Square Enix takes you to the Rune Factory
A new farming game is coming to town this fall. Square Enix’s Harvestella is the company’s take on the farming life sim RPG, arriving November 4 for PC (via Steam) and Nintendo Switch.
Shown today during the Nintendo Direct Mini: Partner Showcase, Harvestella is a new RPG from Square Enix that mixes farming, socializing, and RPG action into one big pot.
It immediately gives off some Rune Factory vibes, as it seems to have a similar mix of combat and farming. But it’s also got some interesting twists on the formula.
While there are four seasons—spring, summer, fall, and winter—there’s also a season of death called Quietus. During this time, crops wither and lethal dust keeps the denizens of the world indoors.
Planning harvests will have to accommodate for this bizarre mystery, and it looks like a major drive will be figuring out why the Quietus is happening.
A bountiful harvest
Of course, there’s both crop harvesting and livestock raising. Harvestella has many of the familiar farming trappings. It also has combat and an overworld to explore, though, which is where the Rune Factory comparison starts to feel more apt.
The Square Enix blog dives into more detail, noting a job system that will let the player character specialize in certain combat forms. Be a Fighter and dive right into the fray. Or play a Mage, and launch magic from afar. The overworld has new characters to meet, dungeons to explore, and even a submarine.
More and more companies have been trying their hand at a farming life sim. (A Disney-themed one was even in this showcase, too.) What Square Enix has with Harvestella seems pretty darn interesting. A game with all the expected features like farming, fighting, and socializing plus some RPG goodness in the mysteries of the world? Sign me up.
Harvestella arrives for Nintendo Switch and PC on Nov. 4, 2022.
