Harvestella review: turnips, tears, and time travel

Our Verdict

A flawed but beautiful JRPG with farming sim elements, Harvestella boasts a unique and emotive narrative, gorgeous art direction, and an ambitious range of mechanics to explore. It’s slow to start but, with a bit of patience, blossoms into something truly memorable.

I have a lot of love for farming simulations, JRPGs, and Square Enix, so it goes without saying that Harvestella is one of my most anticipated titles of 2022. I leaped at the chance to explore this fascinating new Nintendo Switch game, of course.

I've immersed myself in its universe for many more hours since I originally put up my review in progress on Friday. Almost all of my waking hours have been spent transporting kids away from danger, gathering crops, battling monsters, and satisfying my fairy overlords. And yet, I think I'm only about halfway done since there's still so much to learn. But really? I am very enamoured with it.

In some respects, I can see why Harvestella has received such conflicting reactions over the last several days and has swiftly established itself as a contentious topic. It's obviously not suitable for everybody. This isn't for you if you don't like drawn-out JRPGs with ten-hour introductions, grandiose (and even absurd) stories, twisting side missions, and the have to understand fifty separate overlapping concepts. Harvestella is a game that is rooted in the old JRPG genre more than anything else. If you go into it expecting it to be an ARPG-style life sim, you'll be really let down.

Let's start with the story. On the surface, Harvestella seems to have a compelling story that incorporates some of the well-known elements that fans of JRPGs like Square Enix should be well-versed in, while also adding an own spin. The most prevalent RPG cliché is undoubtedly how it starts: you're an amnesiac and have no memory of how you got here. What a revelation.

You learn that you're pretty damned remarkable as you start to put together this strange universe. You were outdoors during a phenomena known as "Quietus," which occurs between every season and kills almost everything in its path, and for some reason you were able to survive it. You automatically go inside and rescue them (much to the dismay of your new companions) when one crashes into the hamlet along with a massive, sparkling meteor since the locals attribute this phenomena to beings they refer to as "Omens."

From this point on, you're thrown into a vast fantasy world with interesting sci-fi components that give the game that distinct Square Enix feel. A plethora of unexpectedly profound and poignant storylines about loss, the cyclical nature of life, and coming to grips with pain and one's own destiny may be found behind the fanciful themes of time travel, cryptids, monsters, and fairytale creatures.

There is much beauty to be found in Harvestella's sorrows, from synthetic humans defying their purpose as destructive weapons to orphans risking their lives to visit their parents' graves or jeopardising their chances of adoption to ensure another child gets a chance at a real family.

The tales that surround you, while often complicated, strike a beautiful balance between sorrow and hopefulness, resulting in many heartwarming moments that I thought to be quite poignant. To keep things from becoming too serious, there are also sometimes humorous, lighthearted side tasks thrown in. You are also able to switch between the main and side quests whenever you like.

The absence of voice acting is one aspect of the story that I find disappointing. The only spoken words are brief, indifferent greetings from a merchant or a partygoer telling you that their health is not good. This results in sequences with hours upon hours of text, just the (albeit beautiful) background music to break the tension.

The lack of voice acting in even the most significant moments seems a bit cheap, particularly for a full-priced, triple-A game. I get that, with the amount of speech and content in the game, recruiting a team of actors to properly voice it would be an enormous undertaking.

In terms of artwork, Harvestella is very stunning in my opinion. The environmental design creates breathtaking landscapes, dreamy towns, and cosy interiors that all perfectly capture the essence of Square Enix's signature style while still offering enough individuality and variety to stoke your desire to explore, even though textures can occasionally appear a little murky or blurry, especially in handheld mode.

I get very thrilled whenever I come across a new map; the dystopian setting of Heaven's Egg and the glistening seashore village of Shatolla are my current favourites. The encyclopaedia and craft sections have some very great pictures of food, machinery, and animals, as well as 2D character sprites that provide a lovely sense of individuality to the overall design. A fantastic symphonic music that really brings the beauty to life complements all of this.

It must be said that the protagonist's character creation possibilities are severely constrained; there are only four body types available, and the palette selection for skin, eye, and hair colour is standard. In-game 3D character models may also seem a bit choppy or fuzzy based on the circumstances and kind of screen you're using.

But I really like the many costumes the main character dons while switching tasks, and the enemy and character designs are outstanding. There is a wide range of characters, including the typical townpeople and their wizard mayor, the fully armoured Omens, and even a very charming unicorn decked up in diamonds. The boss designs are equally stunning and scary, and I really love the faeries who accompany you on your journey.

The overworld map is also really enjoyable. Rather of being an open world game, Harvestella is made up of many areas including your farm, Lethe Village, and Shatolla as well as "dungeons" like Jade Forest, Heaven's Egg, and Njord Steppe. You may quickly visit each of them by hopping from place to place on a gorgeous, if a little hazy, overworld map. You can make this map easier to navigate later on by getting a really cute horse.

The first two dungeons you encounter are fairly straightforward, but as you go on, things get much more complicated. There are huge FEAR monsters that you must avoid, unusual mechanics like flower walls that must be melted with potions you've looted, and water fountains and air currents you can ride to reach hidden areas.

You have to be aware of the passing of time while exploring dungeons because if midnight arrives and you haven't reached your bed (or an adversary kills you), you will get very tired and will have to pay for your medical care.

Fortunately, waypoints may be used to save and transfer you back home or inside the area you are now exploring. In order to create shortcuts you may take the next time you're in the region, you can also mend ladders and bridges. Dungeons are not supposed to be finished in a single day, and these helpful elements make it easier to pick up where you left off.

It took me some time to get used to this idea since, although a fast-moving in-game clock is typical of a life sim, it seems a little out of place while you're venturing into new areas and defeating enemies. When you're in the thick of a rescue operation but still have a severe curfew for nighttime, it may also somewhat disrupt the immersion. After some trial and error, however, I've learned to cherish the freedom to pause my travels and return home to take care of my crops or strike up a conversation with a local.

Harvestella's fighting is fascinating, although a bit limiting at first. Instead of using a turn-based system, the game follows the traditional real-time action combat concept, allowing you to run about battling enemies or flee if you take on more than you can chew.

Your fighting style is determined by the profession you equip; as you advance in the game and bring additional allies into your group, new jobs become available. With the ability to equip up to three occupations simultaneously, each with unique damage kinds and talents, you may quickly swap between them.

Each profession has a unique skill tree that you may enhance by utilising the job points you get by defeating foes with that particular career. Using their skills and switching between occupations in the field on Switch feels a little awkward since you have to hold down a trigger while pressing another button. It does, however, provide some intriguing versatility and usefulness in combat.

Rather of just rushing at your adversaries until they are destroyed or ducking and parrying, action combat places greater emphasis on carefully laying out your moves. Dodges aren't available to you by default; instead, you have to earn them as skills for each class. Even then, they're more like stiff dashes with short i-frames than useful dodges.

It took me a while to get used to the dodge's restricted range, but it contributes to Harvestella's distinctive turn-based action fighting style, which makes battle seem more like to Xenoblade than anything else.

Using abilities as soon as they cool down and understanding how to take advantage of your opponents' damage deficiencies are the main components of the basic rotation. It's common to encounter a variety of adversaries, each with unique weaknesses and defences, which emphasises the need of mastering and raising up many classes.

As you go, the battle also depends more and more on your capacity to prepare various dishes and beverages. Food replenishes your energy, stamina, and health. In addition, several meals provide excellent attack and cooldown boosts. But after you're full, there's nothing more you can eat. That's where beverages come in. Drinks are often faster to drink, improve health, and sometimes even offer you a boost in energy.

Generally speaking, you need to have a healthy mix of meals and liquids that fit your playstyle and the monsters you're fighting if you want to advance through a dungeon significantly in a single day. It could take some time for some people to get used to this, but it's a great way to be paid for taking care of your farm. In other words, the more crops and machinery you have running, the more healing supplies you should have on hand to help you through conflicts; in other words, the more skilled a farmer you are, the more skilled a warrior you will be.

Let's talk about the game's agricultural simulation features now. You start the game with a house named Birds Eye Brae, which serves as your base of operations and has a piece of property outside. You may unlock many stations for cooking, crafting, and other activities within the home. You have two upgraded pens outside that you may use to house animals in addition to areas where you can cultivate and harvest crops.

Like the fighting controls, the farming controls are a little awkward at first and take some getting used to. But once you get into the rhythm of your tool rotation, it comes naturally to you. Many seasonal seeds drop in dungeons or are sent to you, making them rather simple to get. The game offers you plenty of warning to prepare and harvest before Quietus arrives at the end of each season, when it destroys all crops except shrubs and trees.

At first, the agricultural and life sim components all seem rather constrictive, but in the third chapter, they start to really open out. You now have access to the Faery Orders Book, which gives you assignments in return for products and blueprints. With the help of the plans, you may build practical appliances and processors like a feed maker, a fermentation barrel, and a flour mill, which will save you money and provide you additional culinary possibilities. Your job will be much more efficient because to the boosts to your tilling, harvesting, and watering abilities that the faerie commands book gives, among other things.

As was previously noted, you may also hire the renovator to improve the enclosures on your farm, where you will be able to house cattle that you have bought from the Conellu Emporium in Lethe. The cute woolums and cluffowl you raise are well worth their initial cost since they need minimal upkeep and provide a consistent yield of milk, eggs and sell-only goods that bring in more revenue.

Fishing is another popular game in this genre. However, fishing is fairly basic and essentially just a waiting game. The fish you catch are also better utilised in recipes than they are sold for very little money.

Harvestella's life simulation features are quite restricted. Rather than being life simulators where each person has their own life to live, non-player characters (NPCs) tend to spend the whole day in the same location. This makes them more reminiscent of old RPGs. To strengthen your relationship with someone, you may use the friendship system, which entails doing character-specific activities like delivering specified goods. If the character is in your party, you may get helpful goods or stat buffs as a result.

In all honesty, Harvestella has a lot more going on than I'm going to discuss here, and it all comes together to create for a very fun and thought-provoking experience. The primary problem, in my opinion, is that it takes so long to open up. Chapter three or later is when many of the unique features of this game appear, and depending on your playstyle, it might take up to ten hours.

First impressions matter a lot, and I believe that many casual gamers and those unfamiliar with the JRPG genre will find it difficult to overcome this game's lethargic start. Furthermore, it's critical to approach Harvestella with an understanding of the kind of game that it is. First and first, this is a JRPG. While the other aspects do come into play later, you won't get what you're hoping for if you approach it expecting a traditional agricultural simulation.

All things considered, I really like Harvestella, but I also realise that not everyone will enjoy it. Nonetheless, you're in for a true treat if you approach it with an open mind, a fondness for the JRPG genre (flaws and all), and enough patience to get through the first ten hours of somewhat sluggish gameplay.

Even with its flaws, awkward mechanics, and limitations, Harvestella has grown to be a real comfort game for me. It brings back memories of the grand adventures I went on with the PS2 and Nintendo DS, and I can see myself playing it again and again long after I've finished it.

If you're prepared to go on this journey, be sure to start off correctly by reading our instructions on Harvestella characters, Harvestella cooking, and Harvestella romance. A pleasant harvest to you.