Square Enix's Harvestella advertised itself primarily as a farming simulator-RPG hybrid set in a small-town, vaguely medieval setting. However, when the game released, it was revealed that this was only partly true. Harvestella takes an unexpected sci-fi twist as the player and their party investigate the surprising technological origins of the Seaslight crystals that control the seasons. While Harvestella's sci-fi elements make for some cool dungeons and character designs, the technology is sadly underused when it comes to the farming side of things.
Harvestella's farming gameplay loop is rather standard and simple - crops must be planted, watered, and harvested. Then, they can be cooked into dishes that provide in-battle benefits. There are a few later-game options, such as using Harvestella's crafting recipes to make sprinklers or machines for processing certain types of food. However, the discovery of existing futuristic technology is not implemented well on the player's farm by Square Enix collaborator Live Wire, especially in comparison to the role this technology plays in exploring dungeons and upgrading party members' weapons.
Harvestella Lacks Tech Upgrades
Like in other farming simulators, a number of food items in Harvestella can be processed into their refined forms. Eggs can be made into Mayonnaise, various Fruits can be pressed into Juice, and Sugarcane can be processed into Sugar. The recipes for crafting these machines are fairly simple, and the player learns them early in the game. While the machines can be upgraded later, they remain fairly simplistic, and it takes at least a full in-game day to process the ingredients. With so much technology lying around, it is disappointing that players cannot further upgrade their machines. There is also no way to use the futuristic tech to shorten growth times, harvest crops out of season, or increase the range of sprinklers.
This is an especially glaring oversight, as the items found on Lost Gaia and other futuristic late-game dungeons are used heavily in the dungeon exploring parts of the game. Each party member can upgrade the weapon associated with their Job in Harvestella, using powders, plates, screws, and more scavenged from the high-tech dungeons. Additionally, the player can craft higher-level Bombs and Repair Kits, unlocking secret paths in the dungeons that lead to valuable treasure, challenging optional bosses, and more. This leads to the RPG and farming elements of the game feeling more separate and less connected as the game moves on, a gap that could be bridged if technology played a greater role on the farm.
Harvestella Needs More Futuristic Crops
After the player and their party travel through the first of the high-tech future-themed dungeons, they discover the seeds of a crop called the Nitro Pineapple. Rather than being eaten or cooked like every other crop in the game, the Nitro Pineapple, one of Harvestella's best crops, is an explosive fruit that can be turned into a high-powered bomb. It is extremely unique in both function and appearance, and stands out from practically every other crop available in the game.
Having only a single "future-themed" crop seems like a major oversight on Harvestella's part, especially as the post-game establishes that the player character has regular access to the technological facilities and dungeons. If Harvestella eventually receives any DLC or future updates, hopefully more "future" crops similar to the Nitro Pineapple will be added into the game and turned into machines, tools, or even weapons, rather than simply cooked dishes.
Despite this issue, Harvestella is still a genuinely enjoyable game, with plenty of crops to grow, dungeons to explore, Jobs to unlock, and characters to romance. However, its inability to seamlessly meld the surprisingly sci-fi setting with the core gameplay loop of farming can make playing this game feel disjointed at times, more like two different games occupying the same space than a single harmonious experience.
Harvestella is currently available for Nintendo Switch and PC.
