Harvest Moon: Light of Hope

 Switch
User Score
4.1

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 37 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 37
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 37
  3. Negative: 22 out of 37
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  1. salzidu
    May 30, 2018
    5
    This isn't the "Harvest Moon" people grew up with. The original series from the original developer is now called "Story of Seasons" which is much better.

    Natsume only translated the old games, not developed them but they own the western Name of the Series "Harvest moon" If you want to play the original series wait for a Story of Seasons game for Switch. I fell for it and the game looks    This isn't the "Harvest Moon" people grew up with. The original series from the original developer is now called "Story of Seasons" which is much better.

    Natsume only translated the old games, not developed them but they own the western Name of the Series "Harvest moon" If you want to play the original series wait for a Story of Seasons game for Switch. I fell for it and the game looks really bad.    … Expand
  2. Dnosirrom
    Mar 5, 2020
    0
    Disappointing.

    Excessive load screens, terrible animation and character models. Sloppily thrown together mobile game that passes for a major title on the switch. Wasted my money on a digital copy and now I'm stick with it.

    Load screen's every time you walk into a house, every time you change screens, every time you talk to a character. Unplayable.
  3. LunarD3ATH
    Nov 21, 2022
    0
    Harvest Moon is, unfortunately, a shovelware series these days. The name is used by Natsume, as they own the rights, but the actual developers of the long-standing Harvest Moon series are completely uninvolved in this bastardization of the franchise.

    Harvest Moon games post-Natsume-takeover of the IP are at best mediocre mobile ports and at worst complete and total rip-offs with little    Harvest Moon is, unfortunately, a shovelware series these days. The name is used by Natsume, as they own the rights, but the actual developers of the long-standing Harvest Moon series are completely uninvolved in this bastardization of the franchise.

    Harvest Moon games post-Natsume-takeover of the IP are at best mediocre mobile ports and at worst complete and total rip-offs with little to no satisfaction in them. It is amazing just how bad they are, actually, it's almost an accomplishment, but don't mistake that as a "so bad it's good" sort of praise, because it is most certainly NOT. It's just boring.

    If you want a good farming title, look at some of the other amazing options out there. If you don't mind 2D graphics, Stardew Valley is an exceptional game. It has multiplayer, if you want to share your farm with friends, family members or your significant other, and is a very satisfying game to play with many hours of gameplay to squeeze out of it, not to mention replayability.

    Otherwise, check out any of the Story of Seasons games (several remakes of old Harvest Moon games use the new moniker), Rune Factory for a more fantasy experience, or maybe even the Square Enix title Harvestella. Any of these will give you more bang for your buck than any modern Harvest Moon title ever will. I promise you, Natsume is ripping you off. Don't buy anything from this franchise anymore. They haven't managed even a respectfully-done farming sim in I don't know how long and I doubt they will start now.    … Expand
  4. ChaosAzeroth
    Feb 6, 2019
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. If you're looking for something to scratch that nostalgia itch with a new game, Natsume has you covered here. The game is, in their own words, Retro Plus. I find myself agreeing with that, honestly. It's very simple in many ways, but there are new features with their mutation system. If you enjoy farming and raising animals, I feel like this is a good fit. There is socializing, requests, fishing, and even marriage still, but the meat of the game is the farming.

    I really wanted to rate this game 7 or 8, but two things stop me. One is taking away animal skills. If you've played, or just know about how The Lost Valley and Skytree Village worked, you might be surprised to see the lack of skills with animals. Made sense with Seeds of Memories, as while that was a full game it was a cheaper mobile option. ($10 base price, with a few sales bumping it down to half price.) It's fair that game would be lacking some features, but this is a full priced game and has no business, in my opinion at least, having less features than cheaper games in the line.

    Which ties into my second issue, the way DLC was handled. No, it wasn't a huge nickle and dime con job, but it wasn't great. You get less outfits than in Skytree Village, and this time you're paying to be able to get them. In Skytree you got them for free! (Well you had to make them in game, but no DLC purchase needed!) Same for house customizing, but at least the house sets are nice. Marvelous simplified their house stuff first, and that doesn't really help quell the Natsume is ripping off Marvelous rumors to be honest. (Whether or not they're true, it doesn't help at all.) I hated it there, I really don't like it here either. I find the house sets here to be a little more charming though, honestly. I just hate to get less options as it is, and to have to pay for them when you didn't before feels like a bit of a slap to the face.    … Expand
  5. NayanMori
    Oct 23, 2019
    1
    I bought this game since I have always been a fan of Harvest Moon and wanted to see what one of the newer games are doing, and trust me when I say this; do not buy this game.
    It is not made by the same people as the original games, as Natsume is now using the title "Harvest Moon". The original games are now under the title "Story of Seasons" which is 10x better than this game.
    The    I bought this game since I have always been a fan of Harvest Moon and wanted to see what one of the newer games are doing, and trust me when I say this; do not buy this game.
    It is not made by the same people as the original games, as Natsume is now using the title "Harvest Moon". The original games are now under the title "Story of Seasons" which is 10x better than this game.
    The graphics are mediocre, the characters are 3D but the backgrounds and objects feel very flat and 2D, making it very... interesting to look at. Unlike the original series, all the characters are the same as the last few games, almost no new characters at all.    … Expand
  6. ragnarokandroll
    Nov 18, 2019
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This game is pretty bad. There is a lot of loading time for a Switch game. You can tell this was ported from handheld, poorly.

    Loading aside the game itself isn't good either. I even like previous Harvest Moon games and could have put up with the load times if that was the only thing ailing this game but it's not. This game just feels dated. There should be a better variety of tasks.

    The thing that really killed this game for me is how specific things are. For example, you get to a point in the game where to progress you have to have very specific items. Like down to the exact quality of the item. I forget exactly which quality but it's like a good wool, a pink flower, and a yellow perch. Problem being that it has to be exactly good wool and cannot be better. This kind of stuff makes the game feel tedious rather than rewarding and fun. Like am I supposed to not take as good of care of my sheep just to get good quality vs great? That doesn't feel rewarding. That milestone in the game should make you feel like you accomplished something, not like you're jumping though hoops because a game designer/developer said so.    … Expand
  7. Sarahphim
    May 5, 2020
    7
    This game is fun but lacks a lot of polish and features that is expected for modern gen games. If you love farming games and have beaten Stardew to death, this game can scratch an itch. It's more casual then most HM games and feels more like an upscaled mobile game then a console game. It also recycles assets from prior 3DS games which is jarring if you've played them. The sounds/music isThis game is fun but lacks a lot of polish and features that is expected for modern gen games. If you love farming games and have beaten Stardew to death, this game can scratch an itch. It's more casual then most HM games and feels more like an upscaled mobile game then a console game. It also recycles assets from prior 3DS games which is jarring if you've played them. The sounds/music is terrible so I keep it off. I like the characters and their stories. The male marriage options are very interesting which is great! Typically male marriage candidates are one note and feel like an afterthought. I like the new farming mechanics for new crops in this one. It feels less chores driven. It's easy to progress and make money. The sprites emotions are terrible though, they are like emojis. Spring year 1 is also very boring - like literally put me to sleep - but once I slogged through the first few weeks and opened up more of the town I started having fun and enjoying the chill atmosphere. Overall has an fun, chill, but unpolished and not modern feel.… Expand
  8. thaesino
    Jun 7, 2018
    3
    Not "Harvest Moon" as it is not made by Marvelous!. Do not come looking for a Harvest Moon game without doing some research first. This is only Harvest Moon in title.

    Also, this is NOT Stardew Valley in the same way that "Story of Seasons" (the new Marvelous! made Harvest Moon) is NOT Stardew Valley, either. This game is just a poor excuse for Natsume trying to make money off a brand    Not "Harvest Moon" as it is not made by Marvelous!. Do not come looking for a Harvest Moon game without doing some research first. This is only Harvest Moon in title.

    Also, this is NOT Stardew Valley in the same way that "Story of Seasons" (the new Marvelous! made Harvest Moon) is NOT Stardew Valley, either.

    This game is just a poor excuse for Natsume trying to make money off a brand while not letting it die off, as it is evident that the developers who worked on it just learned how to make a game probably last year... however, that's no excuse for some people who are saying this is nothing like old Harvest Moon (now called Story of Seasons) or Stardew Valley. Obviously it isn't since the developers are completely different people.

    TL;DR Game is boring (I've played on Switch, PS4 and PC) and offers only very, very little fun. People who bought it expecting it was an official Harvest Moon title, or comparable to Stardew, either didn't google this before buying or are just plain dumb.    … Expand
  9. Scritty
    Jun 30, 2018
    3
    If you've never played a Harvest Moon or Rune Factory game before this might scratch an itch. The problem for this game is that Stardew Valley exists. Stardew Valley looks better, plays better has a LOT more content and is less than half the price.
    Graphics.
    I can see the idea "We have a 3D capable platform - so we better use it". But it isn;t good. The characters look "laid on" to the    If you've never played a Harvest Moon or Rune Factory game before this might scratch an itch. The problem for this game is that Stardew Valley exists. Stardew Valley looks better, plays better has a LOT more content and is less than half the price.
    Graphics.
    I can see the idea "We have a 3D capable platform - so we better use it". But it isn;t good. The characters look "laid on" to the ground and their perspective to the ground they are on isn't right. Also by making them so big (yet not detailed) there is so much less of an area on screen. I am finding I'm getting disorientated all the time becasue so little is on the screen. The graphics aren't terrible but they aren;t that good and trhe move to 3D seems like a tick box rather than a well thought out feature.

    Gameplay
    The core gameplay is pure Harvest Moon. It isn't as precise as I would like. Having played them all (that I'm awareof )and all the Rune factories you soon get upset at watering the wrong patch, the fiddly selection. When you've played other games in the same series and have no problems with those then you know it's the game design and not you.

    Content
    It's very light on gameplay. Almost a roll back to the erly Nintendo GBA games but wihtout the pick up and play charm, ease of control. There really is not a lot of depth here and where the comparisons to Stardew vallety really struck me. It was what wasn't in the game, the things I couldn't do that stuck out.

    Value.
    HOW MUCH!!! Ok it's not the most expensive game, but it feels anbd plays like a freeware flash game and £35 or $40 seems about twice the price this game should be. Again Stardew Valley is better in almost every regard and is a third of the price.

    Summary

    I really don't know why anyone would buy this game unless they had completed everything in SDV and wanted a weak sauce version of the same game, with less content, less tightly implemented controls a clunky and awkward implementation of 3D with much less content and at a price point 300% higher.

    3 is a red bar score here on Metacritic. But that's all this is worth.    … Expand
  10. BrettSiebenhaar
    May 29, 2018
    4
    I don't even know where to start with this. I thought this would be a good place holder until Animal Crossing comes out, but it's not. Yonder is a much much better game than this Harvest Moon. The layout and look of this game is not good at all. I loved old Harvest Moon games, and yes, the game somewhat plays like the old ones, but the visuals are just too ugly to look at. I can't getI don't even know where to start with this. I thought this would be a good place holder until Animal Crossing comes out, but it's not. Yonder is a much much better game than this Harvest Moon. The layout and look of this game is not good at all. I loved old Harvest Moon games, and yes, the game somewhat plays like the old ones, but the visuals are just too ugly to look at. I can't get over that. Yonder looks great, it isn't the same type of game as Harvest Moon, but it is still so much better! The overhead camera angle of this game with 2D graphics, and then you add in the 3D people, it doesn't work. it might have been ok for a smartphone game, but not on Switch or PS4. Stay away from this game. Stick to Stardew Valley for the farming, but play Yonder for the exploration aspect! ANIMAL CROSSING IS COMING!!!!!… Expand
  11. AceMoriarty
    Jun 4, 2019
    1
    This game is the reason I signed up for Metacritic, because from now on I'm double checking every game before I buy. This is without a doubt the worst game I've ever played. The graphics look like something out of a bad app store game full of mismatched and stolen assets. I can't believe they decided this was good enough to sell. I got it heavily discounted and I still feel cheated. ThisThis game is the reason I signed up for Metacritic, because from now on I'm double checking every game before I buy. This is without a doubt the worst game I've ever played. The graphics look like something out of a bad app store game full of mismatched and stolen assets. I can't believe they decided this was good enough to sell. I got it heavily discounted and I still feel cheated. This game is, at best, worth 3 dollars. It plays like a phone game and you can get so many better games for much less. Natsume and everyone beh6this terrible game should be disappointed in themselves. I wouldn't put this on my resume even if I was just the secretary!… Expand
  12. goblinpaladin
    Nov 19, 2019
    2
    Rather ugly game with very awkward controls. It goes from hours of slow paced, hand holding fetch quests to giving you no direction and leaving you wondering how to progress. Male characters can only romance females characters and vice versa. Just buy console stardew if you want a game in this genre.
  13. Namiko
    Oct 3, 2019
    0
    Only harvest moon in name due to court ruling that Natsume (US company, was localizing company) got to keep the name. Original developers Marvelous now create a game called Story of Seasons. Don't get fooled by the court awarding the name of a 20 year series to the localization company who had no hand in actual development before.

    Glitch riddled, poor character development, and poor    Only harvest moon in name due to court ruling that Natsume (US company, was localizing company) got to keep the name. Original developers Marvelous now create a game called Story of Seasons. Don't get fooled by the court awarding the name of a 20 year series to the localization company who had no hand in actual development before.

    Glitch riddled, poor character development, and poor graphics for the price. Literally came out as a iphone game then was "upgraded" into a PC/PS4/Switch Game. But if you played the iphone game then there where NO CHANGES. Save your money, games where not this glitchy and poorly worded even in the 90's. Gave it a change to have more farming games to play this will be the last time they get my money.

    Overall I would say save your money.    … Expand
  14. Kroot
    Oct 20, 2020
    9
    I really wanted to play again this kind of game and I loved it! The story is wonderful and it looks great.
  15. KangarooRIOT
    Jun 11, 2018
    8
    This Harvest Moon game is the first one in a very long time (since Marvelous stopped making HM with Natsume) and I mean that. This game is far better than Skytree on the 3DS. The art style did take me about an hour to get used to and now I actually enjoy it. It is just a little bit odd because it is a strange mix between trying to be cartoon realistic and yet still very cartoonish andThis Harvest Moon game is the first one in a very long time (since Marvelous stopped making HM with Natsume) and I mean that. This game is far better than Skytree on the 3DS. The art style did take me about an hour to get used to and now I actually enjoy it. It is just a little bit odd because it is a strange mix between trying to be cartoon realistic and yet still very cartoonish and colorful. That only took me an hour to get used to. It sort of reminds me of Harvest Moon A Wonderful Life in how it place though it is not 3D.

    The best thing I can say about this game is the mechanics. This is by far the best mechanics that a HM has ever had. When I go to plant a crop- I not longer have to switch between tools, seeds and then water can. It notices that I am on a spot that can be tilled and tills it when I hit A. It then notices it has been tilled already so I hit A and I use the triggers to select a seed type and then hit A to plant the seeds. Lastly, I hit A one last time to automatically water the seeds with the watering can. I can also choose to hit A another time to select a fertilizer. This is huge! No more locating tools, not having all the tools in your bag and having to run to a chest to get them, no more confusing trigger action on selecting the tools and no odd actions to use them. This is best new mechanic that I have seen and I am glad Natsume has this part not only figured out but i'd say perfected now!

    The characters are very charming and the expressions used for everyone are absolutely hilarious.
    The story is a very classic and familiar HM style tale. You wash up on an island that has been destroyed by a massive storm and all the building are destroyed. Since the building are destroyed all of the villagers have left and it's your job to not only to farm and mine and fish but to also rebuild their buildings so that the town's people will return and to bring the light back to the light house!

    For the $40 price tag this really isn't a bad deal. It isn't $60. I acknowledge the comparison to Stardew but for the fans of the HM series, this is a massive improvement and a great move back into the right direction to the old games we all fell in love with.    … Expand
  16. horn_in_f
    May 25, 2020
    4
    I’ve been such a fan of this series for so long and typically adore games inspired by/similar to this series (Stardew Valley, My Time at Portia) however, from the start of this game I was disappointed. It’s a console/pc release, but the graphics look like a cheap mobile cash grab that is only banking on the series name. The character movement is uncomfortable and the models make me cringeI’ve been such a fan of this series for so long and typically adore games inspired by/similar to this series (Stardew Valley, My Time at Portia) however, from the start of this game I was disappointed. It’s a console/pc release, but the graphics look like a cheap mobile cash grab that is only banking on the series name. The character movement is uncomfortable and the models make me cringe because of how bad they look, especially when the background seems like it belongs in a totally different game. The dialog is awkward and feels too campy or badly localized. It lacks a lot of the charm of other games in the series and just falls flat to me. I was so excited to play this game, but all it did was make me miss the older games. I’ve tired to force myself through the game because of my love for previous handheld and console titles, but it just doesn’t feel like a harvest moon game anymore. It lacks the cuteness that I associate with Harvest Moon and I honestly feel like this game isn’t worth the full price. The only saving grace was that I bought this game for about $20-30 with all the dlc in a digital sale, but even that felt like I paid too much after playing it. It really looks and feels like it should be a $5-10 mobile game instead of a full price console game and that makes me very sad for the future of these titles.… Expand
  17. Ntkyk
    Oct 11, 2022
    6
    it doesn't have as much charm as the previous games but it's still a kind of solid farming sim
  18. Bdistracted
    Jul 4, 2023
    1
    Fooled me twice. I bought Harvest Moon One World and hated it. I decided I would buy the one before it and well... I don't hate this one, but I don't love it. It's a shell of what Harvest Moon was, and as far as I can tell they don't even allow you to enter any other building but your house making the game feel even more of a shell and gives you the impression they just slapped thisFooled me twice. I bought Harvest Moon One World and hated it. I decided I would buy the one before it and well... I don't hate this one, but I don't love it. It's a shell of what Harvest Moon was, and as far as I can tell they don't even allow you to enter any other building but your house making the game feel even more of a shell and gives you the impression they just slapped this together at the lowest price point possible. The graphics are awkward and the story is okay I guess. What have they done to what used to be such an amazing title... never buying a Harvest Moon title again.… Expand

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
62

Mixed or average reviews - based on 5 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 5
  3. Negative: 0 out of 5
  1. Switch Player
    Sep 24, 2018
    60
    Slow-paced, full of grinding and quite ugly, this Harvest Moon isn't for everyone. If you enjoy the genre you'll get something, but others won't have the patience.
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  2. Nintenderos
    Aug 15, 2018
    70
    Harvest Moon: Light of Hope Special Edition takes the famous and veteran saga to the new Nintendo system. This delivery manages to maintain the basics of the saga even when it is not made by the same developer as always, although we must point out that it falters in several aspects and above all, does not include much innovation compared to its predecessors.
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  3. Jeuxvideo.com
    Aug 12, 2018
    55
    There’s nothing really new or interesting in Harvest Moon: Light of Hope. Even if it’s still the same chill, low-pace game, it’s technically outdated, and too far from Story of Seasons and Stardew Valley’s richness.
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