisfy both.
Butterflies
The demo tutorial says an Earthbound book contains the butterfly-habitat recipe. Place the habitat only after establishing flower access. The tutorial explicitly identifies flowers as butterfly food, and it also reminds you to watch the habitat borders so the animals have room.
Crows
The 1 October 2026 demo notes instruct players to find, craft and place Crow Habitats. The talking-crow-adjacent character Corvelia is described as particularly pleased when crows return. Crow habitats are a crafted unlock, not an animal purchased from a shop.
Frogs
The Steam store evokes frogs returning to singing wetlands as restoration advances. That confirms frogs as part of the game’s wildlife presentation, but the available notes do not document a frog habitat recipe or numeric wetland requirement. Restore water and vegetation where the map allows it, but do not rely on an unverified recipe or threshold.
These are confirmed examples, not a complete launch bestiary. Gamecity Hamburg’s project description speaks of “dozens of species” as a design goal; it does not publish a final 1.0 count.
Which watering method should I use for a habitat?
Use hand watering to start a patch, then combine infrastructure and weather so plants remain alive without constant manual attention. The methods shown in the demo are complementary rather than mutually exclusive.
| Method | When it helps | Important qualification |
|---|---|---|
| Hand watering | Initial soil preparation and emergency recovery | Available before automated improvements; requires returning to the patch |
| Irrigation bottle | Portable, repeatable watering for developing habitat areas | The Next Fest patch made it cheaper to craft and fixed cases where it could be wrongly removed or left unfillable |
| Halfmoon berm | Holding water around planted ground | The October 2026 notes reduced its crafting cost; exact retention values are not published |
| Straw mulch | Reducing drying pressure on planted soil | Added or refined in the 2026 demo updates; no universal numeric bonus is stated |
| Hand-pump well | Supplying a reliable local water source | The Next Fest patch included a save/load fix; exact range is not stated |
| Unlocked rain | Maintaining a restored map with less manual watering | Rain is unlocked per map, not globally. The notes say it should arrive about every other day after unlocking, while dust storms should not occur daily |
Weather includes sunny days, gentle rain, heavy rain and dust storms. If a habitat is drying too quickly, add mulch, berms or a well before expanding its border. The October 2026 patch also reduced watering demand for mature plants that had been drying too fast.
How do I unlock more animal species?
Species are gated by progression and discovery. There is no store purchase that bypasses habitat preparation.
Find recipes in story items
The Earthbound book gives the butterfly-habitat recipe. Search story objects and read their records instead of treating every new animal as a purely statistical unlock.
Craft habitat structures
Crows require you to find, craft and place Crow Habitats. Crafting also turns cleared junk into the infrastructure that keeps the surrounding biome productive.
Complete quests
Quests provide new seeds and abilities that open later map areas. Grandma Laima supplies early guidance, and the October demo adds a Quest Journal option to disable her tips if you prefer to discover systems independently.
Help nature spirits
The game’s folklore figures grant powerful abilities in exchange for help and, sometimes, shiny objects. Studio-adjacent material frames these beings as European or Baltic folklore; a 4Gamers preview called them German folklore, but that label conflicts with the broader studio framing and Laima’s Baltic association. Spirit abilities can make restoration and vegetation spread easier, indirectly expanding the land available for wildlife.
Reach new maps
The demo moves beyond Earthbound Plains into the Junkyard, offers a sneak peek of the Gorge and updates the Cave. New maps can contain different restoration opportunities and habitat recipes. World Restoration rewards are per map and can be claimed once, so unlocking rain or a reward in Earthbound Plains does not automatically unlock it in the Junkyard.
How do I restore wetlands and get frogs?
Frogs are shown as a restoration outcome rather than documented as a step-by-step recipe. Build a wet, plant-supported biome, keep its water supply stable and advance World Restoration on that map. The store’s “frogs return to singing wetlands” line is marketing flavor, so the exact frog marker, threshold and recipe remain unconfirmed in the available demo notes.
For any water-dependent habitat, clear the ground first, establish water retention, then grow vegetation before placing the animal sign. If the habitat interface does not recognize enough food, safety or rest space, treat the missing stat as the actionable problem rather than assuming that a wet tile alone is sufficient.
What should I do when a habitat is not filling?
A habitat that does not fill usually lacks one of the visible ecological inputs or has a border problem. Work through the interface in this order.
- Check the ground: remove remaining scrap and confirm that the soil is no longer hard and dry.
- Check vegetation: add the plant types requested by the habitat and allow them to mature.
- Check food: plant the relevant food source; butterflies, for example, need nearby flowers.
- Check safety: inspect predator-prey overlap and move a conflicting habitat if the safety value falls.
- Check rest space: leave suitable bedding or quiet tiles inside the marker’s range.
- Check water: use an irrigation bottle, straw mulch, halfmoon berm or hand-pump well, and wait for plants to recover.
- Check the map: rain and World Restoration rewards are local to each map.
- Check the recipe: a species may require a book, quest, crafted structure or a later biome before the marker becomes available.
Do not expect the numbers shown in a demo video to match every build. The October updates changed crafting costs, watering behavior, drop rates and other balance values.
How can I keep plants alive long enough for animals to return?
Use a layered maintenance plan rather than relying on one tool. The Next Fest patch increased pebble and compost drop rates, reduced the cost of halfmoon berms and irrigation bottles, fixed hand-pump-well save/load behavior, and reduced the watering demand of mature plants. Those changes make established habitats less fragile, but they do not remove the need to monitor dry ground or dust storms.
Build water infrastructure before enlarging a habitat border. Decorative objects and upcycled furniture improve the look of a restored area, while watering systems and habitat signs affect whether animals can actually live there. Viri’s improved growth-ability radius, added in Playtest #4 on 20 July 2026, helps greenery spread faster; it is an ability, not a habitat and does not replace the species requirements.
Does reaching 100% regreened attract every animal?
A 100% regreened map is possible after later balancing, but full restoration does not automatically reveal every species. Habitats still depend on their recipes, local requirements and available space. World Restoration progression can unlock weather or other rewards on that specific map, while story, quests, spirits and map access govern additional species.
Use the Flora Compendium to track discovered plants and treat completion as a planning aid. A fully green map can still have an unsuitable rabbit, fox or butterfly range if its food, safety or rest-space connections are wrong.
Where should I practice the system before release?
The free Steam demo is the safest place to learn clearing, soil preparation, habitat borders and the first recipes. It was live from 1 October 2026 and featured in Steam Next Fest from 19–26 October 2026. The demo supports 11 languages; the full Steam listing shows 12 interface languages, adding Traditional Chinese.
The complete game is planned for 7 December 2026 on PC through Steam. Its listed minimum specification is Windows 10, an Intel Core i7-4790 or AMD Ryzen 5 1400, 8 GB RAM, an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 with 2 GB or AMD Radeon R9 280X with 3 GB, DirectX 11 and 2 GB of storage. The studio says development has taken 2.5 years. Because the demo’s recipes, yields, blooming cycles and restoration values have already received balancing passes, expect the final thresholds and species roster to differ.
How should I plan a first wildlife biome?
Start with one compact, well-watered habitat instead of scattering signs across the map.
- Clear a contiguous group of hexes and keep the mattock available.
- Water the hardest ground and add a berm, mulch or well before planting widely.
- Plant a mix that covers soil improvement, food and shelter rather than three identical decorative plants.
- Place one habitat marker and read every requirement in its environmental web.
- Reserve empty tiles around the sign so its border is visible and adjustable.
- Wait for plants to mature, then correct the weakest statistic.
- Add a second species only after checking how its range overlaps the first.
- Use quests, books and spirit rewards to expand the system instead of searching for an animal shop.
This approach makes each new species an extension of a functioning biome. It also leaves room to recover when a balance update changes a plant’s growth, water demand or habitat value.
Why does the game make restoration the reward?
The Regreening deliberately replaces a money loop with visible ecological recovery. Positive Impact Games and Gamecity Hamburg describe the goal as planting trees and collecting seeds so biodiversity improves and animals can return. Hachey told PC Gamer that the payoff for the player’s care is watching wildlife come back and being able to hug the animals. Campfire conversations and relationships with characters add a social layer, but they do not change habitat statistics.
That distinction matters when choosing what to build. A flower bed, well or habitat sign can change whether an animal survives in the area; outdoor decorations and upcycled furniture are primarily cosmetic. Optimize for the missing ecological connection first, then decorate once the biome is stable.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I move a habitat after placing it?
The available public notes do not document a universal relocation cost or a special move command. Plan with the visible border first, and if a range is crowded, redesign the nearby tiles and use the placement interface again rather than assuming overlap will resolve itself.
Do animals reproduce or increase a resource supply?
No published demo material gives reproduction rules, population caps or guaranteed yields. The confirmed reward is wildlife returning to a restored habitat, with gifting, befriending and hugging as the social payoff rather than a stated production chain.
Is rain shared between Earthbound Plains and the Junkyard?
No. Rain is a map-specific World Restoration unlock, so earning it in Earthbound Plains does not unlock it in the Junkyard. Each map needs its own restoration progress and water plan.
Where can I see the plants I have discovered?
The Flora Compendium tracks plants found during play. It is useful for identifying which seeds and synergies you already know, but it does not replace the habitat marker’s live checks for food, safety or rest space.