The developers say this feature was missed due to COVID-19, and that it will be present in future games, but it's still massively frustrating when so many other games offer it. Marrying someone is inconsequential, seeming almost like an afterthought.Oh, and you can't be queer, despite Harvest Moon's competitors Story of Seasons and Stardew Valley having recognized what year it is already. You can have a kid eventually too, but your offspring take after your spouse’s side of the family in that they do nothing interesting whatsoever. Marrying one is inconsequential, seeming almost like an afterthought gated behind a lot of time spent in the extremely boring mines and, for some reason, finishing the main plot – you can't get married until then. For the most part, they are distinguished almost entirely by their looks and what town they hang out in the most. They all care about their respective towns, they need your help saving them, and they think the main character is neat. The bachelors and bachelorettes have a bit more going for them in the personality department, but are still largely pretty samey in the end. And that’s a terrible idea because again, these characters tend to disappear completely at certain times of day, sometimes right in front of your eyes, and sometimes as you’re about to turn in a quest. The vast majority of the cast is made up of same-looking individuals with names like "Awkward Man" or "Thoughtful Woman" whose only personality trait is sending you endless mail to ask you to bring them random items. Unlike other Harvest Moon games where you get to know a town of distinct and personable neighbors, there are few actual developed characters in One World outside of its roster of bachelors and bachelorettes and one other named character in each area. The aesthetics of One World are not where the mundanity ends. (But then, that was before the original developer went off to make Story of Seasons instead). As much as I despise calling anything "X-era graphics," the GameCube version of Harvest Moon was far more detailed and exciting to look at than this. It’s especially bad when you're riding your horse. Characters and objects appear and disappear from existence – sometimes on purpose according to their respective schedules, but sometimes just because they're not loading in fast enough. Sound frequently sputters when you’re moving from area to area.
There's no detail, no personality – just long stretches of empty space.It also sometimes does not work correctly. There's no detail, no personality – just long stretches of empty space, maybe with a tree thrown in if you're lucky.
Towns are dull and empty with just a couple identical houses each, the areas between them are mostly long and same-ish paths, and everything just looks flat and simple. Everything looks bland, except for the named character models, which are exactly fine. You'll park your farm in one spot for a season, finish whatever local plot is in front of you, and then move on.īut the one world of One World is boring in every way.
HARVEST MOON PC REVIEW PORTABLE
Rather, you’re handed a portable farm (your scientist neighbor turns up on your doorstep and says “Look, I made you a portable farm” and that’s the end of the discussion) in the first 10 minutes and sent off on an adventure across its world, through five different towns with their own climates, hazards, and problems. Unlike its numerous Harvest Moon predecessors and competitors, One World does not have you inherit an old farm in a dying village and spend years rebuilding them, getting to know your neighbors, and generally settling down. And yet One World fails in just about every way to do anything interesting or innovative with this new idea other than layer it on top of a deeply mediocre farming sim.
HARVEST MOON PC REVIEW SERIES
And in the right hands, turning a farming simulator series into a plot-driven, exploration-focused adventure game sounds like a brilliant idea. Somewhere in Harvest Moon: One World there's a really interesting seed of an idea for a new take on farming sims, which would be much appreciated after 25 years of very similar games.