Harvest Hunt Review: Hell on Earth (PC)

Roguelike video games often tread the lines of repetitiveness and addictiveness. There is a sense of reward for completing something in a roguelike with so much on the line. So I thought to myself, how will Harvest Hunt play? It has an intriguing premise. A roguelike survival horror where the objective is to protect your village from a monster. But its ideas can only take you as far as its execution. Unfortunately, the execution doesn’t go as far as I’d like. 

Harvest Hunt releases May 22nd for PC.

See also: Alone in the Dark Review: Welcome Back to Derceto (PC)

Story: The Wardens

A new harvest season has come in Luna Nova and as such, a requirement for a new warden. This warden protects the village, gathering ambrosia or banishing the monster that roams the lands. The history behind Luna Nova and the people that populate the village is the best part of the game. I loved the backstory given to each location and to each Warden who participates in the harvest season. Completing a harvest season with a warden will unlock even more information about the world and the warden. 

This title has an well-written lore to it

Mystery shrouds the entire story. Each character had come to Luna Nova with the purpose of something and each stayed for something else. To unlock more of the story behind the village and the characters, the player has to progress in the game. Succeeding will unlock more information (although players will have other chances later on in case they fail). It’s a decent reward incentive for continuing, but unfortunately, it’s the only one. 

Gameplay: Frustrating Repetition

The primary objective of Harvest Hunt is to gather the ambrosia, a substance found throughout the village without being killed by the devourer. The player has a minimum amount of ambrosia they need to acquire over 5 nights with each warden. Throughout their playthrough, players will be rewarded with Whispers, tarot-like cards that grant different benefits to the players. They can forge a deck of these benefits to suit their playstyle. In addition to that deck, each night will draw new cards that affect that specific encounter. For example, one night could make it to where the player’s footsteps are silent if they perform x task. In addition to that, however, the Devourer, the monster that roams the village, could have an ability where it does more damage. 

Collecting enough of this is the key to success.

Having the flexibility to edit your deck to your playstyle works well. I just wish the core gameplay loop that it is based around was more entertaining. There is only one map and only one monster. There is only one primary goal. You repeat this over and over, only ever unlocking cards and story lore. There doesn’t feel like any true progression going on here. I wish there was variety in the gameplay. Maybe with time, there will be, but I got bored after a while traversing through the same area with the same monster. And that was when the gameplay loop worked.

The Devourer

The main issue with the game that I have is the Devourer and how it functions. It’s an omnipresent being to an absurd degree. A majority of my time playing was spent running away from this monster. Of the 10-minute long session, 9 of those minutes were spent with me trying to lose the monster. Whenever I managed to get away and run to a completely different area, it would teleport there. I would turn off my lantern, crouch, and still be spotted by it. It wasn’t fun. There were a few times where I went hardcore mode and tried to slay the monster or live, and I still failed. The balance here feels off. 

He’s not really scary

There are a couple of cards that, although on paper seem to help, didn’t provide very much or downright didn’t work. One card for example lets me completely lose the monster by entering these safe spots. The idea of this card is great, but again, the execution is not so much. The Devourer was chasing me, so I entered a safe spot and lost its trail. Then I had to spend time in that safe spot until the monster left. Sometimes it would take longer. Even when he did leave, I had to crouch, turn off the lantern, and go in the opposite direction, otherwise, he’d just spot me again. I don’t know. Maybe this gameplay loop isn’t for me, but things never felt balanced here.

Settings

Harvest Hunt feels limited in other ways. It’s clear there are some quality of life changes that need to be added here. For example is access to the settings. You can’t enter your settings for anything at any point while you’re playing. You have to go back to the title screen. Why? There is no reason for that. I don’t personally change my settings until I enter the game and get a feeling for how it plays. Not to mention there is nothing to help you if you forget something in the game. There is a tutorial button prompt when in the “village” menus but this only gives you information on whatever tab you’re on. If you’re in the lore section and press it, you will see information regarding lore. It doesn’t give you gameplay information when you’re in the game. There isn’t much help to the player after the initial tutorial. 

Graphics and Audio: Hidden Beauty 

Harvest Hunt is a fantastic-looking game utilizing this handrawn style where bold dark lines populate various surfaces. Unfortunately, its beauty is often hidden by dark map and some awkward lighting. The map has a directional signpost that points at where the three main locations are. When trying to read it however, if your light is shining at it, it will essentially cover the image, making it difficult to know what location the sign is pointing to. I had to angle the lamp in a way so the sign was visible. 

This good looking game is covered in darkness

The lamp in general is weird to use. You want to turn it off most of the time to avoid being spotted by the devourer, but doing so results in this screen pulsing in addition to you being unable to see anything. Because the Devourer is on you so often, it felt as though playing the game without the lamp was almost necessary to succeed. The map as well is rather small. As mentioned before, there are only three main locations and you walk around them in five seconds. The visuals don’t have a canvas to draw on. Even if it did though, there is a chance you wouldn’t be able to see very much of it.

Music on the other hand is very subtle. I thought it worked well for what the game was going for. There is this almost ritualistic and sister audio that plays when interacting with different objects or navigating the menus. I thought it set the tone perfectly. Whispers are also heard when traversing through the village adding an eerie sense of dread, even if you know what is ultimately coming. 

Harvest Hunt was reviewed on PC with a code provided by neonhive.co.uk.