Harvestella Reviews
Harvestella is the secret best game you probably haven't played yet.
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.
For the right players, Harvestella is a game of the year (or even generation) contender. Everyone else might be left wondering what they are missing.
Harvestella may have unsightly character models and rote combat, but it offers a satisfying blend of farming sim and action RPG that scratches the itches it's supposed to.
Harvestella is a basic JRPG and Farming Sim that just never seems to stick the landing on any of its mechanics or narrative. It starts out fun and then eventually becomes a chore with unskippable cutscenes.
Harvestella is a fresh take on life-sims that wears many different hats well, but doesn’t always know when to wear them.
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!
Harvestella is rough around the edges, and it's not particularly accomplished at anything it sets out to do, but it's a fun, engaging farming sim at its core, and certainly worth a look for fans of the genre.
Overall, Harvestella is a mixed bag of a JRPG with many flaws but also many great, engaging elements. As a result, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone except those who especially love farming simulators and classic JRPGs.
Harvestella is more than the sum of its parts, but it tries to merge some different gameplay souls into one nonetheless, resulting in a lack of depth in any of these.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Harvestella cultivates its characters and story, but other mechanics aren't quite as ripe.
At full price, it’s a hard pill to swallow picking up Harvestella, when there are many strong efforts with indie titles which manage to pull of much of what Harvestella has to offer. But with a discount, it can be a worthwhile experience.
This is a game with a lot of heart that I kept wanting to explore even with its messier aspects. If you're looking for a farm sim mixed with a JRPG or a JRPG mixed with a farm sim, this is perfect for you. And if you go into it with the right mindset, you'll enjoy the relaxing stroll of this world and its gameplay.
Harvestella isn't going to remove Rune Factory from existence, but it has a lot of potential as a strong competitor. This first (and hopefully not only) outing has an extremely strong basis and manages to hit a lot of the high marks of JRPG-style farming simulation, while having enough of its own personality to avoid feeling like a clone. Only the overly stiff combat and general simplicity of the game hold it back from being as good as its obvious inspirations. It's so close to being great that it's easy to imagine a sequel hitting all of the marks. There's a lot to like here if you can get past the slow start, and by the time I finished the game, I felt almost as satisfied as I was with Rune Factory 5. Harvestella is absolutely worth a look if you're a fan of the Rune Factory franchise and want to see a different developer's take on the concept.
Harvestella is an interesting concoction of a JRPG experience merged with farming, which results in pure escapist fun. The combat and farming aspects are by no means elaborate, but their simplistic approach creates a relaxing atmosphere that is great to play in short bursts.
While Harvestella takes a while to get going, the journey is rich, rewarding and wholesome. For a genre that is usually the province of the mid-tier developers, having something like this that doesn’t cut corners, doesn’t feel like a series of concessions and feels creatively liberating is an inherent joy. Many years ago I read a wonderful analysis of Harvest Moon that effectively argued that the series has been so popular in Japan for so long because farming is a genuinely aspirational pursuit to so many people, who feel locked into soul-crushing and exhausting work in concrete jungles. That being the case, the pure fantasy escapism of Harvestella makes a particularly potent example of its little genre indeed, and for just about anyone on the planet right now, this is exactly what we needed.
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.
Harvestella doesn't deliver the farm sim that it promises, which is one of its great positive points, but it does bring one of the most consistent RPGs of the recent Square Enix era.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
I’ve seen a lot of people complain that Harvestella is just another farming game, when in reality, it’s a full blown RPG that has farming as an economical side quest that’s meant to boost the RPG side of things, and I think that’s an amazing touch.
Harvestella is a mix between a JRPG and a farm simulator with touches of social simulation. With a story full of mysteries and challenges and a farm to take care of, the game offers more than 60 hours of gameplay.
Review in Spanish | Read full review