Support NeoGAF

[Komatsu]

Developer: Square Enix
Publisher: Square Enix
Platform(s): Nintendo Switch, PC (Steam)
Release Date: November 4th, 2022
Genre: Farming Sim/RPG
Format: Physical, Digital Download
Price: Standard Edition - $59.99

HARVESTELLA, an all-new life-simulation RPG from SQUARE ENIX!​

Our protagonist awakens during the height of Quietus, a disaster that visits with the changing of each season – and a threat to all life.Lead a life of self-sufficiency with your vibrant house as a base and cooperate with allies to overcome various threats, all as you draw ever closer to the truth behind the disasters and the very world’s creation!

Quietus​

The season of death that visits with the changing of the seasons. Plants wither. People cannot even walk around outside, due to the dust of death that fills the air. And each year, Quietus persists for longer and longer…

World​

Nemea Town, where cherry trees bloom all year round. Shatolla, a seaside town home to a bustling tavern. Lethe Village, resplendent in the vibrant colours of the four seasons. The Holy Capital of Argene, cloaked in snow. Use the world map to travel to all these settlements and their respective dungeons. You will have to traverse beautiful, treacherous paths to reach the Seaslights – four giant crystals that govern the seasons.

​

Daily Life​

Grow fruit, vegetables and crops in your fields to either sell or use as crafting materials. If you use the produce you’ve grown in your cooking, the food will grant extremely helpful effects for your adventures, such as HP recovery or temporary stat boosts! It might also be a good idea to take care of some plump cluffowl birds, dignified goat-like woolum, and a pet totokaku.

Allies​

Shrika, a missionary searching for a new form of faith. Heine, a pompous gentleman mechanic.Asyl, descendent of the Wind poem people. And Aria, a mysterious girl who claims to have come from the future. Cooperate with – and sometimes clash with – your allies, including these characters among others. Reach a deeper mutual understanding by facing their worries and their way of life head on.

​

​

Combat​

Overcome battles by switching seamlessly between jobs during combat – including the Fighter, adept with swift sword techniques, the Shadow Walker, which deals critical wounds with twin blades, or the Mage, specialising in magic attacks. When faced with a mighty foe, skilfully target their weak points to inflict the Double Break state and take them down in an instant!

*Text taken from game's Steam page

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS​

• MINIMUM:
  • Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
  • OS: Windows® 10 / Windows® 11 64-bit
  • Processor: AMD A8-7600 / Intel® Core™ i3-3210
  • Memory: 8 GB RAM
  • Graphics: AMD Radeon™ R7 260X / NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 760 / Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics G7
  • DirectX: Version 11
  • Storage: 20 GB available space
  • Additional Notes: 1280x720 @ 30 FPS Supports Keyboard, Mouse and Gamepad.
• RECOMMENDED:
  • Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
  • OS: Windows® 10 / Windows® 11 64-bit
  • Processor: AMD Ryzen™ 3 1200 / Intel® Core™ i5-3330
  • Memory: 8 GB RAM
  • Graphics: AMD Radeon™ RX 470 / NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1060 (3GB)
  • DirectX: Version 12
  • Storage: 20 GB available space
  • Additional Notes: 1920x1080 @ 60 FPS Supports Keyboard, Mouse and Gamepad.

WHERE TO BUY​

 

[Komatsu]

Saving this for future use.

 

[MAtgS]

Important question, does the game have any marriable women who are either:
A. Redheads
B. Tomboys
C. Redhraded tomboys

 

[Comandr]

So I've had a real hard on for farming games lately and boy did I get burned here. Customization sucks. You can choose male, female, or non-binary, and they all look exactly the same. The amount of time it takes to get from start to actual first time farming and every day gameplay loop feels like FOREVER. It's a slog. And frankly, I just found the world to be ugly. Giant swirly crystals might have been novel in FF14, TWELVE years ago. Now I can't stand them.

You get dumped into the game and thrust into the middle of some epic story you're told to care about before you even know anyone's name. The farming/combat gameplay loop doesn't feel good, and days pass way too quickly. SO MANY CUTSCENES.

Coral Island is much less finished than this game and plays so much better. It feels like Square is just checking a box here. Okay the producer said make a farming combat game that's totally not Rune Factory. Here ya go.

Refunded this shit fast af.

 

[Captain Toad]

Square, I love you, but no.

 

[Killer8]

Important question, does the game have any marriable women who are either:
A. Redheads
B. Tomboys
C. Redhraded tomboys

It's called a partnership, bigot:

Romance will not be restricted to gender in Harvestella. According to Hiroto Furuya, who is the game director, there won’t be any restrictions with who the player can choose to initiate a partnership with.

This is actually why Harvestella calls it a Partnership rather than marriage. Furuya states that gender is not important to him and that Partnership is an image of choosing a life partner.

 

[BadBurger]

The game plays great on Steam Deck. I started on my desktop PC but it's pretty much overkill. I also tried the demo on my Switch OLED but that version is really hampered. Low fps, bad textures, etc.

I figure I should pursue homegirl into the mountains rather than worry about farming early on?

 

[Freeman76]

I was gutted they didnt bring this to other consoles but judging by reviews im not missing much. This game looks like everything I would want too!

 

[Spukc]

Play this instead

 

[BadBurger]

I was gutted they didnt bring this to other consoles but judging by reviews im not missing much. This game looks like everything I would want too!

It's good, especially on Deck (something about the smaller screen really makes the visuals pop), but it takes a long time to get going. It feels like the first four hours are just a tutorial.

It's also ultra JRPG. Imagine Final Fantasy 15 turned up to eleven. Exhibit A

And B

 

[Kagoshima_Luke]

I think so many people expected Star Dew Valley or something. The trailer was very clearly JRPG-heavy, with a side of farming. I bought because it looked like a 16-bit era, cheesy JRPG and I had a craving for that. As long as it meets that expectation, I'll be happy.

 

[jshackles]

I've been enjoying the game so far, but I'd agree that the beginning was a bit story-heavy.

Once you get into the real meat and potatoes of the game (about day 14ish?) then it starts to come together with an actual gameplay loop that makes sense. This game is definitely a JRPG with farming tacked on, rather than a farming game with RPG elements. It reminds me of the old style dungeon crawlers in a way, where you have to balance the time spent in the dungeon with progressing your farm and doing the chore work.

I really like this for what it is. But I'll be the first to admit that this should have been a $40 game.

 

[Kagoshima_Luke]

Play this instead

Just looked this up.

"Early Access"

 

[Spukc]

Just looked this up.

"Early Access"

yeah the fun bit is..
harvestalle is fucking alpha

 

[Bonsaibäumchen]

So I've had a real hard on for farming games lately and boy did I get burned here. Customization sucks. You can choose male, female, or non-binary, and they all look exactly the same. The amount of time it takes to get from start to actual first time farming and every day gameplay loop feels like FOREVER. It's a slog. And frankly, I just found the world to be ugly. Giant swirly crystals might have been novel in FF14, TWELVE years ago. Now I can't stand them.

You get dumped into the game and thrust into the middle of some epic story you're told to care about before you even know anyone's name. The farming/combat gameplay loop doesn't feel good, and days pass way too quickly. SO MANY CUTSCENES.

Coral Island is much less finished than this game and plays so much better. It feels like Square is just checking a box here. Okay the producer said make a farming combat game that's totally not Rune Factory. Here ya go.

Refunded this shit fast af.

Thanks dude I am craving a good farming game latley and was thinking about buying this game. Your summary saved me from making a mistake.
Maybe I'll test this once its way cheaper.

Once in a while I need a farming game like harvest moon or stardew valley. I just wish someone would make one thats less Anime/Cliche.
Stardew Valley was great but could have used a longer storyline and deeper combat mechanics.

 

[Impotaku]

Was interested then i came across this review & i'm gonna pass, it looks pretty but seems to have some weird & irritating design choices that totally have put me off especially in a game thats asking £50

 

[Comandr]

Thanks dude I am craving a good farming game latley and was thinking about buying this game. Your summary saved me from making a mistake.
Maybe I'll test this once its way cheaper.

Once in a while I need a farming game like harvest moon or stardew valley. I just wish someone would make one thats less Anime/Cliche.
Stardew Valley was great but could have used a longer storyline and deeper combat mechanics.

I've got about 600 hours clocked on Stardew Valley, and if you're lucky enough to be playing it on PC, get the Stardew Valley Expanded mod. Expanded is such an amazing creation, all new huge farm with tons of secrets, lots of new characters and quests, and the best part is - the content is almost indistinguishable from what ConcernedApe has made, so it doesn't feel cheap or fangamey. Beyond that, give Coral Island a try, it's a real love letter to Stardew, the same way Stardew was to Harvest Moon.

 

[Happosai]

Developer: Square Enix
Publisher: Square Enix
Platform(s): Nintendo Switch, PC (Steam)
Release Date: November 4th, 2022
Genre: Farming Sim/RPG
Format: Physical, Digital Download
Price: Standard Edition - $59.99

HARVESTELLA, an all-new life-simulation RPG from SQUARE ENIX!​

Our protagonist awakens during the height of Quietus, a disaster that visits with the changing of each season – and a threat to all life.Lead a life of self-sufficiency with your vibrant house as a base and cooperate with allies to overcome various threats, all as you draw ever closer to the truth behind the disasters and the very world’s creation!

Quietus​

The season of death that visits with the changing of the seasons. Plants wither. People cannot even walk around outside, due to the dust of death that fills the air. And each year, Quietus persists for longer and longer…

World​

Nemea Town, where cherry trees bloom all year round. Shatolla, a seaside town home to a bustling tavern. Lethe Village, resplendent in the vibrant colours of the four seasons. The Holy Capital of Argene, cloaked in snow. Use the world map to travel to all these settlements and their respective dungeons. You will have to traverse beautiful, treacherous paths to reach the Seaslights – four giant crystals that govern the seasons.

​

Daily Life​

Grow fruit, vegetables and crops in your fields to either sell or use as crafting materials. If you use the produce you’ve grown in your cooking, the food will grant extremely helpful effects for your adventures, such as HP recovery or temporary stat boosts! It might also be a good idea to take care of some plump cluffowl birds, dignified goat-like woolum, and a pet totokaku.

Allies​

Shrika, a missionary searching for a new form of faith. Heine, a pompous gentleman mechanic.Asyl, descendent of the Wind poem people. And Aria, a mysterious girl who claims to have come from the future. Cooperate with – and sometimes clash with – your allies, including these characters among others. Reach a deeper mutual understanding by facing their worries and their way of life head on.

​

​

Combat​

Overcome battles by switching seamlessly between jobs during combat – including the Fighter, adept with swift sword techniques, the Shadow Walker, which deals critical wounds with twin blades, or the Mage, specialising in magic attacks. When faced with a mighty foe, skilfully target their weak points to inflict the Double Break state and take them down in an instant!

*Text taken from game's Steam page

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS​

• MINIMUM:
  • Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
  • OS: Windows® 10 / Windows® 11 64-bit
  • Processor: AMD A8-7600 / Intel® Core™ i3-3210
  • Memory: 8 GB RAM
  • Graphics: AMD Radeon™ R7 260X / NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 760 / Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics G7
  • DirectX: Version 11
  • Storage: 20 GB available space
  • Additional Notes: 1280x720 @ 30 FPS Supports Keyboard, Mouse and Gamepad.
• RECOMMENDED:
  • Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
  • OS: Windows® 10 / Windows® 11 64-bit
  • Processor: AMD Ryzen™ 3 1200 / Intel® Core™ i5-3330
  • Memory: 8 GB RAM
  • Graphics: AMD Radeon™ RX 470 / NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1060 (3GB)
  • DirectX: Version 12
  • Storage: 20 GB available space
  • Additional Notes: 1920x1080 @ 60 FPS Supports Keyboard, Mouse and Gamepad.

WHERE TO BUY​

It's the one game I haven't shut up about since I saw the trailer and played the demo. Going for Steam and Switch.

I've been calling it Harvest Fantasy or Final Harvest Moonisty.

Thanks for the OP!

 

[Shake Your Rump]

I am surprised there are so few posts about this game. I tried the Switch demo yesterday and was hooked. Ordered the physical game and it arrived today, just after I finished the demo. I really like these “prologue” demos that allow you to continue right where you left off.

It’s pretty much an RPG with some crafting and farming. I like this. These sort of games usually are all farming or crafting, with generic combat on the side. The combat here isn’t deep, but it does seem to be the focus.

The game graphics are pretty low quality, and I’m not sure why. The sprites and characters look fine, but the rendered graphics are blurry in both handheld and docked mode.

It’s an A tier game, and currently priced appropriately at $50 CAD for the cart. It’s fun, has a lot of things to do already, and I’m only 15 days in. The job system, allowing switching on the fly, is a cool mechanic. I’ll have to see how this all pans out.

PS: looking over the pre-release topic and some people were spot-on. It’s reminiscent of Fantasy Life or Atelier. The music is also prime choice.

 

[Happosai]

I am surprised there are so few posts about this game. I tried the Switch demo yesterday and was hooked. Ordered the physical game and it arrived today, just after I finished the demo. I really like these “prologue” demos that allow you to continue right where you left off.

It’s pretty much an RPG with some crafting and farming. I like this. These sort of games usually are all farming or crafting, with generic combat on the side. The combat here isn’t deep, but it does seem to be the focus.

The game graphics are pretty low quality, and I’m not sure why. The sprites and characters look fine, but the rendered graphics are blurry in both handheld and docked mode.

It’s an A tier game, and currently priced appropriately at $50 CAD for the cart. It’s fun, has a lot of things to do already, and I’m only 15 days in. The job system, allowing switching on the fly, is a cool mechanic. I’ll have to see how this all pans out.

PS: looking over the pre-release topic and some people were spot-on. It’s reminiscent of Fantasy Life or Atelier. The music is also prime choice.

This was the JRPG I hyped most over for 2022. I'm glad to read someone does appreciate it. I think the release date was just poor timing. Pre-Christmas but at the height of GoW: Ragnarok's release. The demo sorta sold me too.

 

[Punished Miku]

50% off at Best Buy right now in the US.

 

[Dr. Wilkinson]

It’s a fun game. The combat is a bit mindless and the dungeons are very grindy. But if that’s your thing, it’s a great time. The music is also GOAT-tier

 

[Shake Your Rump]

50% off at Best Buy right now in the US.

I bought it for $45 in Canada (almost half price). I’m honestly not sure why they are asking $80 for this game. It’s an A-tier game production-wise, not even AA-tier. This should have been $65.

I still enjoy the game, but it does seem a bit mindless. The dialogue with NPCs is fairly weak. The combat and farming are both very simplistic.

I haven’t narrowed down if all jobs gain job points equally. At first it seemed only the job I used would gain points, but that is clearly not the case. Now I’m wondering if they gain reduced points.

 

[Punished Miku]

I bought it for $45 in Canada (almost half price). I’m honestly not sure why they are asking $80 for this game. It’s an A-tier game production-wise, not even AA-tier. This should have been $65.

I still enjoy the game, but it does seem a bit mindless. The dialogue with NPCs is fairly weak. The combat and farming are both very simplistic.

I haven’t narrowed down if all jobs gain job points equally. At first it seemed only the job I used would gain points, but that is clearly not the case. Now I’m wondering if they gain reduced points.

I didn't get it yet but I tried the demo. It does seem pretty low budget. I may get it at some point, but I'm still on the fence honestly. I've heard people like it but my opinions of the early content match what you're describing.

 

[Shake Your Rump]

I haven’t played a farming/life sim since Harvest Moon on SNES, so maybe all these games are like this. I’ve been tempted several times by Rune Factory, but I didn’t get the impression that combat was a major aspect. I enjoy how prominent combat in Harvestella. However, I now see that the game is essentially a standard JRPG.

 

[JayK47]

Playing this now. It is pretty addictive. Just odd and entertaining all around.

 

[JayK47]

Finished this finally. It dragged out for too long. My fault for doing all side quests and companion quests. The story is pretty crazy and drags you into some interesting areas. The art direction is weird. Overall about a 7/10.

 

[RaptorGTA]

Everytime i see it on sale, I'm tempted..but the demo really killed my interest in the game. I know they did alot of changes but yea. Just not sure.