Harvestella turns Stardew Valley into a Square Enix RPG

Image: Square Enix

Harvestella is one of the most anticipated games of the year after watching the Nintendo Treehouse Live presentation and seeing a detailed look at it.

The farming looks similar to other sims you might have played. You can plant and water things on a tile-based grid if you have a plot of land. I was happy to see that the water wand was generous with where it threw water, so hopefully they don't get tedious. The crops with clever names include "carrops" and "cucumble", which look to be similar to carrots and cucumbers.

You can explore the world when you don't farm. You'll be able to collect resources and take on enemies, and you'll fight them using a battle system that looks to borrow a lot of aspects fromMMOs To upgrade your weapons, you can visit a smithy and a general store nearby.

There are fishing spots in the game. There are only so many hours you can take care of everything in Harvestella.

The loop of farming, exploration, and talking with villagers kept me hooked. Harvestella looks to offer a lot of what I liked about Stardew, as well as a lot of what I didn't like about the previous game, and I think it could be something I play for a long time.

Harvestella will be available on the Nintendo Switch and PC. Harvestella is going to find its way onto my schedule, even though it is going to be a busy time for games.

Nintendo showed off single-player levels and new weapons and abilities during the Treehouse Live show, as well as some of what you can expect from the game. Ahead of the game's official release on September 9th, the company is giving away a free "world premiere" of the game on Saturday.

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