All posts tagged in Harvest Moon
Dec 1, 2018
Initially released on Steam back in 2016, Stardew Valley is a Harvest Moon-reminiscent RPG farming simulation with pixel graphics. Developed by ConcernedApe and published by Chucklefish, the game was very well received. It currently holds a 10/10 rating on Steam where it also has ‘Overwhelmingly Positive’ reviews.
Game features include:
- Raising animals, growing crops and improving your farm
- Improving skills in 5 different areas (farming, mining, combat, fishing, and foraging)
- A variety of complex characters, places, enigmas, and secrets to discover
- Diversity in character customization and dating
- Over two hours of original music.
Stardew Valley has obtained a 10/10 rating on Steam, received numerous ports for a variety of platforms, and is still a chart topper on the Nintendo Switch eShop. It’s, therefore, safe to say that the game is highly regarded and popular.
The highly anticipated multiplayer update for the PC version of the game was released on 1st August 2018.
Multiplayer update features include:
- The ability to play with up to 3 others in online co-op
- A 3-day travelling festival where farmers can come and go as they please
- A mysterious new winter event that enables farmers to start a new ‘secret’ collection type
- Farmers who have made great progress will be given the opportunity to help out a townsperson
- New character events
- Changes to the Skull Cavern
- Ability to change your profession
- Ability to craft signs
- New outdoor decorations
- Introduction of the auto-grabber, an expensive item that automatically harvests milk and wool
- Introduction of garden pots. Garden pots allow you to grow any crop inside year-round
- A new crop that only grows indoors
- Fireplaces and new furniture
- Ability to put a hat on your horse
The solo developer of Stardew Valley (ConcernedApe) has previously announced that the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch versions of the game will also get a multiplayer update eventually. The developer has confirmed in tweets and updates that the co-op will not be cross-platform. As disappointing as this is for fans to hear, the decision is understandable.
Whilst an exact date hasn’t been given, the game’s publisher (Chucklefish) has recently confirmed that Stardew Valley for Switch will be next to receive the Multiplayer update. Having been submitted for final approval, it is expected that the update will be available either by the end of the year or in early 2019.
- Oct 12, 2018
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he solo developer of Stardew Valley (Eric Barone of ConcernedApe) has recently made an exciting announcement. Stardew Valley will soon be available on iOS and Android! The game will be coming to iOS first, and will be released on the app store (where it can be pre-ordered) on the 24th October. The mobile version of the game is being overseen by London-based studio The Secret Police.
About Stardew Valley:
Stardew Valley is a Harvest Moon-reminiscent RPG farming simulation with pixel graphics. Developed by ConcernedApe and published by Chucklefish, the game was very well received. It currently holds a 10/10 rating on Steam where it also has ‘Overwhelmingly Positive’ reviews.
Some of the game’s features include:
- Raising animals, growing crops and improving your farm
- Improving skills in 5 different areas (farming, mining, combat, fishing, and foraging)
- A variety of complex characters, places, enigmas, and secrets to discover
- Diversity in character customization and dating
- Over two hours of original music.
The game is already available to play on a wide variety of platforms including:
- Microsoft Windows
- Linux
- Mac OS
- PS4
- Xbox One
- Nintendo Switch
- PS Vita
About Stardew Valley for mobile:
Unfortunately, online multiplayer farming will not be available on iOS and Android. The port will, however, include all of the single player content from the recent 1.3 PC update.
The mobile versions have been optimized for touch screens, and contain a new UI, new controls, and a new menu system. Additionally, upon the game’s launch, players will be able to transfer their PC save data to iOS via iTunes.
Priced at $7.99 and with no in-app purchase options, the port is seemingly good value for money.
Eric Barone has said that the Android version of the game is nearly complete. He has also reassured gamers that work on multiplayer updates for consoles will be unaffected. This is because the console updates are being handled by teams separate from those working on the mobile versions.
- Aug 20, 2018
[dropcap]I[/dropcap]t has previously been announced that the highly anticipated game, Little Dragons Cafe, will be released for Switch in North America on 24th August. European gamers will be pleased to know that Rising Star Games have recently announced a release date for the game in Europe. The game will be released in Europe on 21st September.
It has not been announced whether European gamers will be able to buy limited edition copies of the game or not. However, physical copies of the game will definitely be available to purchase. With a cute box design, this is welcome news to those who collect physical copies of Switch games.
??? We’re pleased to unveil the European #PS4 and #NintendoSwitch packshots for #LittleDragonsCafé – the latest tour de’ force from Yasuhiro Wada, founder of the Harvest Moon series! pic.twitter.com/NpWr8E1YVV
— Rising Star Games (@RisingStarGames) August 2, 2018
About:
Little Dragons Cafe is an upcoming game from Rising Star Games, who are infamous for their Harvest Moon series.
The story begins with a twin brother and sister running a small café with their mother. All was peaceful and routine until one morning the twins discovered that their mother fell into a deep sleep and wouldn’t wake up. Suddenly, an old wizard appears and tells the twins that their mother is gravely ill and that they must raise a dragon in order to save her.
Working together with their three quirky staff members (waiter, waitress, and chef), the two siblings must raise a dragon and manage the family business while at the same time discover what is causing their mother’s illness and find a cure.
Little Dragons Café is the latest tour de’ force from Yasuhiro Wada, founder of the Harvest Moon series.
Features:
Raise your very own dragon! Embrace your nurturing instincts and raise your own dragon! Through wise decisions, proper nutrition, and empathetic nurturing show the world the true potential of your dragon companion!
Create culinary masterpieces and run a successful café – Learn new recipes and master the art of cooking while running your café. Explore the world, discover new ingredients, and expand your menu (and your restaurant!) while catering to the whims of your customers.
Farm the land and harvest nature’s bounty – The best dishes use the freshest ingredients, and the best way to ensure that is to grow your own produce. Till the land and fish the rivers, and gather the most flavourful fixings for your signature dishes.
Serve the townsfolk, make them happy! Not only cook for the people in your town, but also help them with their problems to increase your popularity and the general happiness of everyone around you.
The highly anticipated game is being released for a huge variety of platforms, which include:
- Nintendo 3DS
- Nintendo Switch
- Nintendo Wii U
- PlayStation 3
- PlayStation 4
- PlayStation Vita
- Xbox 360
- Xbox One
- PC
- Mobile
Are you looking forward to playing Little Dragons Cafe? Will you be purchasing a physical copy of the game? Or downloading it from the eShop? Let us know in the comments 🙂
- Aug 12, 2018
[dropcap]P[/dropcap]icontier is an upcoming pixel art-stylized miniscape RPG. The game’s retro 2D art style, alongside its life simulation elements, make it comparable to Stardew Valley and the original Harvest Moon games.
Picontier is designed by indie label SKIPMORE, who are best known for their Fairune and Drancia series titles. It is being published by Flyhigh Works Co., a company established in 2011 that specializes in localizing Japanese, English and Chinese titles.
It has recently been announced that the PC version of the game will be released via Steam this winter. Whilst FlyHigh works did not mention other platforms in their recent broadcast, the game has previously been announced for PS4, Switch, and 3DS.
About:
Picontier is a mini RPG game that allows players to enjoy slow-living on a whimsical island after being washed ashore. Its life simulation elements include farming, crafting, fishing, and mining. Like Stardew Valley, the game also appeals to the more adventurous of gamers by offering excitement. In this instance, players can journey to the dungeons to fight monsters. Additionally, the game contains a charming story and a variety of strange island creatures to communicate with. The game therefore seems to tick all the boxes where depth is concerned.
- Jun 10, 2018
Ooblets at E3 2018
[dropcap]O[/dropcap]oblets have announced that they will be taking part in E3 this year. PC Gamer will therefore be revealing some exclusive secrets about Ooblets on their PC Gaming Show on Twitch. The stream will take place tomorrow (Monday 11th June) at 3pm PT, at Twitch.tv/pcgamer.
Brand new pins at The Yetee
To celebrate their participation in E3, the developers have added 3 more Ooblets pins to their merchandise collection. The pins can be purchased alongside pre-existing Ooblets merchandise at The Yetee.
Ooblets Discord emojis
Those who follow Ooblets on Twitter and Discord may already be aware of this, but some awesome Ooblets emojis are now available to use on Discord. You can follow Ooblets on Discord (if you haven’t already) here.
May Devlog
In their May Devlog (which can be read here), the developers talk about their engagement with E3, and how more information about the game’s progress will be revealed there. In the meantime however, they talk about updates such as:
- New animations
- Added dialogue
- The ability for characters to visually hold items
- More male hairstyles
- Region design testing
They have stated that next on their to-do list is:
- To finish Badgetown
- To complete the friendship system
- To try and get the game ready for early testing
- Dec 1, 2017
[dropcap]D[/dropcap]o people keep asking you what you want for Christmas? Struggling with gift ideas for those casual gamer friends? Look no further as we have compiled the ultimate Christmas wish list, comprising of the most recent and relevant games.
Portal Knights:
Portal Knights is an award-winning 3D sandbox action-RPG game for PC, PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo Switch, developed by Keen Games and Published by 505 Games. The game has been referred to as a ‘pretty Minecraft’ but it is way more than just that! Defeat enemies in real-time combat, explore a variety of randomly-generated islands and restore peace to a war-torn world torn apart by ‘the fracture’.
Nine Parchments:
Nine Parchments is an action co-op RPG by Frozenbyte for PC, PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo Switch. In the game, runaway apprentice wizards seek the elusive lost nine parchments in the hope of completing their spell books. The wizards acquire spells, but without learning the proper safety procedures that come with them. This hasty progress inevitably leads to a few fatal accidents..
The game is released for Switch in the US on December 5th.
Harvest Moon: Light of Hope:
Harvest Moon: Light of Hope is a new adventure RPG/farming simulation created by Natsume and released for PC on Steam. Although initially it received a fair amount of criticism and has been described as a little buggy, those who have spent time playing the game have generally praised it due to it’s simplicity, adherence to the Harvest Moon franchise, and the fact that they can play it on PC. Either way, it’s definitely worth a play to make your own decision on whether the game deserves it’s place in the Harvest Moon series.
The game is released for Switch in early 2018
World of Final Fantasy:
World of Final Fantasy is a new RPG by Square Enix. A more cutesy spin on the original Final Fantasy games, this is a must-have for those who like cute and story-rich games. Join your two siblings in the land of Grymoire in an attempt to untangle the past and save the future! Capture, Customise and evolve iconic creatures by stacking them to form monster towers.
Yooka-Laylee
Yooka-Laylee is an action-adventure game by Playtonic. After waiting for what seems like ages, Switch owners will be pleased to hear it finally has a release date for the Switch! Brought to you by the masterminds behind Banjo-Kazooie, play as Yooka or Laylee and thwart evil Capital B’s plan to absorb all the world’s books in an effort to profit from them. From playing puzzles to beating bosses, this game is sure to keep you entertained over the festive period.
The game is released for Switch on December 14th (just in time for Christmas!).
- Nov 13, 2017
[dropcap]F[/dropcap]or those looking for some great casual games, both the well-known and the less talked about, plus some to look out for in the future, look no further. Here’s some of our favorites.
Night in the woods is an atmospheric adventure game with a great soundtrack, colourful graphics and an interesting and unusual storyline. The game is both brilliantly relatable and relevant yet intriguingly unfamiliar at the same time. ( Steam page – PC, Mac)
Rakuen is a beautiful fantasy adventure game which takes you on a journey with a hospitalised boy. Adventure into the breath-taking fairy-tale world of Rakuen with him and his mother and help assist various characters in need. ( Steam page – PC, Mac)
RiME is a mysterious adventure puzzle game with amazing graphics. Your find your character washed up all alone on an island and get to explore, collect items and unravel the island’s mysteries. This game is also available for purchase on Nintendo Switch as of tomorrow (14/11/17) which is super exciting! ( Steam page – PC
? Stardew Valley ?
Stardew Valley is a colourful indie,farming RPG. It has a characterful aesthetic and always offers plenty to do, meaning you’ll never get bored of it. Like Rime, this game has also made the transition to Nintendo Switch. ( Steam page – PC, Mac, Switch, PS4, Xbox One)
? Ooblets ?
Ooblets is an upcoming Harvest Moon, Animal Crossing and Pokémon inspired game. Your character, which looks similar to one that might have walked out of a Sims game, gets to fish, grow and train Ooblets, and befriend villagers, plus more, in this cute and colourful indie game. ( Steam page – PC, Xbox One)
? My Time at Portia ?
My Time at Portia is an upcoming simulation, open-world RPG. Your player inherits a workshop and builds things out of old relics and harvested materials in this post-apocalyptic setting, where humans are scarce. For a more realistic experience, characters go to school, work and partake in leisure activities. They also have stories that your player can unravel and there is the ability to have relationships. For more on my Time at Portia, and on how to play the free demo check out our previous article here. ( Steam – PC )
- Nov 12, 2017
Here are some games to tide over avid Animal Crossing fans until the release of Pocket Camp.
✨ Enchanted Folk and the School of Wizardry (Magician’s Quest: Mysterious Times in US) ✨
This game is a must-play for fans of Animal Crossing. Animal Crossing meets Hogwarts, this game has all the favourite attributes of animal crossing such as animal residents, cute graphics (which are visually similar to animal Crossing), having your own room to decorate, fishing, bug catching and a variety of shops to browse. However, in this game there are unique perks such as: Being able to attend classes at the Magic school, being able to play instruments, being able to perform spells (such as invisibility, which is useful for eavesdropping) and the ability to date the other residents (which is alarming if you think about it, considering you’re a human and they’re animals/aliens/fruit, etc).
? Harvest Moon: The Tale of Two Towns ?
This game is a great addition to the Harvest Moon series. The story is of two towns (Bluebell and Konohana) that used to have a connecting tunnel between the two towns and were friendly with one another. But as years went on, they fell out and become more and more isolated from one another, with the tunnel eventually becoming blocked, meaning a long trek is necessary to travel from one town to the other. You can choose which town you want to inhabit at the beginning of the game. Your character’s aim is to restore peace between the two towns. You can choose to fall in love with one of the residents from your own town, or from the other town. In addition to this, there are all the Harvest Moon perks that we all know and love, such as Animal farming (Bluebell) and Plant farming (Konohana), shopping, horse riding, gathering etc., as well as regular food festivals held by the goddess at the hill between the two towns. As your character participates in more competitions, the friendship between the two towns will increase.
Psst! There’s also rumours of a remake called Harvest Moon: Tale of Two Towns +
? Fantasy Life ?
Fantasy life is a game brought to us by Level 5, the company that created the infamous Professor Layton series. The beautiful unique graphics and music are a good indicator of this. In this game, after creating your character you get to choose a ‘life’ (basically what career you want). The 12 life classes to choose from are: Alchemist; Angler; Blacksmith; Carpenter; Cook; Hunter; Magician; Mercenary; Miner; Paladin; Tailor; and Woodcutter. After you have mastered one life, you can choose another. In each life, you learn a new skill and can make/obtain new items (dishes as a chef, clothes as a tailor, ore as a miner etc.), meaning once you’ve mastered all 12 lives, you are saving a lot of Dosh (the currency) and resources. Like in Animal Crossing, you can decorate your houses, engage with locals, as well as being able to take on quests, slay dragons, and complete the exciting storyline.
This game also has a sequel that will soon be released for mobile! You can check out a first Fantasy Online gameplay video right here.
? My Sims Kingdom ?
This was one of the first DS games I played and therefore sticks in my memory. I vividly remember retrieving it out of my stocking from Santa and spending Christmas day curled up on the sofa being even more anti-social than normal (if that’s possible?!). So good was this game that my mum decided to steal it (along with my DS console), create a save file of her own, and play it whilst I was in school. This game basically consists of following a storyline where the King gives your character the task of solving the mystery around who’s been stealing public works projects and houses from the Kingdom and causing chaos?! Alongside following the story, you get to decorate your houses (you get multiple), go shopping, play mini-games, complete mini quests (such as finding all the escaped zoo animals), create public works projects and place new houses.
? Stardew Valley ?
I haven’t actually played Stardew Valley in depth, but I’ve heard very good things and definitely want to put aside some time to play it properly. Stardew Valley is a Harvest Moon like, farming RPG game developed by ConcernedApe. Your character inherits a farm plot from your grandfather and your job is to create a successful farm and a thriving community. It has been well received and has been given a 10/10 rating by Steam! Nintendo have also released a version of it for Switch. 🙂
?️ The Sims 3 ?️
The Sims 3 is great fun. Don’t get me wrong, I like The Sims 4, but there is very little space for development in your town, EA received a lot of backlash for not including pools and toddlers (amongst other things) in their initial release of the game, which forced them to include them in updates, and it has more of a mobile Sims game feel than the PC Sims games I’ve grown up with.
The Sims 3 has better graphics than The Sims 2 whilst also having super cool expansion packs such as The Sims 3: Supernatural (you can create and meet fairies, plant people, vampires etc.) and The Sims 3: Island Paradise where you can create and run your own resorts. In addition to this, The Sims 3: University Life offers a more realistic University life for your Sims (perhaps too realistic for some, the stress of getting them through university is unreal).
