What makes a house feel like a house? Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town is a game that's built upon a strong foundation. The long-awaited successor towards the Story of Seasons series-known previously in the west as Harvest Moon-from Marvelous Inc.'s Xseed Games, Olive Town takes the helm from the iconic farm/life simulator which has nurtured the interior farmer in gamers of all ages since 1996 and inspired countless tributes and reinventions, from FarmVille to Stardew Valley.
In many different ways, Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town builds upon the blueprint of its predecessors; it's a sturdy house, updated and sleek, ready for move-in. But a curious lack of warmth and character make it feel rather less like home of computer could be.
The opening premise of Olive Town is familiar, however with some exciting quality of life improvements towards the farming sim formula that experienced homesteaders and newcomers alike will appreciate. Following within the footsteps of the late grandfather, your character moves towards the sun-soaked peninsula where the port town can be found. Most of the structures you have to build and grow your farm are already awaiting you on your grandfather's land, including adorably lonely wild livestock for you to tame and set track of a hot bed plus some fodder.
Your first decision as the player may be the appearance of your protagonist, and also at first I truly appreciated the flexibleness of the character creator. It prompts you to definitely simply choose a face and then a physique with different options marked with gender-neutral descriptors like “Pioneer” or “Bright,” as well as provides a diverse selection of skin tones, hairstyles, and hair textures (and paint options for an adorable, sporty motorcycle). My momentary joy was dampened, however, once the next screen prompted me to select she/her or he/him pronouns-with no additional options. While it’s encouraging to determine this installment in the series continue to include LGBTQ+ romance options, I'll hold out hope for adding more gender diversity with future DLC.
Shortly thereafter, Olive Town's mayor, Victor, introduces himself as your grandfather's friend and welcomes you to the idyllic village. To tell the truth, Victor kind of put me off a little. Within seconds of meeting, he enlists your help to get more tourists to the town, and speaks of increasing the town's value to outsiders for a price that even attracts the ire of other townsfolk every so often. Your character found the town to escape city life and reconnect with their roots. However when arriving heralds a brand new era of tourism for the town, I couldn't help but feel similar to a gentrifier.
One of Olive Town's major strengths is the sometimes overwhelming abundance of choices it provides you. While your farm is situated just south from the town, much of your land continues to be reclaimed naturally and is largely unexplored. Your house is bordered by both a seaside along with a forest, the second of which is dotted with cave entrances to mines. The land is rich with resources to gather to improve your house as well as wild flora, fruit, and spices to forage and eat or sell.
Anything you find or grow can go in to the big white shipping box near your house and expands the selection of the town general store and supermarket the next day. More than any entry in the franchise in the future before, Olive Town puts an emphasis on crafting. There are twelve skills for the protagonist to foster in order to unlock more crafting capabilities, from mushroom cultivation and beekeeping to mining, pet care, and something of my own favorites, draining: using a little bucket to scoop up any body of water from puddles to dirty lakes and dredge them for clay and treasures.
Another charming addition to your toolbag may be the camera, which you can use to snap pictures of wild animals you encounter as you explore the peninsula. I discovered myself wishing I possibly could play more of the game within the first-person camera view, which creates surprising intimacy with its shift in perspective. You have to sneak up on wildlife to avoid spooking them and to obtain a good shot; it’s an immersive and satisfying, yet serene activity that felt like quintessential Story of Seasons.
When you encounter a damaged bridge or an abandoned building on your property, you have the choice to hire the town carpenter to help you out. But in true pioneering fashion, the sport also enables you to save your valuable money and connect everything yourself if you manage to forage an adequate amount of the required materials by yourself.
The disadvantage to that abundance of preference is the fact that it's easy to get so wrapped up in production the pleasures of small-town life begin to be a waste. Within the town's Olive Hall, the bulletin board is updated with requests in the mayor and townsfolk. You return towards the bulletin board to complete these requests, which means you will never need to interface using the townsfolk unless you're trying to socialize. But between clearing your land to really make it easy to farm, rebuilding your farm structures, and fulfilling requests, it seems like being social or just being productive are mutually exclusive choices. Make connections, and also the town suffers. Socialize, and also the bulletin board requests stack up. Socializing itself also takes concentrated effort. You will find 37 NPCs walking around waiting to meet you, and while the soft and inviting chibi-style art of Olive Town is beautiful to check out, I found myself wishing I could interact with more components of my neighbors' homes. I needed to pick up an image, to open a drawer; to understand others beyond dialogue, which was often relegated to reminding me a good upcoming town event or commenting around the latest influx of holidaymakers.
The town also grows by itself while you meet requests. Go to sleep following a successful day's errands and you'll wake up the next morning with Mayor Victor announcing that the new salon exposed in the town overnight. While it's satisfying to determine the town grow, I felt distanced from taking part in making it happen, and I'd barely spent enough time in the town to feel genuinely excited about utilizing the new facilities.
As you narrow grass and clear underbrush out of your land, you discover tiny, bouncy mouse-like creatures that eventually reveal themselves to become Earth Sprites, benevolent spirits who are excited to help you in exchange for…more favors. Their rewards include resources and materials, in addition to use of secret Earth Sprite locales, from an island in the sky towards the center of the volcano. But with that point, I did not want more stuff, and that i was fed up with errands. Meeting the Sprites felt like unlocking a brand-new bulletin board. I mostly wanted to make a friend.
Overall, I found myself falling into the same patterns that had beckoned me to the simple life in the first place. I didn’t desire to be responsible for turning Olive Town into a tourist destination or match the mayor's wishes. I just desired to build community with the people who were already there and also to interact with the land and the lore from the spirits who inhabited it. The amount of tools and ease of access to each area enables you to be whatever kind of homesteader your heart desires-and I only wish there is a little less pressure so I could fully embrace that freedom.
Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town is an encouraging oncoming of a new chapter in the long-running farm/life simulator's history. All the pieces are in place to have an unforgettable experience, with its peaceful and serene location, endlessly customizable landscape, and an unprecedented abundance of crafts and projects to pursue. While sometimes unwieldy, there's something for everyone here, especially those who're thinking about the organization and production management aspect of managing a farm.
Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town will be available for the Nintendo Turn on Friday, March 26th.
