How easy is this game to get into for a new player?

[thewonderrob]

I've not played much in farming sims, short of Viva Pinata, and to a lesser extent, Animal Crossing. Is this game pretty easy to pick up and start without any prior knowledge of the game, or is there a learning curve? Thanks

[BecketsGD]

I have tried countless times to play this game but I just can't seem to to stick to it. I always just give up

[Lex]

the beginning is always pretty annoying. but you have to force yourself a bit and then it becomes addicting

[Sunny]

it just sort of drops you into the world and says 'have fun' with zero tutorial or anything, but if you do the first couple of quests it gives you, by the time you've got everybody talked to, you should be OK. I personally found it easier to figure out than either Animal Crossing or the Harvest Moon games, but I played this one first. YMMV.

the important things to know:

1) You cannot fail the game. If you die, you lose your stuff and wake up in bed, but there's no 'game over'. This extends to basically everything. There's always another season or another year for something. ALL PRESSURE IS ARTIFICIAL OR SELF-IMPOSED. There are notice board quests and they ARE on timers, but if you fail it it will eventually show up again.

2) There is only a single instance of anything "timelocked" that can't be repeated; holidays and birthdays come again, and even the thing that happens at the end of year two / start of year three is fully repeatable. the timelocked thing isn't something you will care much about missing until your third or fourth playthrough anyway. villagers get scenes at certain levels of friendship with them; if you don't get to a certain level with a specific NPC before something happens with another NPC, one of the cutscenes for the first NPC won't fire. It's not an important cutscene, and if that NPC ends up being your favorite, you will get it in your second playthrough no problem. It is worse to have it spoiled than it is to miss it the first playthrough imnsho, but YMMV.

3) Go everywhere. Environmental storytelling is pretty big with the game, so some events are triggered by going to certain places during certain weather or on particular dates or -- lots of things. so it's always good to regularly visit different map areas. explore! go places! go IN places. Go into peoples' houses!

[red255]

never heard of viva pinata, this game is sorta like animal crossing, its trying to be a more classic GBA era of harvest moon.

Apparently some streamer was playing, spent all their money on seeds and planted them toward the end of spring, losing everything when the season changed and quit forever.

you buy a seed, you plant and water it every day it says 'grows in 8 days' plant on day 1, harvest on day 9. 1+8 = 9.

things become easier as your skills level up. or at least you have access to make things easier as things level up and you get more resources and whatnot. don't be afraid to try new things. I have a way of doing things that gets things done efficenctly for me but theres no real rush.

set goals. I started a farm, goal was to achieve perfection, which I did in year 3. after which I wanted to do a few other things, like make some coops and fill them with the golden chickens you get for perfection. mostly to see if my grass production can keep up. and if the money is respectable.

had a few other things going for the account. but I think its now done in year 5. unless I can find a new project.

[Coolperson647677]

I recommend learning a bit from gamer guides, then getting started is easy. In a game like this having to spend in-game time to figure something out actually costs you opportunities. Time is money.

[leachicm]

The game isn't hard. Your focus in the beginning is farming and building then evolves over time to more adventure , item searching. There are small story elements/ quests to break up the farming routine.

[Cobretti]

I feel it's pretty easy to start and you can go at your own pace. There are some points in the game where you realise you can't do something until the next season comes around and that can be frustrating. I played a competitors game which is also quite popular on steam and I just couldn't get into that game so this game certainly has something special about it, for me at least.

[RaGe]

Early days all I do is wake up, water my crops and go straight to the beach and fish all day. Fishing makes you good money even with low fishing skill, and the money just gets better as you level up fishing, it's also pretty quick to level, and you almost never run out of stamina because you can just eat the fish you catch for more.

[GoofiestGoober01]

I was hesitant to get it because i did't wanna get board quick like I usually do due to adhd but honestly at first it seems super slow but it picks us quick, and theirs always something to do with watering your crops to mining or fishing and talking to the village folk building relationships, and plus getting animals defiantly keeps you on your toes i would suggest watching tip videos and looking up stardew valley tips for beginners cause thats what i did and i felt like i had a better grasp at the game.

[Thain]

Other than the control requires a bit of time to get use to it, nothing much. If you miss stuff on year 1, don't worry about it, you will still encounter it the year 2 or 3. So go out there and explore and find a method that you like most to earn your $.

[Draconifors]

It's not particularly difficult to learn.

There is a LOT to the game, so it can take a while to really get the hang of everything -- but, at the same time, there is no pressure to do anything at any specific time, and you can always restart a day if you feel you made a big mistake (like accidentally spent all your money on something you didn't need).

The game really is full of things to do, including ones that don't require using energy (which is the most limiting factor early on).

[Great Sage Equal of Heaven]

It's super simple to start mate. There is a lot to the game though. Thousand hour players are still learning new things

[Mirai]

I mean, if this already is a genre of game you're not interested in then that may very well be your answer right there. Not to sound negative, just being matter-of-fact.

That said, farming simulations, etc, aren't my usual game either but when I saw this, I immediately recognized it for what it was, a passion project from someone who clearly loved Harvest Moon as a kid. The art and presentation furthered my interest in the game, so I gave it a try and I ended up really enjoying it.

What I think makes this game addicting is that there is always something productive you could be doing, and when your time runs out for the day and you have to head home, you're thinking "Okay, tomorrow I need to --" and that keeps you engaged.

As others have said, there's no way to fail at this game, so it can't get much easier than that. By the time you've completed the initial series of intro "quests", which are kind of meant to help you settle into the game, you should be good to go, but there'll still be lots to learn and discover as you go.

[Romaki]

There's no rush to the game. With the latest update the game is definitely overwhelming and I really wish the new content was locked in the first year in-game, but you're not running out of time. The game basically loops every two year, every year is the same but the recipes on the TV only change every two years.

[trav]

its not a game where you're rushing to get things done, its just relaxing, take it on your own pace. I also play with 104 mods to make the word bigger , adds more NPCs and some QOL stuff