What do you get when you combine action-JRPG combat with the quiet pleasures of farming sims? Harvestella, that's what. In Square Enix's ambitious, genre-blending game, you will not only find yourself living that beautiful, simple farm life, but also preparing for an apocalyptic threat with a party of companions. All between harvesting your well-tended crops, of course.
Harvestella lives in the intersection of genres, and everyone will latch onto different aspects of its gameplay and atmosphere. While you may gravitate to the farming elements, the next player over may be singing the praises of the combat system. And, of course, some may just be hyped about agonizing over which eligible singleton to date, as is farming sim tradition. Regardless, if your time with Harvestella has come to a close, don't worry; there are plenty of other games to scratch that itch for you.
7/7 Potion Permit
While it isn't a farming sim, Potion Permit feels like one. However, instead of coming into possession of a farm, you are instead a new-in-town potion-brewing chemist. You are tasked with helping the people of Moonbury with any and all of their ailments. While the town isn't thrilled with your presence, they eventually warm up to you as you prove your worth.
The gameplay loop of Potion Permit adheres to a schedule, much like farming sims, and you are harvesting things, in a sense. Every day (or every other day, perhaps), you will go out into the wilds to forage for materials of all types. You will come face-to-face with creatures of all kinds — docile and otherwise. You need to perfect your combat abilities to truly succeed. It's not tricky combat, but if you enjoyed Harvestella's more action-oriented aspects, take a swig of Potion Permit.
6/7 Stardew Valley
Perhaps the best-known and most beloved farming sim of recent years, Stardew Valley thrusts you into the small but lively Pelican Town. There, your grandfather's beautiful, yet unkempt, farm awaits your caretaking. Every day is full of opportunities for you to grasp.
Of course, if you're not as big into farming, you can always invest your time into fishing. Or exploring the abandoned mines, full of creepy crawlies and buried treasures. You can get to know everyone in town, even marry (and divorce!) whoever catches your eye. Pelican Town is your oyster. If you're looking for a relaxing, anxiety-crushing experience, look no further than Stardew Valley.
5/7 The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild
Harvestella offers an expansive, exciting world that beckons you to explore. So naturally, you'll spend countless hours in your farming to dungeon crawling routine. However, if you wish for more adventure after you've had your fill of Harvestella, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild can offer you endless hours of exploration and enjoyment.
Breath of the Wild, at first blush, shares very little with Harvestella — there is no farming, the combat is entirely different, and unfortunately, you don't have a party to voyage with. However, both have an amnesiac protagonist who awakens in a world under existential threat, a threat they are then forced to deal with themselves. Breath of the Wild's Hyrule is dense with intrigue, magical and open, and yours to discover.
4/7 Final Fantasy 13
Harvestella is a Square Enix game, through and through. While it shares similarities with many installations of the Final Fantasy series, the inclusion of weird, world-defining crystals immediately brings to mind Final Fantasy 13. Okay, maybe that isn't exactly fair — many Final Fantasy games center on magical crystals. Still, Final Fantasy 13 is likely the one whose combat system most closely aligns with Harvestella's.
Final Fantasy 13 is a streamlined experience, though its plot is more… expansive, to say the least. Still, if you want a story about some cool crystals that features a deeply fun combat system and are willing to put some time in, Final Fantasy 13 will be waiting for you.
3/7 The Sims 4: Cottage Living
Let's get back to basics. While The Sims 4 base game offers basic gardening, the expansion pack, Cottage Living, makes farming worthwhile. Of course, as a Sims game, there's no combat (unless you count your Sims getting into fistfights about llamas "combat") and no global threats that only your Sim can solve, so don't expect any sprawling story or intense gameplay. This seems like it should be the ultimate sit-back-and-chill game, with farming that requires no more effort than pointing and clicking.
Still, gardening, caring for your animals, and generally living the farm life can get downright hectic. Your Sims have needs in ways that most farming sims, or RPGs, can't acknowledge. They get lonely and hungry, and if they spend their entire days tending gardens and conversing with animals to get higher-quality yields, they may burn out. Look after them right, and you will be rewarded.
2/7 Harvest Moon/Story Of Seasons
When you think "farming sim," the game that likely leaps to your mind is Harvest Moon, now rebranded as Story of Seasons. With a series that has sold millions of copies and spanned decades, why wouldn't it be?
Many modern farming sims can trace their roots to Harvest Moon or at least to one of its many sequels. Some, like Stardew Valley, even emulate its original 16-bit style, along with the classic "grandpa left his worse-for-wear farm to me" inciting incident. So if Harvestella is where your personal farming sim journey began, why not give the classics a shot?
1/7 Rune Factory 5
If Harvestella is similar to any game or series, it's Rune Factory 5. Both games are blends of genres, specifically farming sims and RPGs, and both games place emphasis on action and exploration. The story of Rune Factory also revolves around your protagonist waking up with amnesia, but that's pretty par for the course at this point. Besides, you can tame monsters, and who can say no to a little fanged friend?
There are countless farming sims to play to soothe your need for something Harvestella-like, but nothing will likely hit as hard as Rune Factory. Sometimes, you don't want to be confined to a singular genre or style.
Source: Read Full Article