Harvestella Review: ’tis the season
A land at the mercy of the Seaslights — vibrant crystals that control the seasons. A people hesitant to venture too far past their city walls for fear of monsters and omens. A girl from the sky, convinced she hails from a faraway future. And you: a traveller. An amnesiac. A survivor of the deadly season Quietus. An unlikely hero. A ray of hope.
So begins Harvestella, a JRPG/farm sim-lite developed and published by Square Enix. Available on PC and Switch, Harvestella’s genre-blending will obviously feel familiar to Rune Factory fans while other facets will remind players of a plethora of beloved JRPG classics. And for good reason — the team behind Harvestella includes producer/game designer Daisuke Taka (Another Eden), director and scenario writer Hiroto Furuya (Another Eden), programming director Naoyuki Ukeda (Rune Factory/Lufia), composer Go Shiina (God Eater/Demon Slayer), art director Yoichi Kubo (Final Fantasy X, Final Fantasy XIII), and — my personal favorite — concept artist Isamu Kamikokuryu (Final Fantasy X/Final Fantasy XIII).
With such a pedigree, Harvestella aims to please, but does it hit its target?
As mentioned before, Harvestella has players taking on the role of an amnesiac traveller who has suddenly appeared in Lethe Village during Quietus, a dangerous day-long season of death. Villagers know that venturing outside their homes during Quietus is a one-way ticket to the grave, so your appearance and subsequent survival leaves them puzzled. Wary but welcoming, the villagers give you free reign over an abandoned shed on the outskirts of town and teach you the basics of farming. You see, Lethe Village is ruled by the Seaslight, a crystal that dictates each season will last 30 days with a period of Quietus between them where everything dies. You don’t remember anything? Ah well… perhaps you’ll recover your memory in time; until then, there are crops to attend to, livestock to raise, fish to catch, villagers to interact with, and adventures to undertake.
The farming portion of Harvestella features some interesting choices that make more sense when balanced against the RPG aspects. To quickly sum, it would be hard to argue that farming is the main component of Harvestella when it largely feels like it primarily exists to fund dungeon-crawling. Like most farming sims, you’ll wake up early in the morning and be given the opportunity to get right to work in the fields, planting, watering, and harvesting crops. Harvested crops go in a chest, ready to be picked up and sold at a random price. Seeds are seasonal and can either be purchased in town or found in dungeons, making it fairly easy to just plant whatever you pick up while out adventuring.
Speaking of adventuring, Harvestella will be something of a homecoming for those of us who cut our teeth on the dungeon-crawlers of the PS2 era. The familiar gameplay is all there — diving into a map that opens up as pathways are discovered, enemies to battle, and treasure to plunder — but there are a number of little changes that would have felt like quality of life updates to games like .hack//IMOQ two decades ago. Harvestella’s dungeons feature save spots, allowing players to pop in and out of dungeons as needed, as well as potential shortcuts to create should players have the right tools. In addition to regular enemies, there are also gigantic monsters called “FEAR” whose levels are far too high to win against, so tiptoeing around them unnoticed is key. Finally, there are occasional random encounters with items where a choice will need to be made — do you eat that unidentified mushroom or not? Do you try to reach across a long drop for an item or pass? Each choice has a risk, but there’s also a potential for reward. Choose wisely.
Although Harvestella admittedly feels shallow at first (specifically the farming), I found a lot to love about it. As a tank-style player, combat made perfect sense to me; charging headfirst into battle is my standard M.O., a task made even easier knowing your party members will handle themselves. I also appreciated the job system, not only for its progressive complexity but how jobs are even acquired — through party members. A haughty unicorn teaching me magic was certainly a memorable experience, even if it isn’t my favorite class. And, strangely enough, I am thrilled to finally play a dungeon-crawler where enemies don’t drop money. That’s right — money is earned through farming, not killing wild beasts who just so happen to have pocket change on them. At last, it makes sense!
I know I haven’t mentioned the aesthetics yet, and that’s honestly because I’m having a hard time putting into words just how comfortable everything felt. First, the music — it’s energizing in a way that sets the scene for each diverse biome, staying true to the cultural themes found throughout. But what really got me on an emotional level were the environments. I kept thinking to myself “I know this place, this is Final Fantasy X” (on some levels more than others), only to look up the dev team and see the same concept artist for Final Fantasy X. As the tenth mainline installment of the Final Fantasy franchise is my all-time favorite game, this was something that really hit home for me and felt truly special. Unfortunately, one noticeable issue with Harvestella is that it is strangely fuzzy at times; I wondered if I was imagining it at first but it’s pretty consistent, especially during outdoor cutscenes. Hopefully this is something the team can address in a future patch, as it is a small distraction in an otherwise visually arresting game.
If there’s one important thing to impart about Harvestella, it’s that this is one of the strongest contenders I’ve played in recent memory for pure subjectivity when it comes to enjoyment. Each of its strengths can be perceived as a weakness and vice versa. For example, I prefer tank-style combat (I always choose two-handed tank in Skyrim, never stealth archer), so your mileage may vary if you play differently. Fans of deep farming sims like Stardew Valley might grumble at the lack of depth when it comes to economical gameplay and tactics, but I found its simplicity to complement other features nicely, the game prioritizing storyline over bogged down mechanics. Simply put, if you’re a straightforward kinda gamer who likes a clear sense of quick progression without too much fiddling with things like prices of cabbage or more strategic combat options like ducking and parrying, Harvestella should be on your list.
Harvestella is hard to readily recommend to the farming simulator crowd, but for those who miss PS2-era JRPGs/dungeon-crawlers, this is not a game you’ll want to pass up. Everything here feels comfortable but fresh, like a beloved, clearly worn jacket tailored to current measurements. Its streamlined approach to farming allows players to focus on a rich story set in an even richer world, featuring exploration and combat mechanics that actually make you want to stick around in the dungeons for hours. If you’re looking for a JRPG/farming sim that doesn’t compromise on story or beauty but allows you to turn your brain “off” after a long day, Harvestella is ripe for picking.
Final Verdict: 4/5
Available on: PC, Switch (reviewed); Publisher: Square Enix; Developer: Square Enix; Players: 1; Released: November 4, 2022; MSRP: $59.99
Editor’s note: This review is based on a retail copy of Harvestella provided by the publisher.
