Monster Harvest

56%
Game Brain Score Based on 441 reviews
  • grinding
  • gameplay
  • story
Monster Harvest Game Cover
Not respectful of time, and not quite it's own game yet.
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Monster Harvest is a farming adventure game where you can mutate crops into loyal companions, known as Planimals, to take into battle. Explore the three unique seasons of Planimal Point, each with their own weather and crops, as you fight against the evil SlimeCo. Customize your farm, house, and furniture, and craft delicious jams while mutating up to 72 different crop variations.

  • Nintendo Switch
  • PC
  • Play​station 4
  • Play​station 5
  • Windows
  • Xbox One
  • Xbox Series X|S
  • Play​Station
  • Xbox
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

56%
Audience ScoreBased on 441 reviews
gameplay37 positive mentions
grinding161 negative mentions
  • Unique gameplay that combines farming simulation with monster collecting, offering a fresh experience.
  • Relaxing and engaging, with no time limit on days, allowing players to progress at their own pace.
  • Charming art style and cute character designs that appeal to fans of the genre.
  • Feels unfinished and lacks depth, with limited content and repetitive gameplay that can become tedious quickly.
  • Numerous bugs and glitches, including save file issues and unresponsive NPCs, detracting from the overall experience.
  • Combat mechanics are overly simplistic, with no option to switch monsters during battles and a lack of strategic depth.
  • grinding161 mentions

    The grinding aspect of "Monster Harvest" has received mixed feedback, with many players noting that while the initial gameplay is engaging, it quickly becomes tedious and repetitive. The farming mechanics are considered basic and lack depth, leading to a grindy experience, especially as players wait for crops to grow and manage their planimals. Overall, while the game offers a unique blend of farming and monster collecting, it struggles with balancing and depth, making the grind feel less rewarding over time.

    • “It's very fun in the beginning but after some time, it gets tedious and you're essentially just waiting for the next season to see the new planimals.”
    • “Everything becomes very tedious very quickly.”
    • “There's so many game-breaking bugs and lies told to you by tooltips and the story that after a while it just gets mind-numbing and tedious to play.”
  • gameplay122 mentions

    The gameplay of Monster Harvest combines traditional farming mechanics with the unique twist of mutating crops into creatures called planimals, offering a casual and low-stress experience. However, many players find the gameplay simplistic and lacking depth, with underdeveloped battle mechanics and a grindy endgame that can lead to a sense of emptiness. While the game has enjoyable elements and a charming aesthetic, it suffers from bugs and design flaws that detract from the overall experience, leaving players wanting more variety and polish.

    • “Monster Harvest stands out with the combination of traditional farming and the ability to mutate crops into creatures (planimals).”
    • “Additionally, being able to sleep until evening to refill your energy and tackle more tasks made the gameplay even more enjoyable and stress-free.”
    • “They found a great gameplay loop in growing your own monsters alongside different crops, livestock, mounts, etc. It's all grown on your farm.”
    • “The gameplay is very light and unfulfilling.”
    • “Sadly the game is beatable quickly and every achievement is obtained within 10 hours or less of gameplay.”
    • “The monster RPG content is so poorly done that it might as well have not been implemented at all, as it clearly took focus away from the decent farm sim portion of the gameplay.”
  • story66 mentions

    The game's story is widely criticized for being minimal and underdeveloped, with many players feeling it lacks depth and engagement. While there is a basic premise introduced at the start, the narrative fails to evolve, leaving players with little incentive to interact with townsfolk or pursue quests. Overall, the consensus suggests that significant improvements are needed in storytelling and character development to enhance the gaming experience.

    • “Overall a very promising game if there is more content added to round out the story and character development of the townspeople.”
    • “As for the story, I must say it could be improved, but it's nothing that stops you from enjoying the game.”
    • “Love the quests and how many there are; I love the story-driven aspects.”
    • “This is a huge reason the game felt like early access to me, because there's not really a story, like at all.”
    • “It's like the devs wrote a bare minimal story with every intent to replace it once the game got out of alpha, and then forgot.”
    • “The story's not much either, or the townsfolk and the 10% finished 'relationship' system.”
  • graphics54 mentions

    The graphics of the game are generally praised for their colorful pixel art style and charming aesthetics, reminiscent of titles like Stardew Valley. However, some players feel that the character designs are too blocky and do not harmonize with the overall art style, leading to a sense of inconsistency. While the visuals are appealing and well-executed, there are mixed opinions on their originality and the game's overall polish.

    • “The art style is lovely, and each season looks great.”
    • “I am a big fan of pixel graphics and creature collecting games, and I found Monster Harvest to be cute, colorful, and appealing.”
    • “Graphics: the graphics are lovely and remind me of Stardew Valley, which is a game I love.”
    • “The graphics are 16-bit lookalike (like the excellent Stardew Valley), but not very cute and lack charm (personal opinion, I expect some would like it).”
    • “Graphics - I do not feel the locals and my character graphics belong to this game - they are too blocky and do not fit in with the art style of the landscape, caves, buildings, beverages, decorations, and planimals.”
    • “Even the graphics, as you can see in the screenshots or gameplay, are Stardew-like (the color scheme and the pixel art), but with the characters being more round to give that Pokémon first generation look.”
  • stability24 mentions

    The game suffers from significant stability issues, with numerous bugs and glitches persisting since its early reviews, including game-breaking errors that can result in lost progress and crashes. While some players find the game enjoyable despite these problems, many report that the frequency and severity of the bugs make it frustrating to play. There is hope for improvement, as the development team is reportedly working on fixes, but the current state remains problematic.

    • “A lot of the bugs present in early reviews are still here including loss of progress, the black screen issue, and barn glitches.”
    • “The game is a buggy mess, and while debatably fun for what it has, half of the time you are screwed out of the last 30 minutes of play due to some bug that messes you up and you can only resolve by restarting the game and doing the whole day again.”
    • “Unfortunately, it's too buggy to play; there have been numerous game-breaking bugs.”
  • music20 mentions

    The music in the game is generally well-received, described as relaxing and fitting for various situations, though some players note a lack of variety with only a few distinct tracks. While the soundtrack enhances the gameplay experience, there are complaints about distracting sound effects and occasional technical issues affecting game saves. Overall, the music contributes positively to the game's atmosphere, making it enjoyable to play alongside other activities.

    • “Honestly, there are downsides to the game and it does feel very similar to Stardew Valley which was a bit off-putting at first, but it is very addictive. The soundtrack is lovely and it's a great game to play while you're watching something.”
    • “Music offers a nice variety of chill tunes for different areas and situations in the game that are not annoyingly repetitive.”
    • “It is so chill; the music is so relaxing, and I love the grind to prolong the fun hours of playability.”
    • “Soundtrack - 6/10”
    • “Sleeping in your bed does not always save your game though as I have experienced a black screen with the music still playing in the background - pressing the escape key takes you back to the main menu and you have to start over from your previous save.”
    • “I would like to interact with the (to me they look like video game machines) machines in the saloon to play some mini games for prizes as well as changing the music using the jukebox as I love to hear all the tracks.”
  • optimization5 mentions

    The game's optimization has been criticized for bugs, crashes, and long save times, particularly after the first year of gameplay. While users note that the settings are not well-optimized and the combat system is lacking, they remain hopeful that future updates could address these issues, especially considering the game's low price point.

    • “The game does have bugs and does not have the best optimized settings, but what game can't be fixed with a few updates? For 14 bucks, this is one hell of a steal.”
    • “Awful combat system, uneven performance, fiddly UI.”
    • “Needs optimization for gameplay after year 1; experiencing crashes and long timeouts during saves.”
  • emotional4 mentions

    Players find the emotional aspect of the game to be deeply resonant, particularly appreciating the wholesome relationships between the townsfolk and their love for the creatures, which fosters a sense of community and warmth. This connection is especially impactful for those navigating their own emotional journeys.

    • “I also love that the townsfolk are pro-planimal and most have their own and love these creatures as well; it's very wholesome.”
  • replayability2 mentions

    Many users express that the game lacks replayability, particularly after achieving 100% completion, leading them to feel it will remain uninstalled. It is suggested to purchase the game only during significant sales if interested.

    • “Since I 100% completed this, I cannot see any replay value, so it will forever sit in my uninstalled library of games. I'd recommend buying this on a deep sale if you are interested.”
  • character development2 mentions

    Reviewers express optimism about the game's potential, noting that the character development of the townspeople feels underdeveloped and would benefit from additional content to enhance the story.

    • “Overall, a very promising game if there is more content added to round out the story and character development of the townspeople.”
    • “Overall a very promising game if there is more content added to round out the story and character development of the townspeople.”
  • monetization2 mentions

    Many users perceive the monetization strategy of the game as a cash grab, suggesting that it prioritizes profit over player experience.

    • “I have the feeling it's just a cash grab.”
  • humor2 mentions

    The humor in the game is largely absent, with players finding the fishing mechanics neither amusing nor engaging, and the low value of the fish further detracts from any potential comedic elements.

    • “It's not funny nor challenging to fish, and the fish are worth a very low amount of gold.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

57% average critic score

Buy Monster Harvest

Play time

9hMedian play time
6hAverage play time
3-10hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 14 analyzed playthroughs

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