Skip to main content

Innocent Life: A Futuristic Harvest Moon

Farm for the future.

Dark blue icons of video game controllers on a light blue background
Image credit: Eurogamer

Let's not procrastinate here. Your time is valuable, and I'm not going to make you wade through four paragraphs of concept nonsense this morning before actually telling you anything about this little mystery of a game - due to its numerous name-changes and constantly shifting release date, it's already gotten everybody confused enough. So, the facts: Innocent Life is the first Harvest Moon game not to be developed by Marvelous Interactive, and it bears no relation to the previous games in the series. It's a diversion, if you will. As you'll know if you read our Harvest Moon interview the other week, its development was handed over to a tiny, completely unknown development studio called ArtePiazza in an effort to create more innovation and variety within the series.

And in that, it has certainly succeeded - Innocent Life is a completely different Harvest Moon (and if you're already into the series there is a fair chance that you won't like it at all - but we'll get to that later). You play a child robot, tending a forgotten farm on an island whose inhabitants have long relied on technology for their living. Your rural existence is juxtaposed with a shiny, hi-tech town five minutes down the road and as the game progresses, you accumulate a selection of futuristic gadgetry to help with your agricultural endeavours. The result is that the farming, over time, becomes more and more secondary to exploration of the island and progression of the story; it's a bit like Harvest Moon mixed with Lost in Blue. There are no expansions to buy, no potential wives to woo - hell, after you get a robot helper, there aren't even any plants to water. The farming is more a part of the setting and context as opposed to the sole focus of the gameplay, as it always was before.

No future is complete without transport pods.

The question is, of course, if you aren't spending all of your time farming in a Harvest Moon game, then what the devil are you doing? And the unfortunate answer, for the entirety of the early stages of the game and often thereafter, is: nothing much. Innocent Life gifts you with an inordinate amount of time. You could fill your entire starting plot of land with plants and it would still only take about two hours to do your daily chores - and as you unlock more and more farmland, you gain access to robotic helpers and automatic crop harvesting systems to compensate. The result is that you very rarely have anything much to do on the farm, which theoretically gives you the time to explore the surprisingly large island and find caves to loot for tools and jewels to expand your all-but-redundant farming capabilities.

However, access to the island is strictly limited by the storyline. Innocent Life's storyline determines your progress to the letter, and it only moves along once a week, which once again leaves you with a lot of time on your hands. With so little by the way of farming to do, even in the later seasons, and such strictly limited access to the island, you're left with six days of either wandering aimlessly around all day or hopping into bed at 8AM for every exciting day or two of exploration, discovery and tangible progress. Much of the time, you feel like you're waiting around for the game to allow you to progress; it can be suffocating, and leaves no room for freedom.

See, even fictional robot children have HDTVs. Get with the times.

And when you're waiting around like that, sitting on a cliff waiting for a pretend sunset or running around in circles outside the schoolyard in town just to pass the time, Innocent Life can seem very pointless. You set up a farm and plant crops, but then you don't have to care for them. You harvest them and sell them for money, but because progress is determined entirely by the storyline, money is pretty meaningless - there's never anything to buy. You can look after your animals, but you can't enter them in contests. Indeed, if you're a fan of previous Harvest Moon games, you're actually not very likely to enjoy this at all - at least, not for the same reasons.

You see, considered (as intended) on its own merits and not as a part of the series, Innocent Life is compelling for its own reasons. It's quite a melancholy game. In a scene reminiscent of the end of Silent Running, your first week is spent confined to the old ruins that comprise your farm, tending a single patch of potatoes with an old watering can. Farming, for your little robot boy, is a way of becoming more human; through caring for plants and livestock, he comes closer to nature. His Human Status is improved by every action, from cooking to chatting to townspeople to exploring caves. Volcano Island, as it is called, is a place where almost everyone has long forgotten about farming, and produce is manufactured in giant, mechanised auto-farms - your rural existence in Innocent Life can feel quite lonely, and the ambience is greatly helped by the game's beautiful appearance and quiet, reflective musical score. Walking back to a deserted, long-abandoned farm as sunset draws in and spring blossoms float through the air is a far cry from the cheap-and-cheery presentation of most Harvest Moons past. In order to enjoy Innocent Life, you have to abandon notions of progress and purpose - you're farming for farming's sake, not to make money to buy a bigger house or a better barn or presents for your sweetheart. It's a different philosophy entirely.

Gorgeous seasonal effects aren't something we're used to from Harvest Moon.

Innocent Life is love-or-hate, and consequently impossible to score. It's incredibly slow-paced, it can feel horribly scripted and restrictive, and you spend a lot of time just waiting for things to happen. It's nothing like previous Harvest Moons, and some would say that it takes away everything that made them engaging - the satisfying grind, the value of hard work and money, the bright and happy setting and relationship-building with the characters. On the other hand, it's unique, and genuinely takes the series in a new direction, which is to be commended. It doesn't possess the same can't-put-it-down addictiveness as Friends of Mineral Town, the series' greatest portable success, but I have found myself coming back to it day after day, moving the story along at an unhurried pace. The setting and ambience are captivating and entirely unique, its presentation is undeniably excellent and the gradual exploration of the island is compelling; Innocent Life is essentially a very slow-paced adventure game, and though it's not for everyone, I found myself appreciating it enormously.

This futuristic Harvest Moon is definitely worth playing. But I'm not at all sure that you'll like it.

7 / 10

Read this next

seductrice.net
universo-virtual.com
buytrendz.net
thisforall.net
benchpressgains.com
qthzb.com
mindhunter9.com
dwjqp1.com
secure-signup.net
ahaayy.com
tressesindia.com
puresybian.com
krpano-chs.com
cre8workshop.com
hdkino.org
peixun021.com
qz786.com
utahperformingartscenter.org
worldqrmconference.com
shangyuwh.com
eejssdfsdfdfjsd.com
playminecraftfreeonline.com
trekvietnamtour.com
your-business-articles.com
essaywritingservice10.com
hindusamaaj.com
joggingvideo.com
wandercoups.com
wormblaster.net
tongchengchuyange0004.com
internetknowing.com
breachurch.com
peachesnginburlesque.com
dataarchitectoo.com
clientfunnelformula.com
30pps.com
cherylroll.com
ks2252.com
prowp.net
webmanicura.com
sofietsshotel.com
facetorch.com
nylawyerreview.com
apapromotions.com
shareparelli.com
goeaglepointe.com
thegreenmanpubphuket.com
karotorossian.com
publicsensor.com
taiwandefence.com
epcsur.com
southstills.com
tvtv98.com
thewellington-hotel.com
bccaipiao.com
colectoresindustrialesgs.com
shenanddcg.com
capriartfilmfestival.com
replicabreitlingsale.com
thaiamarinnewtoncorner.com
gkmcww.com
mbnkbj.com
andrewbrennandesign.com
cod54.com
luobinzhang.com
faithfirst.net
zjyc28.com
tongchengjinyeyouyue0004.com
nhuan6.com
kftz5k.com
oldgardensflowers.com
lightupthefloor.com
bahamamamas-stjohns.com
ly2818.com
905onthebay.com
fonemenu.com
notanothermovie.com
ukrainehighclassescort.com
meincmagazine.com
av-5858.com
yallerdawg.com
donkeythemovie.com
corporatehospitalitygroup.com
boboyy88.com
miteinander-lernen.com
dannayconsulting.com
officialtomsshoesoutletstore.com
forsale-amoxil-amoxicillin.net
generictadalafil-canada.net
guitarlessonseastlondon.com
lesliesrestaurants.com
mattyno9.com
nri-homeloans.com
rtgvisas-qatar.com
salbutamolventolinonline.net
sportsinjuries.info
wedsna.com
rgkntk.com
bkkmarketplace.com
zxqcwx.com
breakupprogram.com
boxcardc.com
unblockyoutubeindonesia.com
fabulousbookmark.com
beat-the.com
guatemala-sailfishing-vacations-charters.com
magie-marketing.com
kingstonliteracy.com
guitaraffinity.com
eurelookinggoodapparel.com
howtolosecheekfat.net
marioncma.org
oliviadavismusic.com
shantelcampbellrealestate.com
shopleborn13.com
topindiafree.com
v-visitors.net
djjky.com
053hh.com
originbluei.com
baucishotel.com
33kkn.com
intrinsiqresearch.com
mariaescort-kiev.com
mymaguk.com
sponsored4u.com
crimsonclass.com
bataillenavale.com
searchtile.com
ze-stribrnych-struh.com
zenithalhype.com
modalpkv.com
bouisset-lafforgue.com
useupload.com
37r.net
autoankauf-muenster.com
bantinbongda.net
bilgius.com
brabustermagazine.com
indigrow.org
miicrosofts.net
mysmiletravel.com
selinasims.com
spellcubesapp.com
usa-faction.com
hypoallergenicdogsnames.com
dailyupdatez.com
foodphotographyreviews.com
cricutcom-setup.com
chprowebdesign.com
katyrealty-kanepa.com
tasramar.com
bilgipinari.org
four-am.com
indiarepublicday.com
inquick-enbooks.com
iracmpi.com
kakaschoenen.com
lsm99flash.com
nana1255.com
ngen-niagara.com
technwzs.com
virtualonlinecasino1345.com
wallpapertop.net
casino-natali.com
iprofit-internet.com
denochemexicana.com
eventhalfkg.com
medcon-taiwan.com
life-himawari.com
myriamshomes.com
nightmarevue.com
healthandfitnesslives.com
androidnews-jp.com
allstarsru.com
bestofthebuckeyestate.com
bestofthefirststate.com
bestwireless7.com
britsmile.com
declarationintermittent.com
findhereall.com
jingyou888.com
lsm99deal.com
lsm99galaxy.com
moozatech.com
nuagh.com
patliyo.com
philomenamagikz.net
rckouba.net
saturnunipessoallda.com
tallahasseefrolics.com
thematurehardcore.net
totalenvironment-inthatquietearth.com
velislavakaymakanova.com
vermontenergetic.com
kakakpintar.com
begorgeouslady.com
1800birks4u.com
2wheelstogo.com
6strip4you.com
bigdata-world.net
emailandco.net
gacapal.com
jharpost.com
krishnaastro.com
lsm99credit.com
mascalzonicampani.com
sitemapxml.org
thecityslums.net
topagh.com
flairnetwebdesign.com
rajasthancarservices.com
bangkaeair.com
beneventocoupon.com
noternet.org
oqtive.com
smilebrightrx.com
decollage-etiquette.com
1millionbestdownloads.com
7658.info
bidbass.com
devlopworldtech.com
digitalmarketingrajkot.com
fluginfo.net
naqlafshk.com
passion-decouverte.com
playsirius.com
spacceleratorintl.com
stikyballs.com
top10way.com
yokidsyogurt.com
zszyhl.com
16firthcrescent.com
abogadolaboralistamd.com
apk2wap.com
aromacremeria.com
banparacard.com
bosmanraws.com
businessproviderblog.com
caltonosa.com
calvaryrevivalchurch.org
chastenedsoulwithabrokenheart.com
cheminotsgardcevennes.com
cooksspot.com
cqxzpt.com
deesywig.com
deltacartoonmaps.com
despixelsetdeshommes.com
duocoracaobrasileiro.com
fareshopbd.com
goodpainspills.com
hemendekor.com
kobisitecdn.com
makaigoods.com
mgs1454.com
piccadillyresidences.com
radiolaondafresca.com
rubendorf.com
searchengineimprov.com
sellmyhrvahome.com
shugahouseessentials.com
sonihullquad.com
subtractkilos.com
valeriekelmansky.com
vipasdigitalmarketing.com
voolivrerj.com
zeelonggroup.com
1015southrockhill.com
10x10b.com
111-online-casinos.com
191cb.com
3665arpentunitd.com
aitesonics.com
bag-shokunin.com
brightotech.com
communication-digitale-services.com
covoakland.org
dariaprimapack.com
freefortniteaccountss.com
gatebizglobal.com
global1entertainmentnews.com
greatytene.com
hiroshiwakita.com
iktodaypk.com
jahatsakong.com
meadowbrookgolfgroup.com
newsbharati.net
platinumstudiosdesign.com
slotxogamesplay.com
strikestaruk.com
trucosdefortnite.com
ufabetrune.com
weddedtowhitmore.com
12940brycecanyonunitb.com
1311dietrichoaks.com
2monarchtraceunit303.com
601legendhill.com
850elaine.com
adieusolasomade.com
andora-ke.com
bestslotxogames.com
cannagomcallen.com
endlesslyhot.com
iestpjva.com
ouqprint.com
pwmaplefest.com
qtylmr.com
rb88betting.com
buscadogues.com
1007macfm.com
born-wild.com
growthinvests.com
promocode-casino.com
proyectogalgoargentina.com
wbthompson-art.com
whitemountainwheels.com
7thavehvl.com
developmethis.com
funkydogbowties.com
travelodgegrandjunction.com
gao-town.com
globalmarketsuite.com
blogshippo.com
hdbka.com
proboards67.com
outletonline-michaelkors.com
kalkis-research.com
thuthuatit.net
buckcash.com
hollistercanada.com
docterror.com
asadart.com
vmayke.org
erwincomputers.com
dirimart.org
okkii.com
loteriasdecehegin.com
mountanalog.com
healingtaobritain.com
ttxmonitor.com
nwordpress.com
11bolabonanza.com