Harvestella Reviews

Harvestella is ranked in the 60th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
8.5 / 10.0
Nov 18, 2022

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.

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Nintendo Blast
Lucas Oliveira
9 / 10.0
Nov 18, 2022

HARVESTELLA is yet another great release from Square Enix. The neat plot, the beautiful and accurate soundtrack, the charismatic characters and the simple but enjoyable combat, make the title one of the best experiences of this year.

Review in Portuguese | Read full review

Gameblog
KiKiToes
Top Critic
7 / 10
Nov 17, 2022

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!

Review in French | Read full review

9 / 10.0
Nov 17, 2022

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.

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8 / 10.0
Nov 16, 2022

Harvestella is the perfect game to cuddle up on the couch with, preferably in handheld mode on Nintendo Switch or on Steam Deck. While it doesn’t deliver the best JRPG or farming sim, it is the only game that delivers both experiences at the same time, delivering a unique entry in a crowded genre that manages to be a breath of fresh air.

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7.5 / 10.0
Nov 16, 2022

Harvestella is a Frankenstein creature of several genres with a golden heart. It's one of the year's most soothing games, with an addicting gameplay cycle and some intriguing quests.

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Niche Gamer
bigbear51
Top Critic
6.5 / 10.0
Nov 16, 2022

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.

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4 / 5.0
Nov 15, 2022

Overall, I would definitely recommend Harvestella to fans of games such as Rune Factory or JRPGs like those in the Tales series. I would not necessarily recommend it to any fan of farming games, however. Definitely pick this game up if you are ready to focus primarily on questing and not farming. If you are used to more laid-back experiences like Stardew Valley or Story of Seasons, this game could serve as a nice introduction to JRPG elements.

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80 / 100
Nov 15, 2022

Harvestella isn’t trying to innovate anything. It’s a cozy throwback JRPG that stands apart by having a heavier emphasis on life sim elements. But it’s a story driven action JRG at its core, not a farming sim. Harvest Moon fans will probably be disappointed by its lack of farming mechanic depth, but fans of classic JRPGs who don’t normally love life sim games might really love it. Anyone who really enjoyed Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin, or the multi-gameplay-style of the ActRaiser games should really take note.

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8.5 / 10.0
Nov 15, 2022

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.

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Nov 15, 2022

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.

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6.8 / 10.0
Nov 14, 2022

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

7 / 10.0
Nov 14, 2022

A good mix between life-sim and GdR, Harvestella seems to be a game addressed to the less experienced players, rather than the expert ones.

Review in Italian | Read full review

3.5 / 5.0
Nov 13, 2022

Harvestella attempts to create a unique gaming experience by combining farming and life sim elements with action RPG elements.

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Nov 11, 2022

Harvestella stumbles before it finds a decent pace, with the biggest drawbacks being the slow start and temperamental graphics. If you can get past these shortcomings, there’s plenty to be enjoyed here and a hefty completion time to keep you busy. While it offers an enjoyable blend of RPG meets life sim, there isn’t enough substance on either side to take the game from good to great.

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8 / 10
Nov 11, 2022

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.

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Unscored
Nov 11, 2022

An engrossing JRPG that uses the framing of a life sim to ground its twisty and overblown story.

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INVEN
Top Critic
7 / 10.0
Nov 10, 2022

Are you looking for a fantasy life with beautiful scenery and deep stories? 'Harvestella' can be one of your choices only if you are okay with suffering from terrible management system for stamina and time. While the combat system is okay at least, overall motion is somewhat awkward. Also, Insufficient convenience features are enough to make you think the game has a pretty big room for improvement.

Review in Korean | Read full review

Nov 10, 2022

Harvestella is a game full of immersive environments, beautiful music, and an engaging and meaningful narrative for both its world and main characters, which is enough to redeem the game's more mediocre elements. There are several areas of Harvestella, like it farming, animations, and social simulation elements that would have greatly benefited from more depth and care put into them, but despite these flaws the game manages to be incredibly addictive. It's easier to notice these issues when comparing Harvestella to games like Rune Factory, but standing on its own Harvestella is a fairly strong title that's worth players' time. It may not be perfect, but it's very easy for players to fall into a "just one more day" loop in Harvestella nonetheless as they uncover the mysteries of its universe.

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Nov 10, 2022

Harvestella is a rather blurry but calming and eventful RPG farming simulator that fails to capture the beauty in its two primary genres. Its gameplay is busy, often distracting, and ultimately leaves plenty to be desired. While this game is definitely enjoyable to play, it just doesn’t quite hit the mark, nor does it bring the exciting unique style it so adamantly promised.

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