Story of Seasons Reviews
The basic loop is fun for a while, but the repetition and slow payoff make it difficult to stay interested
Despite its nagging restrictions, Story of Seasons is an absorbing farming game with a wonderful sense of progression.
Story of Seasons is a refreshing game offering a positive place of escape, and while it is definitely a niche title, it gets everything it does right.
Story of Seasons is probably the best Harvest Moon game to come along in ten to twelve years, depending on if you believe Magical Melody or Friends of Mineral Town was the last great installment in the series.
Story of Seasons looks fantastic, feels great, and offers an overabundance of things to do and places to see. It's a farmer's paradise, though its almost excruciatingly slow tutorial and internship will take a large amount of patience to get through if you're to see all the game has to offer, and there is a lot. Expect to clear your calendar for this excellent portable farming sim, as you'll be spending several hours turning a profit to impress the townsfolk of Oak Tree Town, your future husband or wife, or even your friends playing alongside you.
I played a lot of Animal Crossing last year, in the process rekindling my love for life sims. Playing Story of Seasons was a much different experience because it's more fast-paced and goal-oriented. It's not too unlike past Harvest Moon games, but it's a worthwhile entry nonetheless. There's a lovely little game to uncover here, though it'll likely take you a couple dozen hours to really get things going. That said, the time investment is certainly worth it, because at the end of the day, you're left with a fine farming sim that's totally rewarding.
Story of Seasons is a niche game for an extremely small crowd. It's not bad and as another in this small genre, it's good. The slow pace and plethora of tasks can be overwhelming at first, accompanied by a slow start, but those who put in the time will reap its rewards. Fans of Nintendo's Animal Crossing series will feel at home and enjoy this as well. And to other gamers, like this one, maybe it's time to branch out the old genre branch.
Extensive in-game content and its new ideas attached to series' staples give us an accomplished beginning to a new name. The game does turn out to be a somewhat light on top, commanding little attention at all in its first month, but with eventually engaging gameplay and overall appeal, it will undoubtedly hook players with its charm in due time. Marvelous hasn't lost their spark for creating a farming game worth picking up, and for that, we're grateful.
Story of Seasons may rightfully belong in the Harvest Moon family, but it's a strong enough entry to stand on its own. Taking familiar gameplay elements such as farming and the romance system, this title uses the framework that came before it and expands on that in many positive directions. It may not be the most polished game, with its finicky frame rate and an underwhelming 3D display, but the charming characters and satisfying gameplay make this a game worth any Harvest Moon fan's time. If you're looking to start a relaxing new virtual life full of charm and charisma, look no further than Story of Seasons.
Overall, the classic Harvest Moon formula continues to thrive in Story of Seasons with some new features and touch-ups to keep it entertaining and enjoyable for fans. The amount of customization, emphasis on connectivity, and improvement on familiar activities present in past instalments are features that make the game a solid instalment in the Harvest Moon series.
I suspect a chunk of Harvest Moon's veterans will skip Story of Seasons on account of its general resemblance to prior entries, but that would be a real gaffe since Story of Seasons is one of the finest iterations in years. While it lacks the outright ambition present in Natsume's recent interpretation of the franchise, it utterly nails the atmosphere and offers impeccable trimmings that just might win over fans experiencing barnyard burnout. It goes without saying that those uninitiated in the ways of life on the virtual ranch had best brace themselves for hundreds of hours to be sapped away
Story of Seasons, for all intents and purposes, is Harvest Moon without the title, and continues the series' tradition of making the mundane into compelling gameplay.
Harvest Moon titles have always been a little offbeat, but unfortunately the last few entries in the series have strayed from the series' original focus – farming – complicating the franchise's...
Far superior to the latest game that got to be named Harvest Moon.
Story of Seasons is a strong entry in this venerable series of sim games. It includes a ton of activities, some nice system upgrades like streamlined farming and complex manufacturing huts, and a much-improved localization over previous titles. It's a bit lacking in the story department and has a few questionable design decisions like the spread-out rental fields and a lack of farming help, but farming fans should be quite pleased with the overall experience. In a world where most simulation games have moved to the mobile marketplace and include obnoxious timers and microtransactions, it's wonderful to see this good old series keep evolving and improving. Farm on, my friends, farm on.
Story of Seasons is a very run of the mill farming sim. It doesn't elevate the genre and it is a very long and tedious endeavour. It does have an unbelievable amount of options and fans of the genre that don't look for much will most likely be satisfied. For everyone else, though, it all just takes way too long to get interesting and is a sloppy game with a lot of slowdown. Never mind that there is an unfathomable amount of busy work the game calls gameplay, the rewards don't feel worth the effort. Are there better farming games out there? Probably, but Story of Seasons should be commended for how much content was put into it, even if most of it feels hollow.
I cannot suggest Story of Seasons to everybody, but those who like the idea of a calming experience that lets you peacefully escape to a charming world should definitely consider Story of Seasons. If you can get over a painfully long opening before the game opens up and lets you actually play the game, a poor soundtrack, and dull characters, you will be rewarded with an engaging world and a ton of variety and options. It is a fun, relaxing experience – just remember that it is anything but perfect.
Story of Seasons' kept me occupied for well over 30 hours, and even then I could have kept playing until the cows came home. It took awhile for the interesting options for running my farm and business to open up, but the mix of strategy and good old-fashioned simulation made it all worthwhile. It may not have the prestigious Harvest Moon name, but Story of Seasons is definitely the bees' knees.
Barring the frame rate drops and sometimes clunky interface, if you're looking into getting into the genre, Story of Seasons definitely does the job well and will easily occupy you with fun and addictive gameplay for hours on end.
Story of Seasons doesn't rewrite the book on farming sims, but it's a big, healthy break from the Harvest Moon series that adds a few strong new ideas. It's Harvest Moon in everything but name, and one of the best of this kind of game to come along in a while.