The sun dips below the fields and night settles on the cursed town of Luna Nova once more. The people are scared, and rightfully so, for something terrible lurks in the cornfields, something malevolent, something hungry. Don the mask as this harvest season’s Warden and creep through the swamp to collect as much Ambrosia as possible. Fight the Devourer with a slew of cunning weapons or cower in the corn and skulk through the mud. Your options are many, yet one thing is certain: The Devourer is coming for you.
One thing Harvest Hunt has in abundance is style. Right from the get-go I was sucked in by the unique graphics and gothic story-telling. Hooked before the game even began, I was desperate to dive in. The brilliant hand-drawn washed-out aesthetic alongside the charming little tarot cards was a brilliant bit of design that added a huge amount of character and personality to the experience. In addition, it’s important to note that the writing is fantastic, full of history, dread, and intrigue that sucks you into the journey of the Wardens and the town of Luna Nova. Based on real European folklore with a dash of magic and a drizzle of horror, Harvest Hunt captivates by handing out snippets of tantalizing information every night, leaving the player hungry for more. This mystery won’t untangle itself after all.
But what about the gameplay? Well, the concept is rather simple but it’s handled very effectively. The first few nights do a great job of easing the player into the experience and initial gameplay loop. You are a Warden, tasked with collecting as much Ambrosia (a mysterious, red mushroom-like plant that the townsfolk have become addicted to) as possible. Sneak around and collect it from natural Ambrosia stalks or banish the Devourer and collect Ambrosia from his demise. Or do both! You do you. Harvest Hunt gives you a lot of freedom with how you play. Whether it’s the way you collect, which weapons you pick or even the selection of tarot cards you want to use, the permutations lead to an endlessly varied experience.
While each night becomes more difficult than the previous, with the Devourer becoming stronger and smarter, you also gain access to more powerful tools to add to your arsenal. The tarot cards can increase your speed, bolster your health, or even affect the map itself. Yet while you grow in power, the Devourer mutates, gaining new abilities like poison trails or the power to corrupt your sight. Planning your route, deciding which tools to use, and how much health you wish to sacrifice to achieve your goal is crucial to your survival. If you panic and lose your way through the maze-like cornfields… well, you’ll be easy pickings.
But there certainly does seem to be a bit of a balancing issue here. Not all cards and tools are created equal after all. Some are useful, some are fairly redundant and others are completely and utterly broken. Once I figured out that I could retain my village fortifications every Harvest season, I didn’t see why I should change them.
One power in particular truly carried me through the game. Let me introduce the Hideout perk. Once this is unlocked, coffins can be found dotted around the map. Find one, and you will be healed to full health once. Sounds good right? Oh yeah, also, while you’re inside, the Devourer can’t target you… at all. But you can still hit him. And there are multiple coffins. Now if you combine this with the voodoo doll weapon which drains your health to basically zero, you can damage the Devourer from anywhere on the map without worrying about your imminent doom. Or even sit inside your nice little coffin house with a cup of tea and jab away at the all-powerful demon with a blunt pitchfork. Poor Devourer. I felt a little sorry for him scuttling around outside with what I could only imagine was a look of confusion on his face (if he had a face).
Once you figure out little guaranteed combos like this, it’s hard to go back to things like the jaw-trap (which often doesn’t work) or the hatchet… (which also often doesn’t work.) One thing I can say for sure, the Devourer’s hitbox needs a bit of a touch-up. Moreover, if you collect enough Ambrosia by night three, for example, you needn’t bother with the next two nights. Just enter and leave. There should be an incentive to gather extra Ambrosia and reward riskier gameplay. Maybe more unlocks in the main menu, or even something cosmetic for the cards or the map. Little additions like this can sometimes make a big difference.
But little niggling gripes aside, the sense of tension and fear never left me throughout the experience. Even when I knew what I was doing, I was always alert. The team has done a great job in this regard. The only thing that disappointed me was that the experience was so limited. Five wardens, 25 nights, all on the same map. Upon completion, I really wanted more. Maybe two more maps, with two new monsters, fresh horrifying designs, and more complex powers. This would make Harvest Hunt a much more complete experience, gameplay-wise, and one that I would have played through again. At this stage, I’m hesitant to do another playthrough, because 25 more nights on the same map may just feel like unnecessary repetition. Yes, of course, this would be a lot of work, but it would be so worth it just to experiment with the weapons and tarot cards in a new dangerous environment.
Harvest Hunt has a great foundation: a deep and twisted story and enthralling gameplay. It has so much going for it, and yet, it’s just not quite there. There’s obviously a lot of love in this project, and that passion is clear when you read the compendium and sift through the hand-drawn art. But I fear that novelty may just wear off too quickly with a lot of players. We need variation, new settings, and a change of pace. Maybe add these and a touch of polish, and you’d be looking at a stunning title that would attract horror fans across the world. Harvest Hunt is a truly promising game and one I would recommend to anyone looking for a bit of a thrill. But in this state, it just feels a little… lacking. Like the people living in the gloomy town of Luna Nova, Harvest Hunt needs a little more meat on its bones.
