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Mixed or average reviews - based on 46 Critic Reviews What's this?

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4.1

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 148 Ratings

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  • Summary: In a vibrant and colourful world, players will tend their crops, befriend the townsfolk, overcome threats, discover the origins of the world and the truth behind the calamity along the way. The story begins when the player wakes up in the middle of "Quietus," a calamity that comes with eachIn a vibrant and colourful world, players will tend their crops, befriend the townsfolk, overcome threats, discover the origins of the world and the truth behind the calamity along the way. The story begins when the player wakes up in the middle of "Quietus," a calamity that comes with each change of season and threatens all life. "Quietus" A season of death that comes at the turn of each season. Crops wither and the dust of death prevents people from even walking outside. It is said that the duration of Quietus is getting longer each year.

    "World"
    Players will be able to explore the various cities and dungeons of the world: "Nemea Town," where cherry blossoms bloom all year round, "Seaside Town Shatolla," with a lively bar scene, "Lethe Village," with its beautiful colors of the four seasons, and the snow-covered "Holy Capital Argene." In order for players to reach the "Seaslight," the four giant crystals that govern the seasons, they must cross a beautiful yet rugged path.
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HARVESTELLA - Launch Trailer - Nintendo Switch
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 26 out of 46
  2. Negative: 0 out of 46
  1. Nov 17, 2022
    90
    Harvestella is a fresh coat of paint on a familiar wall. It’s a good wall, solid foundation, level, able to withstand the elements, and damn good paint. But it’s still a wall. If you want to play the newest, most innovative farm sim to date, it’s not going to be Harvestella. If you want to play the best version of the farm sim for the modern era, look no further. While it does some odd things, like invisible walls to areas you can clearly see, or not being able to jump on a rock, in the end, those don’t matter. Farming is fun, dungeon crawling is fun. The visuals and soundtrack help make Harvestella one of the best possible versions of the farm sim.
  2. Nov 15, 2022
    85
    HARVESTELLA is a thoroughly enjoyable JRPG with farm management for when you want some downtime after exploring its elaborate dungeons. The fact that you can take your time going through the story and managing your farm means that the pacing is controlled by you so it never gets dull. As long as you enjoy RPGs as much as you do farming, this is a great game that you'll absolutely love.
  3. Dec 8, 2022
    80
    In lesser hands, Harvestella’s balance of JRPG and farming sim could’ve ended up as a bland mishmash. Instead, Live Wire and Square Enix have created a solid blend. Its effective gameplay loop and engaging story push you down surprising paths that are fun to travel.
  4. Nov 20, 2022
    75
    Harvestella is a game with a very addictive loop. With each dungeon leading you to a new plot revelation, and each season giving you new crops to grow it’s like the game is begging for “just one more day” and it can be hard to say no. While I wish that there was more depth to the characters, especially in the voice acting department, and the game doesn’t make any major strides, it is still a decently fresh take on the genre. It is important to know that Harvestella really is a JRPG before it is a farming sim; even though farming is a lot of fun, it is not the main thing you will be doing. Even though both farming and combat are simple, the combination of both manages to make Harvestella feel deeper than it actually is. So if you are on the lookout for a new RPG farming adventure to play after finishing Rune Factory 5, this might be it.
  5. Mar 10, 2023
    70
    Harvestella is ideal for anyone looking for a game with the peace of mind of a farm simulator and the challenge of combat. You'll likely feel a mix of relaxation and excitement as you tend to crops and fight off threats, all while trying to uncover the truth behind the mysterious "death station", Quietus.
  6. Nov 17, 2022
    70
    If you're looking for an enjoyable title that won't require you to bend over backwards on its difficulty or mechanics, then Harvestella is the perfect candidate.
  7. 50
    Mixing Final Fantasy with Harvest Moon feels like it should result in something more stimulating than this awkward mishmash, whose disparate elements all prove disappointingly underdeveloped.

See all 47 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 29 out of 40
  2. Negative: 3 out of 40
  1. Nov 6, 2022
    10
    Too many approaching this game with the wrong expectations. Enjoyable and fun.
  2. Nov 8, 2022
    10
    So far I'm enjoying the game. It look good (has dynamic resolution so sometimes looks sharper and times it doesn't) Combat is gettingSo far I'm enjoying the game. It look good (has dynamic resolution so sometimes looks sharper and times it doesn't) Combat is getting interesting as I play. The story is the good, better than most farm/life sim games I've played. It leans more toward jrpg than farm/life sim which I prefer. Cooking is more valuable than selling your crops, which I love it. Most farm sims don't really do this for me. Expand
  3. Jan 2, 2023
    10
    The negative reviews are too harsh imo. I'm an rpg lover who has never been able to click with a farming game so wondered if this game was forThe negative reviews are too harsh imo. I'm an rpg lover who has never been able to click with a farming game so wondered if this game was for me. It really, really was. The farming wasn't too over the top with lots of rewards and things to do. The questing pushed all the right buttons for me and kept me engaged. The jobs were a fun addition I wasn't expecting and very fun to play for me. Graphics may not be the best ever but graphics never make the game and what is there is really nice, reminds me of the older final fantasy's so I thought they were great. All the above elements were, while arguably basic yes, are very fun. Complicated does not always mean better for me. Gameplay was addictive. Kept coming back for one more day, one more quest etc.

    The story is where this game really shines. Really blew me away as I did not expect such a story here. 10/10 on story alone.

    In conclusion: jack of all trades (Master at story imo) but that's a good thing, not a bad thing. Very enjoyable and has kept me hooked all the way through and still finishing the last bits off.
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  4. Nov 6, 2022
    10
    Un arpg sencillo pero divertido. La gestión de la granja esta bien integrado con la parte rpg, el mercado esta limitado para no romper laUn arpg sencillo pero divertido. La gestión de la granja esta bien integrado con la parte rpg, el mercado esta limitado para no romper la economía y poder avanzar de manera equilibrada. La historia es interesante. Expand
  5. Dec 30, 2022
    8
    Scratched an itch I didn't realize I had. If this game becomes popular I look forward to the better games that will come from this. OverallScratched an itch I didn't realize I had. If this game becomes popular I look forward to the better games that will come from this. Overall this game is good but it could be better. Farming is a bit clunky. Way to many cutscenes, you can tell a story through other ways you know. Expand
  6. Nov 7, 2022
    8
    Square fans are expecting a typical Square game. Runefactory/Harvest Moon fans are expecting a typical game in their genre. This game sits inSquare fans are expecting a typical Square game. Runefactory/Harvest Moon fans are expecting a typical game in their genre. This game sits in between the two and is quite fun if you stop asking it to be what it isn't.

    Getting negatives I feel can be patched out of the way:

    The Adaptive Resolution gets a little blurry sometimes and honestly where they chose to have actual voice acting is so sparse it feels like a budget issue.
    Patch the adaptive resolution not to go blurry, and if I am asking for nice things... when standing still AND turning the camera do not move time... and I am good to go. 100% still time does not move.
    (If they add a bit more voice acting at a later date, that would be nice, but I am not asking for the moon.)

    Giant List of Positives:

    The art/music/world is fantastic for Square-style fans. Inventive but also beautiful worlds with typically fanciful characters and a really pleasant vibes soundtrack you will want to listen outside of the game.

    The farming is typical and not too tedious making this what I would deem "farming sim lite". Deep enough with the ability to get animals, expand, etc. but not convoluted in terms of fluctuating pricing or soil quality management.

    COMBAT WARNING. This is make or break on buying this game. You need to clear dungeons to progress the story. The combat will be polarizing. Let's talk about what the combat is and how it defies the expectations of modern action fans and farming sim fans...

    The combat is a retrofit of old school Square and maybe the devs should have gone with their initial idea and done 'turn based' but they waffled and forgot that ATB wouldn't have been jarring.
    We live in the era of dodge/parry and this is a face tanking HP-item gobbler. It just isn't isometric like your Diablo 3 or anything since then, where it is less click and more skill spam. It takes a bit to get used to, and leveraging up to 3-job swapping to DPS as fast as possible by targeting marked discovered weaknesses is key. You cannot say "this is my fav job, let me dodge/block and just do this". If you do not like that, you will not like this game. Honestly, once you have a few jobs it gets quite fun swapping and managing your cooldowns in an FF-made-ARPG style which comes down to "Job Swapping and sometimes taking hits in the face and healing through it."
    (FYI there is a dodge-y move called Step. Some of the classes have it, ranged ones don't. Too many YT demo steamers never unlocked it and whined/reviewed based on the demo.)

    Story?
    Oh, it's weird, but it is funny and really anyone making an opinion of the story based on the demo has barely scratched the surface. The Story is one of those evolving stories with characters who take time to get to know. Why, you might even say it is a JRPG and not a 'farming sim'. It just happens to have some farming instead of grinding monsters for money, etc.

    Also, this is an actual story with a moving narrative you want to move forward... It is not a premise to kick you into a farming daily life sim. Your main motivation is not getting to know people in town. It is World Saving Stuff.

    It isn't for everyone. Likewise, it isn't Harvest Moon. Neither is it Runefactory. But for people who vibe on a mellower dungeon crawler in the Square theme with some farm-style... It really is quite good. (I just think their budget got hacked for the final polish/va etc.)
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  7. Nov 6, 2022
    1
    This is based on the demo, which includes the intro so take my review with a grain of salt, this is based on first impressions. To put itThis is based on the demo, which includes the intro so take my review with a grain of salt, this is based on first impressions. To put it simply, Harvestella does not live up to games of its genre. Stardew Valley and Rune Factory (1-4) is better worth your time and price.

    NPCs in the town are insignificant except for what I assume are the romance options, as they have portraits (with a few exceptions). The game has some limited customisation but unfortunately has no varying hairstyle options.

    The game quickly goes downhill after the arrival of the character Aria. The game takes about 5 in game days to get out of the tutorial stage- forcing the player to sit through dialogue- and the games time management is weird, because of the restricted time of when the player has to go back to their home. And because the player is forced to sit through mostly boring drivel of a story, it doesn't allow for much freedom compared to other farming sim games.
    As for the characters themselves, it's hard to cement much of an opinion since they're mostly there to info dump. But seeing as the game wants you to set off almost immediately after meeting Aria, I feel like Aria as a character didn't grow on me and sure, her design is nice but I just don't care of what she's saying, as the game hasn't fleshed her out that well.

    The farming feels clunky and slow, which makes it boring. The switch has weird button inputs. You have to use X for seeds, Y for tools and A to harvest. The battling feels repetitive and the crops grow within 1-2 days after planting them. Also because of the time constraints and the odd passage of time, you'll likely find your days in the game uneventful and mostly consisting of farming for materials.

    The plot then begins to feel like FF13-2, and not in a good way. There are dialogue options, but no clear indication if they impact the story, if at all and conversations usually lean towards the "we want you to answer this way". I got bored during the 5 days (15 in total in the demo), since there wasn't much freedom to learn and explore. But unfortunately the main town is boring because the NPCs have nothing new to say. Which you don't want on a game that's trying to be a social sim and a farming sim.

    Visually, it's got beautiful environments and the portraits for characters are of good quality. But the low poly models of the characters end up looking funny and don't suit the environment all that much. And unfortunately, visuals can't be the only saving grace if everything else is bad. Even for a demo reel, the game felt buggy and clunky. It didn't feel very polished and didn't give me too much hope, if i were interested in getting the whole game.

    Again, if you're looking for a game of its genre, go for Stardew Valley, which is much cheaper or the Rune Factory series, as RF focuses more on combat compared to Stardew and the Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons franchise.
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See all 40 User Reviews