Monster Harvest Critic Reviews

I do think that Maple Powered Games is on to something here with Monster Harvest. Its mishmash of systems accomplishes, for the most part, what they were trying to do – this is undeniable. Just be forewarned that under nearly every rock, and within the leaves of all those trees, there will sit a bug waiting to suck the entertainment out of it. And what you get out of Monster Harvest will vary depending on how willing you are to put up with that. Still, there’s a lot to enjoy here, and if you’re a fan of Stardew Valley or Pokemon, you owe it to yourself to check this one out.

Monster Harvest is retro in how it looks, which is great, but also in how it plays, which isn't as great. The gameplay doesn't feel addictive enough for a farming simulator, and the monster battle portion feels tacked on. I had fun with the game, but I never felt drawn into the world.

Monster Harvest is a good game that a little too closely resembles Stardew Valley and does not execute its Pokèmon-like mechanics cleanly or uniquely enough. Fortunately, it’s mostly visually beautiful with nice music and more than plenty to do.

For all of its faults, Monster Harvest is still a unique experience that has the potential for a large payoff, if the team can rectify some of the problems. The premise is amazing, the execution is pretty great, and there are just a few more things to iron out before this title achieves legendary status. At this time, it's not a perfect game, but I can't stop playing it.

Monster Harvest is part of a growing genre that tries to combine farming sims like Harvest Moon with creature collecting like Pokemon. Unfortunately, by trying to cram as many different mechanics as possible into one tiny title, Monster Harvest pared them down to their basest level in an effort to offer a nibble of many things but never a filling feast. As for the bugs it launched with, those will soon be addressed with promised patches, but when it comes to gameplay, Monster Harvest still feels like it needs a little more time to grow. A lot more depth on all fronts will turn this garden variety game into a bumper crop; with enough time, I have faith the developers will find the balance Monster Harvest needs to achieve greatness.

The farming side of things is a little better than the RPG side of things, but there are so many games on the Switch that offer a more satisfying experience, it’s hard to recommend this one. Add in a bevy of bugs, and this lands firmly in the so-so bucket.

Monster Harvest is a good example of why great ideas also need to be followed up with great execution. There’s nothing wrong with the idea of a farm sim with monster-catching elements, but Monster Harvest does a rough job of convincing you of that. 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. Amazingly, the farm sim gameplay still redeems this enough that it’s not a complete dumpster fire, but we’d only give this the barest of recommendations to anybody looking for another entry in the genre. Take our word for it, you’re much better off just starting over with a new farm in Stardew Valley, or picking up Rune Factory 4.

It’s a shame that the execution is so bad, since, as I said, there’s a good idea at the core of Monster Harvest. Given that there are plenty of very good monster-breeding games and farming sims out there – even if not necessarily in the same game – you’re much better off playing those in tandem rather than suffering through this.

There’s a lot of potential to Monster Harvest, but it falls short on delivering a farming sim game that comes close to rivalling others in the genre. Hopefully, with time, Monster Harvest continues to grow, but until then it feels like it’s missing what makes the hard work worthwhile. Honestly, this feels like an Early Access title that still needs more time before it’s ready for full release. It seems the phrase ‘third time’s the charm’ does not apply to game delays.

I’d like to be able to say that aside from the bugs, Monster Harvest is a great game, but that’s just not true at this point. The game is just missing too many staples that other farming sims feature. There is little main story, no NPC interaction, a near featureless battle-system, no side quests, and barely any small intermediary goals throughout the game. Even beating the final boss is greeted with a single line of dialogue and zero fanfare. Publisher Merge Games has repeatedly claimed additional content will release when debugging is complete. It would be worth RPGamer’s time to wait for both of those events to occur.