Harvest Moon: One World

Looks like Harest Moon: The Winds of Anthos 1.0....and I didn't like that game. How do they get away with charging so much for mediocre games? Try any "Story of Seasons" game instead...

I don't think I have ever uninstalled a game so fast. Between the terrible, cheap feeling graphics, the terribly written exchanges characters have and the God awful controls for PC, I wish I had just passed this game up instead of buying it. The game is a joke.

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Harvest Moon: One World is an ambitious attempt by Natsume Inc. and Appci to broaden the familiar farming-sim formula by placing the player in a large, roaming world rather than a single, fixed community. Instead of inheriting a farm and settling into a single hometown, you begin in a world where agriculture has mysteriously vanished, and seeds are nearly forgotten relics. Guided by the appearance of a Harvest Sprite, you set off on a journey that spans deserts, frozen tundra, lush meadows, tropical coasts, and volcanic landscapes. From the outset, the game’s identity rests heavily on exploration — a notable shift from past entries that rooted players deeply in one place. One of the core mechanics shaping this new direction is the seed system. Rather than purchasing seeds from shops, you must seek out Harvest Wisps hidden throughout the world. Each Wisp grants a different seed type, encouraging you to travel, search, and revisit areas as they refresh. The early hours revolve around learning this rhythm: moving from region to region, collecting seeds, and experimenting with which crops thrive in which climates. Complementing this is the Expando-Farm, a portable farm plot you can li…

Got this game in a bundle with two other Natsume Harvest Moon games and it's actually pretty decent if you get it cheap. I got this, Winds of Anthos and Light of Hope in a bundle for $10, or about $3.33 each. I was surprised by how well some of the characters are written. It's not ground breaking or anything. I wouldn't go into this expecting Trio of Towns or even Harvest Moon: Grand Bazaar levels of writing but I think some of the characters are written well enough for me to gravitate towards one of them for their personality. The gameplay is also kind of fun. Each town has their own "season," so you can go from town to town and get different crops from all kinds of seasons, including rare "hybrids" that grows when you plant a crop from one season in a different season. Having to manage being able to survive extreme heat or cold while working on getting fitting clothes is also pretty satisfying. Keep in mind that this is coming from somebody who finds inventory organization in Resident Evil games satisfying. I 100% would NOT buy the game for $50, but if you can get it cheap like I did I think it's worth the try.

Okay. I've been playing this game for the last few days, trying to love it like I've loved many other games like this. I don't. And I think I can sum up the reasons why. 1) Storyline is so short and simple. I'm already 50% through the third town and I've only been playing 11 hours. And that is with me not rushing. I spend at least 1 season in each area before allowing me to move on to the next town. If I had rushed as soon as I could, I'd probably be in the 4th or 5th town by now. It has dumbed down the formula for this kind of game so much where it matters, which expanding on other areas unnecessarily. Which brings us to... 2) the weird mutating crops and changing ground plots and moving the house. All of these features could have been interesting if they weren't done so Poorly. The mutating crops are more annoying than anything when you're just trying to farm for a normal crop for a quest and Boom. Mutations. The multiple types of plot/ground types might have been interesting, but there's too much. Some of the plots are super tiny and in the middle of nowhere, making it a chore to visit to try for any specific crops. The moving house thing would be cool if the largest plots wer…