Harvest Moon certainly has a lot to answer for. An entire sub-genre of farming sim exists largely off the back of
Atlus' long-running, seminal series. And while
Animal Crossing is the more popular in the space -- expanding on the basics of HM in numerous ways -- the entries that borrow from those two examples do so in creative and fun ways,
Wylde Flowers chief among them.
From Aussie developer,
Studio Drydock, Wylde Flowers is very much an Animal Crossing-like, if you will, but it's very much its own game and does things at a clip that suits this type of setup, as our reviewer
David Wildgoose discovered in his own writing
chore for us. Here's a kernel:
Special mention must go to the game's commitment to diversity. It's not specified where Fairhaven is located, but it's obviously a place that welcomes people of all cultural backgrounds, genders and sexual orientation. Although you can't create your own character to play as – this is very much Tara's story – you can colour in details, such as deciding the gender of her ex-fiancé and indeed any future romantic interests. But it's not just in the people, it's in the food, too. Tara's kitchen plays host to the preparation of cuisine from all over the world, not just the Western standards with a few Asian dishes mixed in. I was whipping up bobotie, empanadas, haupia… and that was just for breakfast. Consider yourself warned: Don't play this game when hungry.
Click here for our Wylde Flowers review.