It’s the 20th anniversary for the Harvest Moon franchise and Harvest Moon: Light Of Hope has just been announced by publisher Natsume. The latest game in the popular farming and life sim franchise will mark the first time a Harvest Moon game will be available on Steam and Nintendo Switch. The game will also come to PS4.
The story of Harvest Moon: Light Of Hope covers familiar ground for many Harvest Moon games, but there’s a bit of a twist this time. While you are sailing away to start a new life, your boat is caught in a terrible storm and you wreck on an island. There’s a small town there, but it is badly damaged from the storm, and the lighthouse is broken. It’s up to you to help repair the town and fix the lighthouse, while also growing crops and tending to animals. You can bet there’s going to be people to marry to as well.
"Harvest Moon: Light of Hope will set itself apart from other Harvest Moon titles with its depth, including a robust story and clear-cut goals," president and CEO of Natsume, Hiro Maekawa, said in a press statement. "We set out to create a SNES-style nostalgic game with deep and meaningful characters and events, and we are excited to have our fans play it at E3 and tell us what they think!"
If you want even more Harvest Moon in your life, Natsume has also announced Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life Special Edition and Harvest Moon: Save The Homeland will be coming to PS4. Harvest Moon 64 is also getting released on the Wii U’s Virtual Console.
Additionally, Rising Star Games has partnered with Natsume on a Harvest Moon mobile app, called Harvest Moon Lil’ Farmers. The company will also help Natsume with publishing in Europe. "Partnering with Natsume for over a decade, we've been delighted to bring the joyful gameplay of Harvest Moon to fans in Europe and beyond", Martin Defries, the managing director at Rising Star Games, said in a press statement. "We are excited to be part of the unveiling of Harvest Moon: Light of Hope at E3".
The real question is if Harvest Moon: Light Of Hope can reclaim the farming sim crown from indie darling Stardew Valley. Stardew Valley has been wildly successful, and is also getting a port for the Nintendo Switch. According to the quote from Maekawa, Light Of Hope is an SNES-style game, so Natsume must be aware of Stardew Valley’s success.
No release date was announced for Harvest Moon: Light Of Hope, but Natsume did mention it will be playable at this year’s E3. This means the game must be far enough along that there’s a demo built. Expect to hear a release date announcement at E3 in June.
So what do you think? Are you interested in seeing if Natsume can return to its roots with a quality Harvest Moon game? Are you more excited to see Stardew Valley on the Switch? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
