HARVESTELLA
HARVESTELLA, an all-new life-simulation RPG from SQUARE ENIX! Lead a life of self-sufficiency with your vibrant house as a base and cooperate with allies to overcome various threats.
HARVESTELLA is a exploration, rpg and farming sim game
developed and published by Square Enix.
Released on November 04th 2022 is available only on Windows
in 8 languages: English, French, German, Spanish - Spain, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese.
It has received 2,207 reviews of which 1,722 were positive and 485 were negative resulting in a rating of 7.5 out of 10. 😊
The game is currently priced at 29.99€ on Steam and has a 50% discount.
The Steam community has classified HARVESTELLA into these genres:
Media & Screenshots
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Requirements
These are the minimum specifications needed to play the game. For the best experience, we recommend that you verify them.
Windows
- 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.
Reviews
Explore reviews from Steam users sharing their experiences and what they love about the game.
This is my favorite game of the last several years. The soundtrack from Go Shiina (God Eater, Tales of) is world-class, and the story is just as balls-crazy as you'd expect from a JRPG, but with an unexpectedly earnest optimism about the human condition that continually surprised me. The world-building is rich and the environments are visually stunning. Fans of the game will probably see as strengths the very same qualities that those with different taste would consider weaknesses. Namely, the simplicity and relatively shallow implementation of most of the game mechanics. There's enough complexity in combat and farming to allow for multiple viable strategies to choose between, as you would expect from an RPG, but not so much that you spend half your play time in menus fiddling with stats and equipment. Everything that would normally make a JRPG feel stressful or tedious has been removed or improved: [*] No grinding required. Just playing the main narrative at a steady pace and taking side quests as I came across them kept me appropriately-leveled for combat, without having to loop back around through previously-cleared areas just to grind for more XP so I didn't get my ass kicked, and without getting so OP that it sucked all the fun out of combat. Because of the day-night cycle, dungeons are designed to be completed in sections over the course of several in-game days, even taking long breaks in between if desired, so dungeon diving feels a lot more like "it's raining today, so no need to water my crops or pet my animals - let's go have a combat adventure and scoop up a bunch of dungeon goodies!" than "I am stuck in this godforsaken labyrinth until I beat it." [*] Clear and intuitive upgrade paths. While you can choose to unlock your skill trees for each of your combat jobs in any order, you can fully unlock the entire skill tree for every job. Every party member carries one weapon that's upgraded in a linear fashion, with each new dungeon you reach unlocking materials necessary for the next upgrade level, so you don't have to worry about whether you have the best weapons equipped - just keep upgrading until you reach an upgrade level where you haven't yet encountered the required materials and you know you've got the best weapons available thus far. [*] Satisfying even when played blind and unassisted. A thorough player who takes their time to explore and jots down their own notes while playing about where resources spawn/drop could feasibly 100% the game without ever needing to use a guide. There are no missables, no time-limited or failable missions, and no punishingly-low RNG drops, but there are still a handful of things you'll have to specifically work to achieve (e.g. accumulating enough HQ ingredients needed to cook the HQ version of every recipe to complete your Encyclopedia). Farming/sim fans should be aware that despite its marketing, this is an RPG with light farming sim elements, not a farming sim with RPG elements. And much the way they streamlined RPG mechanics to eliminate tedious repetitive grinding and make it easy to play blind, the same is true of the sim mechanics: [*] Farming primarily exists to support combat. You'll grow crops to make your own healing foods and juices, and to fund your weapon upgrades. Although you can continue playing for as long as you want, there just isn't much reason to keep farming after you've cleared the very last boss in the post-game dungeon and completed your encyclopedia. The closest thing to a Golden Clock end-game item that you spend a long time saving up for is just the last couple weapon upgrades that are crazy expensive. There aren't any late-game cosmetics or other non-combat incentives. [*] There's not much point trying to min-max your farm strategy unless you're a speedrunner. There certainly IS a min-max strategy, but the profit difference between the most and least profitable crops is relatively low. In many cases, raw produce sells for more than processed goods made from it. Ranching is especially shallow compared to other farming games - you can only get two kinds of animals (and each only comes in one color). Some will view this negatively, because it means there is no snowball strategy to getting stupid rich stupid fast through min-maxing. I view it positively, because it meant I could just play the game without constantly checking a guide. [*] NPC relationships are almost completely un-gamified, and romance is mostly not involved. Instead of building up a relationship through repetitive daily/weekly chores like talking to everyone every day, giving someone the exact same gift 100 times, and being rewarded with a special story event culminating in marriage, your relationship level with each party member increases every time you participate in a character story event with them, the storylines are basically platonic (although you can invite someone to live with you as your "partner" in the post-game, the dialogue in these scenes is vague enough that it can be easily be interpreted as conveying a close friendship or a marriage ), and you're rewarded with combat bonuses that apply whenever you have that character in your party and unique upgrade materials needed for that character's weapon. I found it a refreshing change from how mechanical relationships can be in other sims, and 8 out of the 10 character stories were so compelling that I was always excited to see what would happen next! Finally, players should be aware that this game was clearly made with an AA budget despite Square Enix pricing it like an AAA title. The character models are basic, heavily recycled, and have a limited pool of stiff animations, and when you pet your mount most of the time his entire head clips through your character's body. Dialogue is not voice-acted (though there are some voiced one-liners that you'll hear when your avatar walks near to an NPC) and there's a lot of text dialogue involved in the main scenario, side quests, and character stories. On the plus side, quest rewards are extremely lucrative, so completionists won't feel like they're trudging through all that text solely because it's required for 100%. As much as I love this game, I don't think $60 was the right price point. Luckily, SE puts it on sale for $30 pretty regularly these days, so you won't have to wait long if you want to hold out for that price. If you do love it, tell your friends, because there was so much potential here that could have been built on to make an even better sequel with a little bit more budget next time, but as of the time of this writing in 2024, the game has not sold anywhere near enough to warrant a sequel. I remain hopeful that against all odds it'll grow into a cult classic someday.
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This is the only game that made me fall in love with the graphics alone. It's mainly an RPG with some farming elements. It's not a game solely for farming alone. The rpg and story is pretty good and I finished it without too much difficulty. Story: The story drew me in, but didn't go how I thought. It was still interesting enough to keep playing. Even after the storyline you can complete the achievements/ goals, finish the character story lines, quests, job completion etc. Farming: You can store anything and access the items from various storage boxes throughout your farm. Sowing, harvesting makes the character feel slow and stiff which I find annoying. You have an achievements book for each of the four fairies with goals. You can purchase upgrades for livestock and farm size. The book lets you unlock better farm quality, machine upgrades etc. It's not the worst farming, but not the best either. If you want to get this game specifically for the farming, look elsewhere. Graphics; I fell in love with the graphics more than any game i've ever played. I love how the trees light up your farm, which change color depending on the season. I love how the giant crystals shine over the landscape and the small crystals shine and give off their own light. It's all enjoyable until a "you are sleepy" splashes across your screen and forces you to go to bed. Luckily screenshots are available to take and look at later. The graphics alone bring me back in now and then. Jobs: There are a variety of jobs to choose from. I have unlocked all but one. You play that job and unlock skills for it as you go, advancing in that job. You can continue playing each even after the story is over. Cooking: There are a variety of recipes you get. Some are unlocked through quests, some can be bought etc. You can do a group break scene with a dish and see how conversations play out. I didn't focus on this all that much, but it helps to have some on hand when fighting. If you are full, carry drinks. Marriage: This is the biggest joke and the worst marriage system in any game i've ever played. I waited the entire storyline to get married. It's nothing more than a roommate system. You are basically replacing Aria but with less dialogue. The character you chose makes about 2 comments on repeat. There is no getting rid of them either. The entire thing makes me feel like I got scammed. I married Brakka and regret it. Sarcastic little... Characters: Each party member has their own storyline that plays out over time allowing you to get closer to them. I love this feature in the game. Character Customization: I hope you love your character you choose in the beginning because you are stuck with them. No hairstyle changes, nothing. The only way they change their clothes is through job choices when fighting. Overall: If they ever make a Stardew Valley type game with harvestella graphics, I'd probably never stop playing lol. Sadly, it's not. It's a pretty good rpg and a pricey one at that. With enough gameplay, you should overcome the guilt eventually. If you love rpg's it's worth playing i guess. i can't really give a strong no or yes. I hope this was helpful enough to make your own choices.
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This is not a farming sim. This is a JRPG with farming elements. And as that, it is wonderful. The characters are loveable and I care about them, the world is interesting and has just enough little things that remind me of early Final Fantasy to feel charming, but not enough to feel boring or derivative. I thoroughly enjoyed learning more and slowly unravelling all the mysteries in the world. The gameplay was... fine. It wasn't revolutionary, or amazing, but it was still fun to play, and especially the farming felt very satisfying. Where the game, in my opinion, struggles a bit, is with pacing. The story starts out extremely slow, and while that might be nice to get attached to the world and the characters, the way it took quite long to even get to know all the characters meant that it was a bit of a drag in places. Towards the end, on the other hand, the story was basically moving at breakneck pace, and I felt like the farming part was just a chore instead of some welcome relaxation between exploring and fighting and new revelations. I found it very hard to stop following the story to do my farming and keep up my equipment. That's honestly a minor issue, compared to the good parts of the game, in my opinion, so it didn't detract from my enjoyment a lot. Overall, though, I still enjoyed the game a lot. I would recommend it, but it's a prime candidate for "Wait for a good sale".
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This review contains some thematic and related content spoilers for Harvestella. I have tried to avoid spoiling major events as much as possible throughout my review, but I also feel it's impossible to talk about and review Harvestella without talking about the game thematically in its entirety. What I talk about here may impact your first playthrough immensely, and I genuinely feel like a large part of the magic of Harvestella is going into it knowing next-to-nothing about it. In fact, I'd urge you to go into Harvestella completely blind, if possible. But for everyone else- those who are okay with reading about said thematic and related content spoilers: Let's begin. Described on the Steam store page as a farming sim, I'm sure many of us expected to be welcomed to a bright and colorful world, filled with townsfolk for us to help deal with simple day-to-day problems, maybe a few creatures to fight for crafting materials, a chance to escape our own everyday life by experiencing growing relationships with a charming cast of characters (maybe even finding love in the process), all while managing a farm of our very own. Sound familiar? Contrast that with Harvestella, in which you find yourself waking up in a drab, monotone world, being told by some random girl you've never seen before that "you have the power to save the world, but only if you learn to love it" - before passing out on a hill overlooking some gigantic, shiny, crystal-looking thing. You'll still find those farming sim systems you are expecting, but it should be immediately obvious that Harvestella is doing something different with them, here. Now, let's talk about what is (for many) the elephant in the room: The fact that Harvestella has no immediate voice acting whatsoever. That is, you'll hear when characters shout in battle, and hear occasional one-liners from your farm helpers and major named characters when you walk by them- but otherwise, in terms of voice acting, essentially, there is none. While I'd love to hear full voice acting if we ever do get a bigger-budget sequel, I'd also be perfectly fine if they continued with what was present here. (And speaking of voice acting, shoutout to Emo's 本当に戦うの？！and alternate ミイー！if you're close to a powerful boss enemy! She's so cute! Ahem, moving on...) Combat is also more on the bare-bones side, but once you learn how it properly works (that is, that certain combos can be strung together more easily depending on the skills you have unlocked), it starts to feel less clunky. It may not be enough for some, but I personally still enjoyed what was offered here- especially after unlocking late-game possibilities, like a fully kitted-out Sky Lancer, and my personal favorite job, the Pilgrim. I found Harvestella when I think I truly needed it most; after dealing with what was (for me) a terrible holiday season, I was looking for something cozy and simple to play, realized I hadn't yet played SquareEnix's new farming sim, and booted it up. As I got more and more drawn into the world- I found what that girl said to me started to ring true. Looking out at the waves of Shatolla after helping the local bartender with his latest issue, the gorgeous night theme washing over me (Go Shiina did a phenomenal job with Harvestella's soundtrack, by the way), I realized something. I was actually beginning to love this world. And, if pressed, I would absolutely want to save it, after all. In the end, I was genuinely surprised by just how much the jaded bitterness I was feeling when I started Harvestella, would become so relevant to the game's themes. And equally so, how the ending of Harvestella found me giving in to its relentless belief in the chance for a better future. Multiple aspects of Harvestella's story felt all too real, relevant, and relatable, to me. I'm not usually one to tell people how to play a game. If you play the opening hours and find that it's simply not for you, that's totally fair. But I also feel that Harvestella relies on you maybe initially being apathetic towards some of its more ridiculous side quests. That it relies on you gradually engaging more and more with the farming systems over time. That it relies on you not simply dropping it because it bores you, but in slowly allowing yourself to fall in love with the world. And I'd like to posit something opposite to many posts and comments and reviews I've seen: I believe that the absolute mundanity of the world that seeps through every moment, is the point of Harvestella. So I'd advise you to really take your time. Farm a little (or a lot), cook, help a trio of children resolve their friendship problems, chat with the town doctor, deliver some food- and only when your curiosity is genuinely gnawing at you, go to Nemea, Shatolla, and Argene (in that order), and see what's really going on over there. Likewise, take your time building relationships with your party members in between those major city-exploring story beats, because after Chapter 3- I well and truly felt like the story went off the rails (in the best way). All bets are off, and for a while, things move at an increasingly rapid pace, never really fully giving you a chance to breathe. I'm one of those people who play a game as "realistically" as possible, so if it doesn't seem feasible that you'd stop and casually chat while some major event is occurring, I don't. In terms of Harvestella, that meant I was waking up at 6am, rushing through my farm duties until 7am, and then promptly heading back to the newest gripping main quest of the day, throughout Chapters 4 through 9. There are some natural moments to pause, but just know that, after Chapter 4 begins, you may not want to do anything else but the main quest. And it's here that Harvestella really shines. All pretenses of a farming sim are cast off, and these chapters are so chock-full to the brim with revelations, reveals, twists and turns, that at one point I wondered if I was even playing the same game anymore. In my humble opinion, Harvestella's story is expertly written, an aching reflection on grief, loss, mistakes, and death- an exploration of something so incredibly poignant and relevant to our own world, as we know it today. Harvestella deftly handles issues of the self, existentialism, and environmental decay, in a way that absolutely floored me (one chapter had me playing for 4 hours straight in search of answers!), but I also feel that the impact of said reveals, this slow, yet massive unveiling of a larger, much deeper narrative underneath what was initially sold as a farming sim, would not have worked nearly as well if this game was marketed otherwise. It is because I was lulled into believing that this was nothing more than a farming sim, that the later chapters shocked and awed and impacted me so deeply; and I'd argue that, if Harvestella was instead marketed as the sprawling, epic, and intensely affecting social commentary of a JRPG that it truly is, it would do the true nature of its story a great disservice. And while I have effectively spoiled this great twist here, I've done so in the hope that it gives some of you who initially passed on it (maybe due to it being "yet another farm sim") an inkling to give it a proper try. Fittingly, what you are told at the very beginning is also true for the game itself. You have to find it in you to care enough about the game itself, to see it through to its proper end. While yes, it is clearly a lower-budget outing from SquareEnix, and some aspects of the game therefore may leave you with something to be desired- at its heart, I believe Harvestella is the epitome of some old sayings that are well known in gaming culture by now: Give it a proper chance. It really does get better. I know it might not initially click with you, but trust me, that's the point: it all comes together by the end. And as that lonely girl says to you in the very, very beginning: I truly hope you learn to love this world.
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*Recommend ONLY IF ON SALE!!! This game is NOT a full-price (USD $60) value. Artistically, it's a beautiful game. Graphics, music, backgrounds, character art - no complaints in any of those areas. Story? Quite interesting, some neat ideas, lots of side-quests had entertaining story as well, with only a few exceptions. (lighthouse quest chain) Gameplay? Not so much. The farming is basic, but serviceable. What really brings the game down is the COMBAT. You can't dodge most enemy attacks like you would expect to in an "action RPG" style game. There are obvious "red damage zones" painted for large spells that you can avoid, but that's all. Some classes have a "dash step", but it isn't usable as a dodge and takes a LOT of stamina to use. Also, your NPC allies generally won't tank hits for you - most enemies will ignore them to target you instead, and kiting is generally ineffective. They also do fairly weak damage... If you get your NPC Allies between you and larger "Elite" foes (FEARs), acting as a wall? The FEARs ignores NPC Allies, and eventually just despawn & reset. This leads you to just face-tanking even the toughest enemies & bosses, and spamming healing items to get through the fights. The only "strategy" or "skill" in fights is identifying and using the correct elements to do more damage and break defenses. All major fights become a DPS race against your supply of healing foods & (gallons of) juices. Overall, if you enjoy a good story with interesting twists, great art/music, and are willing to slog through mediocre combat mechanics to witness the story..... watch for a good sale. I felt for the story, it was worth the price at 50% off (USD $29.99). Such a shame, if the combat had been enjoyable, it would have been a much better game ....
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Last Updates
| Steam data | 21 November 2024 15:10 |
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| SteamSpy data | 21 December 2024 09:22 |
| Steam price | 23 December 2024 12:23 |
| Steam reviews | 21 December 2024 19:55 |
Online players
81
Developer
Square Enix
Publisher
Square Enix
Release
04 Nov 2022
Platforms
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