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The goal in Harvest Moon games (now called Story of Seasons, although the Harvest Moon franchise will continue under the Natsume brand), is to build a successful and profitable farm. This involves spending your days taking care of cows, harvesting crops, and wooing either the virtual woman or man of your dreams (depending on what gender you’re playing as). Unfortunately same-sex relationships aren’t part of Story of Seasons.

The fun in Harvest Moon games stems from their focus on slow progression and constantly working towards small, attainable goals. Are you saving up for that new chicken coop? Then it might be a good idea to not purchase a significant amount of food from the local restaurant. Maybe you’re a fan of fishing and decide to make your money by setting up multiple fish hatcheries?

In Story of Seasons, just like every Harvest Moon title, managing your character’s stamina while trying to complete daily chores, becomes increasingly difficult the larger your farm becomes and the more additional tasks you take on. Knowing when to sleep and not push your character past the brink of exhaustion is also a big part of the Harvest Moon titles.

After investing approximately 20 hours in Story of Seasons, and as someone who has played most of the main entries in the series, I’m finding it difficult to take care of my sprawling farm and its animals, as well as stop by the town every day to give my special someone an apricot. But does Story of Seasons really bring anything new to the series? Not really. Beyond a few additional features and the streamlining of certain aspects of farming functionality, my experience with Story of Seasons is comparable to my time with Harvest Moon 64 15 years ago. But as a fan of the series, I didn’t have an issue with this. This is the back to basics Harvest Moon game I’ve been waiting for.