Square Enix still doesn’t want to confirm whether or not you can get wifed up in their upcoming Switch exclusive farming/life sim Harvestella.
Announced during the most recent Nintendo Direct Mini, Harvestella stands as something a little different to what Square Enix is generally known for. It’s also a Switch exclusive and looks to be their answer to games like Rune Factory and Story of Seasons.
Yesterday, Square Enix revealed some more information and screenshots regarding Harvestella. Here’s a brief recap from Square Enix:
The new game is a life simulation RPG that lets you enjoy daily life, socializing and adventuring.
In daily life, you can spend a relaxing day farming, fishing, or raising livestock, before heading to town to socialize and build your relationships with residents. If you want to test your combat skills, you can step into a dungeon to take on hordes of monsters with a variety of weapons and jobs.
Whatever you do, time passes through the seasons, Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. But between each one is a fifth season: Quietus! During this time, crops wither and die, and a deadly dust keeps people trapped indoors.
You’ll need to plan around the changing seasons and the grim inevitability of Quietus, as you attempt to solve the mysteries behind this season of death.
The new information surrounding Harvestella includes intel about the town of Nemea, your role in the storyline, and a look at one of the residents, Istina. In addition, the update describes the Sky Lancer job, a class that uses spears and excels in wind-related physical attacks.
Right after this section of the announcement, the page goes into the topic of ‘Socialising: Character Stories’. This section entails the building of relationships with non-playable characters that you can add as allies to your team when adventuring.
At the end of this topic, it reads, “As you progress through a Character Story, learning more about each character’s thoughts and feelings, your closeness to them will increase. This grants a range of benefits in combat, and you may even receive rewards!”
The topic of ‘Socialising’ has led many to question whether Harvestella will adopt a mechanic that has come to be expected in life sims: romancing and marriage.
Either its better to reveal last or there’s none of marriage stuff at all. After shoving Brakka here I’m sure i want this to have dating sim. Please even if its later patch pls make it come true, this game will miss out if it doesnt have any of it ( RF and HM fans are interested) pic.twitter.com/muOOOU42Uh
— Ririn | dont follow me pls (@ririn_user) August 3, 2022
You really gotta confirm if there’s relationship/marriage options in-game since that’s now a base feature for life sims
— Fehiscute (@Fehiscute) August 3, 2022
Still hoping for romance options.
That is part of being a life simulation after all.
— Nermie01 (@Nermie01) August 3, 2022
Settling down on your farm and shacking up with one of the eligible bachelors or bachelorettes has become a staple of life sims thanks to games like Harvest Moon, Rune Factory, and Stardew Valley. Could it also be the work of reality TV show Farmer Wants A Wife? Who knows.
While it’s definitely possible to have a life/farming sim without marriage options, it’s pretty much come to be expected at this point, especially if there’s the option to grow ‘closeness’ levels and strengthen relationships.
Me personally? I love being a wife haver in video games. Is it a necessity? Not particularly. What do you think? Is marriage what Harvestella needs to be a complete life sim?
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