Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley have helped to inspire a new farming simulation game entitled Harvest Days. Both games are considered to be gold standards of the simulation genre - Stardew Valley is one of the most critically-acclaimed farming games ever released, and the latest title in the Animal Crossing series, New Horizons, is one of the best-selling Nintendo games of all time. Although both games remain popular, they are both near the end of their life cycles in terms of receiving updates from developers.
Both Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley are very open-ended titles, allowing players to focus on whatever personal goals they want to achieve in-game. Stardew Valley is the more structured of the two, tasking players with rebuilding their grandfather's abandoned farm. Players can farm, collect materials, go dungeon-crawling in the town mines, befriend the local townsfolk, and more. Stardew Valley allows for more relationship progression than Animal Crossing, allowing players to marry and have children with eligible candidates within town. Animal Crossing offers players more freedom, although they are still placed on an island to build from the ground up much like Stardew's farm. Players live alongside Animal Crossing's anthropomorphic animal villagers, building friendships with them as they take part in activities like fishing, bug catching, and decorating their island.
Harvest Days is an upcoming farming and life simulation game that draws inspiration from both iconic titles. A press release from developer Family Devs outlines the many features of the game, detailing both work and leisure activities. Players will have many options when it comes to farming, with the game offering over 50 different crops and 12 fruit trees to choose from, as well as several different farm animals. Players can form relationships with their neighbors, who they can also buy, sell, and trade with. Much like the titles it draws inspiration from, gathering crafting resources is an important part of gameplay, from which players can build tools, furniture, and decorations. The game will feature an open world with secrets to discover, offering over 40 different activities throughout a scenic landscape. The game will be playable during Steam's upcoming Next Fest, and it will release in Early Access in April 2022. A trailer can be viewed on publisher Toplitz Productions' YouTube page.
This game is bound to be exciting news for fans of the simulation genre, especially those who have already put hundreds of hours into Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing and are eager for something new. From its description, Harvest Days certainly has many of the same features as the two games, but manages to come off distinct enough that it doesn't sound like an outright copy of either one. One feature important to some players is not explicitly confirmed for the game: player marriage. While not considered a key feature to some, Stardew Valley's marriage mechanic is a fan-favorite for many players.
While it's hard to judge the quality of a game with only a trailer and description, Harvest Days could potentially be just what fans of the genre are looking for. Much like Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley, the game has a unique graphics style and all the classic mechanics of a strong task-based simulation game. Although final judgement has to be reserved until release, the fact that Harvest Days is inspired by two of the most popular simulation games of all time is incredibly promising.
Source: Toplitz Productions/YouTube