Harvest Island

This is exactly the kind of game I was looking for a long time. Harvest Island is a combination of a farming sim with a horror-mystery adventure. You play as Will and Samantha, a pair of siblings that live with their father on an island. Everyday they have to make offerings to the gods to receive their blessings. In order to do this you have to take care of the farm, tenmd to crops and animals, collect their produce and offer them at one of the many statues that are around the island.
The gods are however picky and each statue will have their own demands. As you bring offerings, the demands will increase over time, which means you have to expand the farm. Every offering you give will give you "bless" a mixture between a blessing and a currency. Bless can be exchanged for seeds and animals with the gods or you can spend it to craft various tools and upgrades that increase your efficency on the farm and allow you to produce more. As the demands of the gods grow, so does their generiosity, so you don't have to worry about running out of bless. You even get bless from just doing your daily chores like feeding animals or collecting crops.
You can also ask directly for a blessing from the gods. These act as permanent upgrades for your character, this can be something simple like befriending animals faster or getting more crops and can be even be somesthing amazing like redudcing the stamina cost of all tools to 1. Since these blessings last the entire game, it's advised to finish the requirements for them as fast as possible. Since the demands of gods change over time you are encouraged to explore more and more of the island to find new resources. This on the other hand will start the mystery plot of the game.
Very soon you will find out that there is something incredibly wrong with the island. You constantly find dead animals, god statues appear in places where they make no sense, you find several abandoned structures even though you are the only humans on the island. It is clear that something has happened in the past and the more you ask your dad, the more he will make excuses.
It is up to the player if he wants to dive deeper into the mystery and find out what is going on but you might not like what you will find. And between all the exploring you still have to do your daily tasks and satisfy the gods.
The game makes sure that solving the mystery and doing your farm work are both intertwined. In order to explore more of the island you will have to craft new tools but doing so requires more bless, so you have to satisfy the gods to get more. It's surprisingly well done and doesn't feel tacky at all. The farming mechanics are well done and are fun and after a long day of exploration it's nice to just chill and take care of the farm. It's a great contrast in which the horrors you will experience get soothed from the relaxing farm work.
A core mechanic of the game is cooking. Cooking is essential to progress because running takes stamina and even if you don't run, just progressing through your day will increase fatigue, which reduces max stamina until the next day. You can cook food to counter this, cooked food regains stamina and even reduces fatigue. Even better, the first time you eat a new dish you also get a permanent max stamina boost, so it's recommended to cook as many different dishes as possible. This is another nice mechanic to encourage exploration for more resources.
Another fun thing about the game is that it makes use of a tide mechanic. During low tide you can explore more of the beach and find crabss, seaweed and other stuff. It also opens up new regions for you to explore. High tide on the other side allows you to fish which is important to fulfill god offerings. And one thing I have to say that is positive is that the fishing minigame does not suck. I really hate fishing minigames in video games but this one is very nice, you just havbe to tap the directional keys in the right order.
Despite all the good points, there are several things I didn't like. For one, this game was done in RPG Maker. Everyone who has played RPGM games knows that the engine is... not very good. It's easy to use but VERY restricted which you can feel here too even though the game has expanded far beyond the usal RPGM mechanics. The performance is also not the best, be ready for stuttering especially if you open or close the menu or worse, when it rains.
But these are restrictions from an engine perspective, there are however some game elements that are bad too.
For one, the game LOVES jumpscares. A little too much. These can appear at random moments and even in situations that have nothing to do with the plot. For example sometimes wild animals will jump out of the forest or a tree might fall down with a loud noise. The first few times it was okay to keep the atmosphere tense but eventually it got annoying because it happened on every corner. And the game does not even need those, there are enough scary moments that kept me on my toes like suddenly finding a dead animal.
There are also some minor annoyances like the game not having a clock so you don't know the exact game time but these were never too bad like the stuff I mentioned before.
Still, I constantly wanted to keep playing because the game is so much fun. Just the farming aspect is nice on its own but solving the mystery is what really drives the player to put more time into it and I don't regret that. And despite how I make it sound, the game is overall very chill, you never feel pressured to fulfill the demands of the gods, you can take your time to finish your tasks even if it takes more than one day. This a is a huge plus for me.
So for everyone who wants a farming game that's a bit different, I cannot recommend this game enough.

*IMPORTANT NOTE: This game is still in active development, so any issues I mention might be addressed in future updates.*
What is it?
Harvest Island is an RPG Maker horror game in the same vein as classics like Mad Father and Corpse Party, but instead of progressing the game by solving puzzles or finding keys, you progress the game by playing a simple, yet still enjoyable, farming sim.
Things I Loved:
Wonderfully Creepy Atmosphere
The best part of this game is the fun contrast between the bright, cheery farming portions of the game and darker more twisted story portions. The sound design does a lot to back this up, and I especially love how the art style subtly changes went you enter the more sinister hidden parts of the island.
Heartfelt Sibling Relationship
The heart of this game's story is the wholesome relationship between Will and his sister Samantha. Their dynamic feels true to real life: They tease each other and have fights, but when things really get tough they are always there for each other. It's lovely.
Masterful Level Design
Both the farm and island are extremely well laid-out and fun to explore! The map is simple enough to keep you from getting lost, yet it still has lots of tucked away nooks, hidden passages, and strange things to discover! The fast travel system is also extremely unique!
Things That Bothered Me:
Pay-to-see Endings
By far my biggest complaint with this game is that the alternate endings are locked behind a paid DLC. I understand why the developer did this - new endings require a lot of new artwork and making and/or commissioning art is one of the most expensive parts of making a RPG Maker game. But the alternate endings are so vital to understanding and enjoying the game's overall story that I really think they should be part of the base game, even if that makes the base game more expensive.
Lingering Bugs
I did encounter a few bugs during my playthrough. There was nothing game-breaking, but several of them were annoying. The worst bug was that once or twice my crops simply stopped growing and I had to destroy and replant them. There were also some text glitches in the UI.
Predictable Story
Because this game wears its inspirations on its sleeve, it's really easy to see where the game is going. While it was still fun to watch the story unfold, the big late game "twist" was not surprising at all.
Content Warning!
This game has some pretty gnarly depictions of dead / mutilated animals both wild and domestic. I normally wouldn't mention something like this, but this game kinda takes it to an extreme, so watch out if you a sensitive to that kind of thing.
Final Notes:
I beat the game and got all achievements in about 30 hours. Overall I enjoyed this game! The farming was relaxing, and the spooky vibes were perfect for Halloween. You can tell that the developer put a lot of love into the game, but it sadly still feels a bit amateurish and unpolished. However, I still think the good far outweighs the bad. If you love RPG Maker horror games and/or farming sims, I'd say give it a try!

I bought Harvest Island on a whim after it had been sitting on my wishlist for a while and although I was skeptical at first, I really ended up enjoying the game. The story really hooks you in, you can't help needing to know what is going on and what this island is hiding. The atmosphere + music are really well chosen and although I consume horror movies like it's no one's business, the jumpscares got me and the story made me uneasy many times.

I do, however, have to list some cons even though it's a positive review:
- the crafting system can be frustrating because even though you build chests, you can't craft from chests. I really, really encourage the dev team to add crafting from chests and not limit to crafting only from backpack. It was especially frustrating to craft/cook food because of this.

- THE CHICKEN COOP. THOSE DARN CHICKEN WOULD NOT MOVE AND I WOULD GET STUCK IN A CORNER COLLECTING MY EGGS. Please make it so you can walk through farm animals and NPCs (I got couldn't leave the house or go to the room because Samantha was in the way a lot). I BEG.

- It was hard to know if I needed to keep offering to the statues or if I had already unlocked all they could give back.

- New game+ for those who want to replay to unlock missed missions/achievements in the first playthrough. Also, let us skip through dialogue in new game+. As of right now, I have no motivation to play through this again even though I do want to complete some of my missed missions... I'm not really in the mood to give this game another 31 hours, you know?

Looking forward to the second game and hope the devs taking into consideration my points to improve on!

Harvest Island is a story about two siblings, as they explore an island filled with mystery. There are twists, turns, and an abundance of strange occurances. A tale that tricks you into thinking everything's well, when that couldn't be further from the truth.
Art
The art style in this game is lovely! I was very immersed in the environment, and I love the fact that the characters have so many expressions. In my experience with playing these types of games, it's not very common. Which is a shame. So I truly appreciate the lengths the developer and artist has gone to.
The colours are also bright, but not in an overwhelming sense. More so in a fun way. It's a palette that works well with the main characters, especially considering they're both children.
Characters
Speaking of the characters, I have a thing where I hate kids in real life, but in games I don't mind them as much. This is no exception to that. Will and Samantha truly embody how siblings act. It's a very older sibling move to tease your younger sibling almost relentlessly. I should know, I'm both.
Will is what I would call making the best out of a bad situation. He tries to be positive, but have moments where he can't keep certain thoughts or feelings at bay. And he acts out in anger, as most children do when things seem unfair. Their emotions are too much to handle because they haven't found a way to regulate them. To make any character believable is difficult, but Will has been made well!
Samantha is a ray of sunshine in a thunderstorm. She's innocent and clueless, but at the same time, incredibly observant and smart. You can be all of these at once. I never had the sense that it was all an act. To me, she didn't deliberately try to be annoying or cause trouble. She's acting like a child would.
Greyson, on the other hand, I had so many alarm bells go off, and I didn't know why. There was something strange about him that I couldn't explain. Of course, I now know the reason. And no, I will not say it. I'd suggest finding it out for yourself!
Gameplay
The gameplay is fairly straightforward, which I enjoy immensely. It focuses on being a farming simulator with a mixture of exploration that made me almost feel like a detective. I'd say the most painful part is not having enough space in your rucksack at the start.
There were also some issues with the fishing mini-game. For some reason, the bar for the time to run out wouldn't work for the majority of my play-through. It didn't disrupt much, but it most likely made things too easy.
Music
I'm very music and sound sensitive. I also happen to be a very jumpy person, so you can imagine how well this went. The shifts in music terrified me to a point where I didn't want to explore because I could tell something was very wrong. Of course, I managed to pluck up some courage and continue on. I wouldn't be here otherwise, but I digress.
The other music was quite nice. I like the fact that each time of the day had a different soundtrack. Not only that, but it was the same in the caves too. It scared me so much when it first happened. I thought that I had wandered into dangerous territory. It took me an embarrassingly long time to realise that wasn't the case...
Story
The story could've gone in so many different directions, but I'm not unhappy where we eventually ended up. I was at the edge of my seat on more than one occasion. And despite my ever-growing anxiety, I wanted to find out what happened. I'm so glad I did because it was more than worth it!
When I played this, it reminded me of another horror game. One that I hold dear to my heart. Just like with this game, it tricks you into believing that everything's all right when it's not. And I've now just realised I love that. Great.
Text
I've played so many games where the text made me have a mental stroke, and very few that left me satisfied. This one has quite a few mistakes, but not as noticeable as other ones. For the most part, the writing is good. I would say it's even great!
I'd give it an 8/10, which I believe is the highest score I've given any game thus far.
TL;DR
Harvest Island is haunting and incredible, with a ton of character!

I found this game to be very enjoyable and the atmosphere is great. The adventure, farming experience etc is all very enjoyable my one gripe is the ending. It felt extremely rushed and abrupt and even after buying the dlc for the additional endings it really isn't a satisfactory conclusion. I don't dislike the ending itself, but the delivery of it felt extremely poor. I cannot recommend the DLC in it's current state as it is potentially 20 or so minutes of additional content. I know the dev is currently working on Harvest Island 2.0 and this is an area that I think needs serious improvement. Other then that I really enjoyed my time with the game itself and enjoyed learning the mystery of the island. There is a lot of really good environmental story telling going on this game and if you let yourself get immersed in the atmosphere I think you will enjoy it too.

Overall, I really enjoyed this game! It is something different and unique, I personally haven’t played anything like Harvest Island and will be keeping an eye out for similar games. Absolutely loved the concept.
I do agree, to an extent, with the other comments that the ending could be better and the twist wasn’t necessarily shocking but I will still be purchasing The Chains That Bound Me when it is released and it hasn’t put me off.
The main issue I have with the ending (other than the obvious Will storyline) is that it feels incomplete, I understand this is to sell separate DLCs but I think it should wrap the game up enough to complete the storyline, but that is just an opinion and I’m sure there are lots of people who feel like the ending does complete the story.
I would still purchase new game releases and DLCs to continue playing even with some closure on the initial stretch of the story so it does feel a bit disappointing to put all the hours in and not truly find out what happens within the base game.
With that being said, I loved the game and really appreciate it when devs actually try and think of a unique concept and not just stick to your typical farming sims.
As mentioned already, I will be purchasing new releases from the developers and would recommend the game to anyone looking for something different. It is a really addictive game and I thoroughly enjoyed playing!

love the art style and the story so far, but I've had to take a break not far in as the crafting system is a bit of a struggle and I've made the pickaxe 3 times now without ever receiving it, the materials leave the inventory and I've successfully crafted other tools before.