Doraemon Story of Seasons

There’s a long list of charming, cutely designed, and uniquely planned out games that seem to graze greater recognizability. They are built to be games that are easily relatable despite presenting a relatively unknown circumstance to its players. Most commonly, this is done through a variety of farming simulators and small-town relationship builders that give players the chance to learn anything and everything about the intricacies of small town living.

These have exploded in popularity during 2020 due to the stay at home orders as people crave the simple, yet now coveted social aspects of life. Doraemon: Story of Seasons may have released during 2019 but is a perfect example of one of these titles that’s story intensive while being accessible to a wide range of people. It has a lot to offer without getting tripped up by adding in too many tedious tasks and feels fresh the whole way through.

A Great Crossover

If you’re a bit like me and didn’t already know, this game is a bit of an outlier for farming sims simply because it is actually a crossover between the Doraemon and Story of Seasons series of games. Akin to the Rune Factory series, Story of Seasons originally found its footing with the Harvest Moon titles and branching off from there. Before I get into the gameplay, I just wanted to say that the strongest features of this game are the anime-oil paint art style and the strong narrative elements This works fantastically for this style of game. It has a laid back, relaxing aura and that is perpetuated by the calm colors that meld together just a bit between each object.

Additionally, the story incredibly fleshed out and gives you a lot to think about between each interaction. Playing as Nobita Nobi, a friend of the fabled robotic cat Doraemon, you are thrust into the world and town of Natura and have every capability of interacting with all the townspeople. It would be an understatement to say that there’s a lot of story and dialog to go through – this game has become known for being the most heavily story-laden farming game out there. Personally, I love the attention and dedication given to each relationship/event through this sort of progression. It gives off a huge slice of life vibe that is undeniably calming and entrancing. The only drawback is that this style of storytelling is not for everyone. Its extensive, the cutscenes are long, and it often overshadows the gameplay. Regardless, I found it to be quite charming, unique, and made me invested in progressing.

Navigating Natura

The gameplay is incredibly reminiscent of other farming games like Harvest Moon and Stardew Valley in that the main objectives are to harvest crops, make some profit, care for farm animals, and interact with the townspeople whenever you can. This game has all the great aspects we’ve come to expect from such titles. Its easy to get sucked into the world of Natura and optimize your farm to its absolute limits.

Bottom Line

The primary problem for me is that this gets incredibly repetitive – there’s not much of a spin on the idea of farming and its mechanics and does end up being a bit tedious. Most of the game avoids this, even caring for animals and navigating the stories of Natura’s villagers, but farming lacks that special touch that pushes it from being a chore to being an enjoyable process.

Pros:

• Extensive story and cutscenes
• Wonderful unique art direction
• Solid overall mechanics that are fun and intuitive

Cons:

• Farming lacks a touch of creativity, can be repetitive
• For casual players, cutscenes/story can seem overbearing
• Gameplay overall is basic, nothing that breaks the mold