Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town

 Switch
User Score
7.1

Mixed or average reviews- based on 95 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 60 out of 95
  2. Mixed: 14 out of 95
  3. Negative: 21 out of 95
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  1. Griever88
    May 3, 2022
    2
    I played every Story of Season game out there, but this is the worst of them.

    Graphics and Sound are okay-ish. But it feels like some stuff, especially Events, are lacking of Sound effects. They probably got inspired by Stardew Valley, and added them to their game. (like crafting or the museum) But they forgot to make these features fun. The inventory is way too small. You have to    I played every Story of Season game out there, but this is the worst of them.

    Graphics and Sound are okay-ish. But it feels like some stuff, especially Events, are lacking of Sound effects.

    They probably got inspired by Stardew Valley, and added them to their game. (like crafting or the museum) But they forgot to make these features fun.

    The inventory is way too small. You have to collect so much stuff, but so little space. Even the biggest inventory upgrade is way too small. Chests take way too much space on your farm.
    Clearing the farm of trees and other stuff is annoying. The crafting need this stuff, and it spawns very frequent. But you need this space for everything else too. like 1000 processing machines, stables (also space in front/around the stables, on sunny days for the animals), chests.. Oh maybe Crops?

    The museum gives no rewards. (Maybe if you fill it completely?) It just feels bad filling a whole museum without getting rewards.

    I had 50% Hearts on a relationship, and all she said was something like "Oh its your birthday. Maybe I should have gotten you something. Maybe next year!"
    Oh yeah thanks for nothing. I'm getting her a gift each day for over a season, and she is emotionless like day one. The relationship events are bad too.

    This game shows that more isn't better. And if you copy stuff from other games, make them better, not worse.    … Expand
  2. Morgan35
    May 21, 2022
    1
    it's my first SOS game and will be the last one!

    1. Romanticism is really bad. You have barely romantic moment with your partner, your partner acts like your friend rather than a partner. Also, your partner doesn't help you about anything or doesn't earn money and your partner doesn't celebrate your birthday. 2. Mining is totally awful! You're finding a rare stone every couple of    it's my first SOS game and will be the last one!

    1. Romanticism is really bad. You have barely romantic moment with your partner, your partner acts like your friend rather than a partner. Also, your partner doesn't help you about anything or doesn't earn money and your partner doesn't celebrate your birthday.

    2. Mining is totally awful! You're finding a rare stone every couple of level. When you arrive the final level you just have a one rare stone.

    3. Electric mole is the most stupid thing in the game! When you reach level 30 or something in the third mind electric moles are keep pooping out and their damage range is large so it's easy to consume your stamina

    4. Improving tool is another annoying thing in the game. When you improve your tools to max level you still need to hit some threes and rocks a couple of times. It's kind of unnecessary to improve it to max level. Only benefit is just consumes less stamina, you have to hit sapling a couple times with max improved hammer.

    5. The most unnecessary DLC ever in gaming industry, 3 new island you just can fishing and talk to villagers. Just make the island bigger and add this characters in Olive Town rather than making this unnecessary DLC.

    6. You can't rotate furniture in the house. There’s only one way that you can put furniture, can’t also change design of the house like; roof, door, windows.    … Expand
  3. Eldwind
    Jul 5, 2021
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I have been a big fan of XSeed's Story of Seasons games for a long time now. The game that came out before this one, Trio of Towns, is my favorite installment in the series and rekindled my hope that the company had found it's stride in the genre.

    Pioneers of Olive Town however, leaves a lot to be desired. The premise is the same as always, inherit a farm and take care of it while experience the idyllic farming life only a game can offer.

    This game specifically takes a huge turn towards hyper casual gameplay and over-reliance on the more recent staples that have been forming around the genre. Other Story of Seasons game all included varying levels of depth in farming, exploring and socializing. Well developed dialogue and the ease of immersion in the game's quaint environment and setting has always been a major selling point of the series.

    This time you will find familiar tropes you might recognize from games like Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley. It almost feels like XSeed's new game director just glanced at all the other, high-scoring games of the genre and decided to take a bit of everything, with little consideration to what purpose and how each part actually fit into their respective roles.

    Stardew has a museum? Good, let's stick a museum in our game as well, except it does nothing but sit there, completely empty at the start (despite having a good tenth of the town's residents working in it) for some god-forsaken reason which the game feels is inconsequential enough to not need explaining.

    Other games of the genre have events right? Let's throw some in there, but make them simple and generic so we don't actually have to create interesting dialogue or fit it into the larger (mostly non-existent) narrative for our game.

    Oh yeah, there's characters in the game. Let's give each a handful of generic dialogue and call it a day. Even the character's descriptions in-game are limited to their professions, a random piece of curiosity (used to play football, still exercises) and the gifts they like. I befriended half of the town only to realize each villager's dialogue was limited to about five or six dialogue boxes, each with two or three sentences. This was AFTER the developer released an update to improve the honestly horrible dialogue the game actually launched with. My in-game now husband still gives me the same generic comment that I probably have good taste after giving him the same gift for the 100th time, after getting married to him. And no, his dialogue didn't change very much as our relationship evolved, he just gained a couple of extra dialogue quotes which he cycled through.

    Hell, even the game's events seem completely out of place, a couple of times even including characters I hadn't even met yet giving me stuff (the fishing rod event for example) like they knew who I was. Often the events don't even include you - which I don't necessarily hate, but how do I know what is going on during someone's date in the woods as I just walked into the museum?

    The gameplay is an extremely simplified version of past entries of the series, which comes as a mixed bag. While it can be nice not to have to switch to a milker, then to a brush and finally to a clipper as I care for my animals, a lot of the entertaining intricacies of animal husbandry and farming have gone out of the window. Animals have both affection and happiness ratings but nothing beyond that. Same for plant care, which was simplified by having their quality being related to a generic farming skill and overall soil quality (which is one-time purchase thing).

    Overall, if you are entirely new to the series, or a very casual gamer who didn't quite enjoy the more in-depth mechanics or won't miss the varied and deep characters of past entries, you might enjoy this game for what it is. An incredibly generic, shallow and simplistic farming and social simulator.    … Expand
  4. Rsy6219
    Apr 18, 2021
    3
    If you are a long time player like myself, you’ll find yourself sorely disappointed with Pioneers of Olive Town.

    The blandness and lack of creativity of this game is obvious after completing the first month of the game. Completing the main story of refurbishing Olive Town is dull and simply uninspiring. Villagers do not have much to say to their new resident, expanding little upon their    If you are a long time player like myself, you’ll find yourself sorely disappointed with Pioneers of Olive Town.

    The blandness and lack of creativity of this game is obvious after completing the first month of the game. Completing the main story of refurbishing Olive Town is dull and simply uninspiring. Villagers do not have much to say to their new resident, expanding little upon their basic, one dimensional personalities. Even the villager you choose to be your spouse does not acknowledge the change in your relationship and simply repeats the one line that they were scripted. The only change in their monotonous routines is if a festival approaches.

    But even those monthly events lack the excitement and challenge most games in the past usually presented players. There is a underlining lack of pride or achievement that I used to feel when I finally grabbed first place at the cow competition or cooking festival like in the previous games. Do not expect these festivals to be what they once were, the only reward your farmer gains is a trophy to simply display on their mantle piece. The only positive aspect of this game is that the farming gameplay itself is still addictive. It’s fun to watch your crops and livestock grow. Gathering items is a lot easier as they are automatically are put into your inventory and you don’t have to waste time picking up the wood you just chopped. But then, once again failing us, are the makers. This was so poorly planned by Marvelous that I a shocked that no one thought it was a terrible idea. Unlike last game where you could put in multiple items into the makers, these new ones only allow you to process one item at a time. The barely superior value of a butter compared to a milk is hardly worth the tedious maker process. All in all, I am very disappointed with Marvelous’ abysmal game. Instead, I will go back and explore the colorful world of Rune Factory 4 while I wait for a farming game that isn’t as dull and dreary as this one was.    … Expand
  5. avara
    Jun 15, 2021
    3
    Possibly the worst SOS game made. Towns people are extremely boring, the makers are horrible and clog up your farm they are fixing this in the next patch. However, this does not change the fact that everything about this game is lacking.

    - Lack of story they ask you to build up the town but you barely do anything - Festivals suck the only fun one is the summer one with the barrels.    Possibly the worst SOS game made. Towns people are extremely boring, the makers are horrible and clog up your farm they are fixing this in the next patch. However, this does not change the fact that everything about this game is lacking.

    - Lack of story they ask you to build up the town but you barely do anything
    - Festivals suck the only fun one is the summer one with the barrels. Plus they took out all farming festivals and the cooking one :(
    - You are literally busy all day fussing with your makers in order to get enough mats to build things and upgrade your house

    On top of ALL this they just released one of the expansion pack features with a new town. Guess what though? The new town has new people living in it (including new marriage candidates), BUT otherwise, its empty.

    This game just screams lazy to me and I can't believe they released it in this state. I won't be buying future titles. I only gave it a 3 because its playable, but otherwise this is just a lifeless excuse for a farming sim.    … Expand
  6. Penguino
    Apr 4, 2021
    3
    The game is alarmingly dry, given that there's clearly a relationship building aspect to the game - the building itself is fast paced (everyone is neutral or loves everything(no hated gifts)). Even once you're in a relationship with a townie, they still speak with you as if you're new to the town. Cold, distant, bland. I've got about 9 hearts with Ralph and he still gives the "Hello."The game is alarmingly dry, given that there's clearly a relationship building aspect to the game - the building itself is fast paced (everyone is neutral or loves everything(no hated gifts)). Even once you're in a relationship with a townie, they still speak with you as if you're new to the town. Cold, distant, bland. I've got about 9 hearts with Ralph and he still gives the "Hello." Dialogue. One word dialogue after almost full hearts. And I'm only into my first autumn but 10/28 days of each season, NPCs only talk about events. I don't care about cutscene events, tell me about YOU. There's no point in there even being a town building relationship aspect if it's pointless to build their points up. That being said, I feel like that's almost half of the game on its own being pointless. I hope the updates fix this.… Expand
  7. Oleg_Dyatlov
    Apr 13, 2021
    1
    Incredible boring "Harvest Moon" game I must say. The game has like NO soul. The characters is flat, the dialog is so bad that this game feels like an aprils fools day joke. They saw how popular Animal Crossing was and tried to copy that - But it failed big time. The whole game feels irrelevant, boring, bad music, bad framerate (the game is lagging when it rains) You could have told meIncredible boring "Harvest Moon" game I must say. The game has like NO soul. The characters is flat, the dialog is so bad that this game feels like an aprils fools day joke. They saw how popular Animal Crossing was and tried to copy that - But it failed big time. The whole game feels irrelevant, boring, bad music, bad framerate (the game is lagging when it rains) You could have told me this was produced by 5 people over a weekend. The dialog with you wife do never change. She always say the same boring thing like "Hi" and "Morning" - I mean, come on? We´re in 2021 and this was the best you could do? I will look forward to explore other farming games (or play some old ones) in the future. When a game can be THAT BAD, then its just the end for me supporting this company.… Expand
  8. woodydave44
    Apr 5, 2021
    3
    So after several hours of playing this game. I have come to the conclusion that this game is either unfinished, or content was cut in order to sell it back to you as the DLC content. Anyways, a rant as I am extremely disappointed with this game.

    I've played several farming SIM games this year like many people. This one by far hits bottom tier. The lack of content is staggering in    So after several hours of playing this game. I have come to the conclusion that this game is either unfinished, or content was cut in order to sell it back to you as the DLC content. Anyways, a rant as I am extremely disappointed with this game.

    I've played several farming SIM games this year like many people. This one by far hits bottom tier. The lack of content is staggering in comparison to other farming sims and even other SoS games. FoMT has a decent sized map. Stardew valley had a humungous map. My time in Portia had a huge overworld. This game? Your farm, a small town, and a few tiny side areas? What's even worse, the small side areas you do get aren't even connected to the main world, you just talk to the sprite, and "poof" you're there. There also nothing really new in these side areas aside from a few exceptions. Oh, an extra area to hit rocks and cut wood? Really? I feel like the DLC they are paywalling was perhaps cut from the game in order to sell it back to you?

    Lag. What is this? No other games on my switch have this fps issue. None. My time in Portia, which has a massive overworld, has 0 framerate issues on the switch. This by itself tells me that this game wasn't finished. This is something I expect from an early access title.

    Makers. Who is their right mind thought these were a good idea? Other games realized the problem with these things (such as clutter), and had work arounds. Stardew Valley had the shed to place them in. Portia has the workshop. My farm is littered with ingot and wood makers. I have heard people put them in the secret areas, but that just seems like something the players thought to do, not something that was intended.

    Villagers. They all seem lifeless. There's almost no variation to their daily lives. Their dialog also seems like it took a day to write all of it.

    In comparison, where's examples of other games.

    https://stardewvalleywiki.com/Emily

    https://mytimeatportia.fandom.com/wiki/Emily#Sunday

    Festivals. Were these just an afterthought? There's like, 0 effort put into these. A few flags and dialog change? A quick cutscene? Other farm sims transform the entire town to fit the current holiday theme. PooT does almost nothing and I don't even realize half the time that something is even going on.

    This

    https://www.vg247.com/2021/03/25/story-seasons-olive-town-egg-hunt/

    Compared to this

    https://stardewvalleywiki.com/Spirit%27s_Eve

    or this

    https://mytimeatportia.fandom.com/wiki/Day_of_Memories

    So. Why am I ranting so much and comparing this game to others? Games are supposed to be different. Different developers do things differently, so why so upset? Well, heres why.

    Portia was developed by a team of I think less than 10 people? They are an indie company that gets crowd funding to make their games.

    https://mytimeatportia.fandom.com/wiki/My_Time_at_Portia_Wiki

    Stardew valley is made by ONE PERSON. Yet the amount of content and effort put into the game is massive. He also began development of the game with 0 coding knowledge when he started.

    https://stardewvalleywiki.com/Stardew_Valley_Wiki

    Marvelous games is an established company with hundreds of employees, with a huge list of games across several console generations. This is the best they could come up with? Is this a joke? If not, its a down right embarrassment.

    Also, another addition. This game is not even out yet, and is already vastly superior in every way. Again, made by a small indie studio that required crowdfunding to even proceed.

    https://coralisland.fandom.com/wiki/Coral_Island_Wiki    … Expand
  9. Shayla1993
    Mar 25, 2021
    2
    The game feels like work. Trees, rocks, and weeds come back way too quickly so its impossible to keep you farm clear. Makers can only make one of a thing at a time so if you want lumber you have to make one at a time. Making things and repairing things costs alot of resources so it takes forever. All in all I regret buying this game.
  10. arijamas
    Mar 25, 2021
    1
    worst story of seasons/harvestmoon ever, dry dialogue, No animal or harvest festivals, festivals in general are just cutscenes, i thought it was to be a mini games, talking to people is boring, everyone face stays the same feels like talking to wall or a robot, dont buy it until they fixed this mess
  11. Phuz
    Feb 12, 2022
    0
    I am really sick of buying kids games where they use stupid, unnecessary slang, or write the sound instead of the word, at an age where kids are developing English skills, words like 'em instead of them and developin', instead of developing is just ridiculous. I would not have bought the game if I thought it was going to de-educate them.

    I have noticed this in adult RPG's too and it just    I am really sick of buying kids games where they use stupid, unnecessary slang, or write the sound instead of the word, at an age where kids are developing English skills, words like 'em instead of them and developin', instead of developing is just ridiculous. I would not have bought the game if I thought it was going to de-educate them.

    I have noticed this in adult RPG's too and it just sounds retarded. I use slang as much as the next man but writing it sounds dumb.

    Can you imagine a Scouse character: alrixxqqwhhqqxt maxxccqqkkhhte, cxxggome 'edqqqckkgh.    … Expand
  12. Azhyre
    Aug 17, 2023
    4
    Pros:
    - Smooth/attractive graphics
    - Solid movement and interaction Cons: - Bland, flavorless town and characters Not a single NPC has an interesting personality. Several of them have distinct appearances, but not the majority. I can’t really tell the difference between four of the male romance options, and the fifth one is a generic ~*~ Traditional/Ye Olde Japanese ~*~ NPC. All that any    Pros:
    - Smooth/attractive graphics
    - Solid movement and interaction

    Cons: - Bland, flavorless town and characters

    Not a single NPC has an interesting personality. Several of them have distinct appearances, but not the majority. I can’t really tell the difference between four of the male romance options, and the fifth one is a generic ~*~ Traditional/Ye Olde Japanese ~*~ NPC. All that any of them will talk about in the beginning is how much they want more tourists. Coming on the heels of replaying Trio of Towns, this was a complete shock. Unfortunately bought on Switch, so no refunds.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

25
#25 Most Discussed Switch Game of 2021

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
71

Mixed or average reviews - based on 60 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 27 out of 60
  2. Mixed: 31 out of 60
  3. Negative: 2 out of 60
  1. Nintendo Force Magazine
    Oct 6, 2021
    65
    It feels like the very narrow gap between Japan's release date and ours worked against it, and I would not have minded waiting a few more months for a more polished final release. [Issue #53 – July/August 2021, p. 72]
  2. Universo Nintendo
    Jun 9, 2021
    80
    Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town shows that the franchise can maintain its established formula by taking risks in other ways like Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing without the fear of losing its own charm. A game recommended for both fans and newcomers to the farming experience.
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  3. Checkpoint Gaming
    May 29, 2021
    70
    While I do have a few complaints with Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town, overall I really enjoyed the time that I spent with the game. The actual meat of the gameplay is really satisfying with a lot of more modern gameplay ideas to freshen up the already well-loved franchise. The characters are very sweet and lovely and the cows are so round and adorable.
    Read full review
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