Natsume has officially announced its next game in the popular Harvest Moon series with farming fans able to catch a first look at the sequel during E3 2019.
Titled Harvest Moon: Mad Dash, there’s very little information on the title available though we can confirm that it will be launching on both the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch.
Natsume CEO Hiro Maekawa had the following to say:
Fans might be surprised at what we have in store for Harvest Moon this year. This different take on the Harvest Moon experience will let players enjoy the classic features of the series in a new and exciting way!
It’s not much to go on and Natsume is no doubt holding everything back until E3 2019. Calling it a completely different take on Harvest Moon and one that steer the series in a new direction could be you typical pre-announcement guff, though we’re genuinely hoping the fun farming franchise makes a comeback. The name Mad Dash makes it sound like it could be a party game spin-off but we’ll have to see.
While recent Harvest Moon games haven’t been terrible, they’re fairly indistinguishable and have desperately fallen behind the current king of the genre: Stardew Valley. It’s fascinating when you consider that this game was in fact a love letter to Harvest Moon and one born from a fan’s frustration at its failure to innovate for many years.
It’s hard to say exactly what we want from a new Harvest Moon though hopefully Natsume has its eyes on something more in-depth and complex. The publisher is finally shafting the 3DS, Mad Dash being the first game in the franchise to appear on PlayStation 4.
This could mean a dramatic change to the way the game looks with bigger farms, towns, and other sprawling environments. Mad Dash may also have more of a multiplayer bent though we can only speculate for now.
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It might be good to mention that Natsume is just cashing in the brand recognition of the Harvest Moon name. The Japanese company that made the original games has parted ways with them as a publisher, but was unable to keep the name for their games, so they’re now releasing the games under the new name of “Story of Seasons”.