Harvestella Demo: What’s New in the Garden?

Harvestella Demo: What’s New in the Garden?

Autumn is my favourite season. Every time it rolls around I feel the most alive and reflective. During these months, nothing’s better than cozying up with hot cocoa and some chill games, so I was very happy to hear about Harvestella, from Square Enix and Live Wire. (more…)

Review: Enjoy the Pastoral Fantasy of Beecoming a Beekeeper in APICO

Review: Enjoy the Pastoral Fantasy of Beecoming a Beekeeper in APICO

I’m both a sucker for a cozy crafting sim and an aspiring beekeeper to boot, so I couldn’t resist APICO, a beekeeping simulator from TNgineers and Whitethorn Games, whose Steam tagline is “Stress-free games for nervous people.” How could I resist the promise of something stress-free and targeted at me, a nervous person?

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5 Reasons Rune Factory 5 Should Bring Back Love Rivals

5 Reasons Rune Factory 5 Should Bring Back Love Rivals

Rune Factory is probably the best farming sim you’ve never heard of… mostly because it’s been assumed dead for the almost eight years, since its original developer Neverland filed for bankruptcy. Rune Factory is a fantasy-themed spinoff of Story of Seasons (formerly known in the States as Harvest Moon, which is now a different franchise) that combines farming with dungeon crawling: you split your time between tending your crops, befriending local townsfolk, and then inviting said townsfolk to come kill monsters with you (or taming the monsters so they can tend your crops and you can get back to killing their brethren). The franchise was only recently revived by Marvelous subsidiary Hakama, inc. with the arrival of the remaster Rune Factory 4 Special and the announcement of Rune Factory 5, expected in Japan in May 2021 and sometime in later 2021 for the rest of us.

Details are coming out slowly—a trailer has been released and the love interests announced—but there is one thing I hope to see in the new RF that’s been missing from the last couple of generations: love rivals. Common to older SoS/HM games was a mechanic where each love interest available to the player also had an NPC vying for their virtual affections, known in fandom spaces as “love rivals.” So, in honor of Rune Factory 5’s upcoming release, here’s 5 reasons why love rivals should be a thing again.
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GYGO: A Shark Named Galaga and Farming Sim’s Esports League

GYGO: A Shark Named Galaga and Farming Sim’s Esports League

Howdy, squad. It’s me again! Welcome to this week’s GYGO, where we round up the biggest weekly gaming news and bring it to your lovely ears and eyes. This week’s news was equal parts fun and surreal, with a pinch of ugh. But only a little ugh this week! Mostly, this week brought us delightful, if mystifying, tidbits. Like this one: (more…)