Harvest Moon: Light of Hope coming to Steam November 14

Just in time for me to spend my holiday break doing nothing but farming

New Harvest Moon? You bet I’m all over this.

Seems like Natsume is looking to celebrate its 20th anniversary with a new Harvest Moon game on Steam. Is this related to the success of Stardew Valley? Who can say. All I know is that that kind of rivalry is really great for us fans. Here’s an excerpt from ‘About the Game’:

“Looking for a fresh start and some new surroundings, you set off on a voyage to begin your new life! Unfortunately, the weather has different plans, as your ship is hit by a monsoon, and goes down! You drift into a small harbor town, now in a shambles from the storm, where a young doctor named Jeanne saves your life. The town has essentially been deserted, but you’re never one to back down from a challenge! It will be up to you to help rebuild the town and save the lighthouse…but it won’t be easy! Nevertheless, with some hard work growing crops, tending livestock, and gathering materials for repairs, you will be able to make new friends, start a family, revive the lighthouse, and save the town, your new home!

• Collect important materials to rebuild the town and restore the lighthouse!
• Complete requests from villagers to unlock new areas and items!
• New and unique festivals, including the Dog Racing Festival!
• Learn to grow and mutate crops with user friendly UI and tutorials!
• Play as a boy or a girl, get married, and start a family!

I recommend watching the trailer if you want to know more about what to expect. Looks like we’ve got some of the old festivals back, though I’m not sure why they’re claiming the Dog Racing Festival is “new and unique” when it was in the N64 and PlayStation Harvest Moon games. I think it’s all a part of the classic Harvest Moon tradition of selectively remembering their own game features.

November 14 is coming up soon, so make sure you’re ready to get your copy. I know I’m interested in seeing how well Natsume can bring their game onto PC, especially now that we have Stardew Valley to compare it to.