Harvest Moon: Light of Hope

Harvest Moon: Light of Hope is an RPG, that puts players in the role of a farmer, making it essentially a farming simulator. Released originally in 2017, for PC, it was re-released in 2018 for PS4 and Switch, where it found mild reception from critics and fans alike. A new developer meant new expectations, and doubts surrounding the Harvest Moon: Light of Hope game.

A Simple Life

You start the game by choosing between playings either as Mike or Sabrina, and then the story revolves around your character looking for a new adventure, in a new and unknown place. This sense of wonder brings you to embark on a ship, which is sunk by treacherous weather, taking you to shore to a deserted and abandoned land.

Loving this game or not, comes by deciding if you, yourself, find the task of re-building a town from scratch is a fun adventure or not. Through the core mechanics of the game, you are invited to fish, forage, mine, and farm resources to create a place for you to live. By all means, it is an RPG game that expects players to manage their resources intelligently, it invites exploration through a relatively big map, that provides different goals, missions, and events.

Gameplay

Harvest Moon: Light of Hope, has controls that don’t flow naturally and take a while to get used to, it improves on some mechanics of other entries from the series, yet sometimes those same improved mechanics don’t work as intended. Another issue some players might face is that the game is a very slow-paced one, that holds the hands of the players and guides them, nonetheless, at some point, any sign of support and guidance seizes to exist, this might please some players, but it definitely is something to consider if you’re not fond of doing things on your own.

It is important to note, that the lukewarm reception revolves a lot around the fact that the game doesn’t really add new experiences to veteran players, while it also removes some of the traditional fan-favorite ones. The game prides itself in honoring tradition and expanding upon it, but it ends up becoming a game that feels dated, and less complete than its competitors.

Graphics aren’t really the selling point of this game, the gameplay feels very shallow, and RPG features are average at best. Still, some of the mechanics are entertaining, characters are interesting and charming, and it scratches the nostalgia factor for players.

Verdict

Harvest Moon: Light of Hope, doesn’t really stand out from the Harvest Moon series, and it not only pales in comparison to its younger self but to competitors as well. If this genre of farming simulation is something that you love, this game might satisfy you for a while, or frustrate you for being a shadow of what it could’ve been.

PROS:

• Charming Characters
• Good Switch Port
• Assitance
• Variety of Events
• 100+ Hours of Content

CONS:

• Unnatural Mechanics
• Shadow of its Former Self
• Dated Graphics
• Weak Storyline
• Core Mechanics of Farming Became Secondary