Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town

 Switch
Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town Image
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Mixed or average reviews - based on 60 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
7.1

Mixed or average reviews- based on 88 Ratings

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  • Summary: Inspired by tales of their grandfather's pioneering days, the protagonist decides to pack their bags and leave the hustle and bustle of big city life for the frontier in Olive Town.
    When they arrive, they run into Victor, the town's mayor and their grandfather's old friend. He brings    Inspired by tales of their grandfather's pioneering days, the protagonist decides to pack their bags and leave the hustle and bustle of big city life for the frontier in Olive Town.
    When they arrive, they run into Victor, the town's mayor and their grandfather's old friend. He brings them to the old farm, which has been reclaimed by nature over the years. Determined to breathe life back into their grandfather's dream and follow in his footsteps, the protagonist rolls up their sleeves and gets to work.
    Olive Townwhich is just a stone's throw away from the farmis a port town built on the tip of a peninsula. It might be a quiet little town, but it is home to a whole host of unique characters. And while the townsfolk get by well enough in this picturesque seaside locale, a little more tourism never hurt anyone...
    The long-awaited brand new entry in the original farm/life simulation franchise, known in Japan as Bokujo Monogatari, makes its debut on Nintendo Switch, bringing players more freedom than ever before to shape an untamed wilderness and customize their farm down to the very tile. A new cast of marriage candidates, a town that grows and thrives along with your farm, and a request system highlight the new features, all while retaining the core elements of the STORY OF SEASONS series. Finding Earth Sprites while exploring your farmland may lead you to mysterious, fantastical lands such as gardens where the seasons never change, an island in the sky, or even the inside of a volcano!
    KEY FEATURES

    -Cultivate Your Farm, Cultivate Your Town
    Tame the wilderness of the peninsula and build your farm from the ground up! Gather and process materials to fulfill requests and improve Olive Town's infrastructure, upgrade tools, or commission new outfits and accessories.

    -Simple Mechanics, Deep Gameplay
    Greenhorn farmers can rest easy with the return of Seedling Mode and Normal Mode. Veteran players ready to create a bustling farm of their own will find familiar features and facilities with new twists on classic gameplay elements.
    -A Farm of Endless Possibilities
    Clear the land, repair old facilities, and place new ones wherever you see fit. Level up your farming skills and craft a variety of decorations and facilities, from fences and automatic feeders for livestock to sprinklers for crops!

    -There's Always Something Going on in Olive Town!
    Participate in local festivals as the town comes to life with over 200 unique events! Get to know your neighbors better and you may even find love with a special someone among them.    … Expand
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Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 27 out of 60
  2. Mixed: 31 out of 60
  3. Negative: 2 out of 60
  1. Player 2
    Mar 23, 2021
    91
    It’s extremely charming, and completely captures the Iyashikei ‘slice-of-life genre, particularly in the personality of the town’s characters and how they interact with one another, yet also beckon you into that same world.
  2. Meristation
    Mar 23, 2021
    85
    Marvelous and XSeed enhance the Story of Seasons saga with additions from other greats of the genre. Very addictive and with an overwhelming sense of progression.
  3. Comicbook.com
    Mar 25, 2021
    80
    Ultimately, Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town is exactly what you would expect from the beloved staple. The farming sim makes some bold leaps with its crafting system, but there is nothing groundbreaking in its formula. You can expect the same charming and wholesome aesthetic from this game much like all those that came before it. And even so, this routine will keep fans of the franchise coming back for more.
  4. IGN
    Mar 23, 2021
    70
    Pioneers of Olive Town recognizes it does not need to reinvent the plow to present a full, relaxing, pleasant farming game. Aside from its sprawling size, there is not much novel about collecting materials, upgrading tools, clearing land, raising animals and crops, and befriending the townspeople – and there doesn't need to be. It is enough to simply have a wealth of interesting things to plan out and do, colored by ridiculously cute animals and interesting characters and fleshed out with piles of new things to unlock over 30 hours and beyond. While the struggling framerate and tedious crafting can be annoying, these are small blips in a pleasantly packed day-to-day cycle of tending to your farm, exploring interesting new areas, and flirting with Bridget...or Reina….or Blaire.
  5. But Why Tho?
    Apr 6, 2021
    70
    Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town is a promising start of a new chapter in the long-running farm/life simulator’s history. All the pieces are in place for an unforgettable experience, with its peaceful and serene location, endlessly customizable landscape, and an unprecedented abundance of crafts and projects to pursue. While at times unwieldy, there’s something for everyone here, especially those who are interested in the organization and production management aspect of running a farm.
  6. Destructoid
    Mar 23, 2021
    65
    This is a safe and standard Story of Seasons game.
  7. GameSkinny
    Mar 23, 2021
    30
    Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town is a surprisingly dull and lifeless farm-sim that's a shadow of its storied self. We’re left with caricatures and a game that shows only the slightest hint of recognizing what makes a fun gameplay loop.

See all 61 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 31 out of 50
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 50
  3. Negative: 11 out of 50
  1. AlbinoCrow
    Apr 5, 2022
    10
    I almost skipped PoOT because of the negative reviews.
    I'm glad I decided to give it a chance. One of the best games I ever played.
    The game    I almost skipped PoOT because of the negative reviews.
    I'm glad I decided to give it a chance. One of the best games I ever played.
    The game seems to have had serious problems when launched, but I honestly didn't notice anything that bothered me. A bit of loading between farm and town, but you usually go there once or twice in a day, and it's nothing too absurd.
    Some small framerate issues on some places (probably much smoother on PC), but again nothing that would break the enjoyment.
    And I really liked the characters, chats, cutscenes. Seems more like normal people on a normal small town (I loved Rune Factory 4, but characters behaviours are too exaggerated for me).
    I'm really enjoying the game and created this account just to review it. If you had read some bad reviews and have doubts about it, most of those were written before the latest patches.
    The game is incredible, and if you played and liked FoMT, you will love it.    … Expand
  2. MarkALV
    Apr 1, 2021
    10
    No hay nada mejor que acostarse, jugar un rato con la luz apagada y la habitación en silencio. Olvidarte de tus problemas y jugar con ilusión,No hay nada mejor que acostarse, jugar un rato con la luz apagada y la habitación en silencio. Olvidarte de tus problemas y jugar con ilusión, como si volvieras a ser un niño. Me encantan los gráficos, la música y la actualización que la han metido a la fórmula.… Expand
  4. Midnight2shayla
    Mar 25, 2021
    10
    The negative reviews seem obnoxious; hence my rating being a 10. I could see giving it a 4-8 due to the fact that it needs post-releaseThe negative reviews seem obnoxious; hence my rating being a 10. I could see giving it a 4-8 due to the fact that it needs post-release patching (and how you feel about that), but lower than that does nothing to tell of how much work went into this game. Does it need love? Yes, absolutely. They already said they are going to patch it - they’re even adding dialogue. The game, as it stands, is still adorable, though. The graphics are fantastic, the gameplay is cute, and the characters are like-able enough. I personally love the crafting and collecting additions, and I’m glad they’re experimenting. I do really miss the 2D portraits, and believe the issues connecting with the characters would be fixed if they re-implemented them. It’s a farming game, there has always been grinding. They have two modes so that you can decide how much you want to grind, but it’s still something you should expect. I’ve been finding it easy enough (and actually relaxing) clearing stuff out. Only real complaint is makers, they need to have variable output.

    Overall, I pre-ordered the premium and have already bought the season pass, no regrets. This game is good and, I believe, going to be fantastic by the time they’re done with patches/dlc.    … Expand
  5. JamesC1992
    Mar 27, 2021
    8
    I felt like this game was trying too much to be like Animal Crossing & Stardew Valley that it lost it's magic of being what it was known forI felt like this game was trying too much to be like Animal Crossing & Stardew Valley that it lost it's magic of being what it was known for back in the day. The characters are very soulless & the framerate is annoying at times. It's not a bad game & I expect the dlc and patches to really make the game a better experience but it's something to hold me over until the masterpeice of Runefactory 5.… Expand
  6. succhini
    Jun 2, 2022
    7
    It was a cozy game. I liked it better than the original Story of Seasons on the 3ds. I appreciated the little vietnamese family. I thoughtIt was a cozy game. I liked it better than the original Story of Seasons on the 3ds. I appreciated the little vietnamese family. I thought that was a cool addition to the game.
    I didn't like that there weren't character icons during the dialogue. And it was annoying that I had to have so many machines because of capacity (like making the ores).

    I didn't feel that drawn to decorating or making my farm look nice. But I did enjoy making everything, as you usually do with these sorts of games.

    Characters weren't that memorable in my opinion.    … Expand
  7. heycats
    Nov 5, 2021
    5
    The game isn't that bad - it's just very repetitive and underwhelming past a dozen of hours.
    I like farm sim games and this one is lacking a    The game isn't that bad - it's just very repetitive and underwhelming past a dozen of hours.
    I like farm sim games and this one is lacking a lot of nice things from the previous BokuMono games. Plus it's kinda grindy and the farm is constantly flooded with grass to cut, rocks and unuseful stuff. I had to put floors everywhere so I could avoid my farm being a mess.
    The fences are purely cosmectic, animals will go where they want. The story and most of the characters aren't very memorable too.
    That being said I had some good times, but there are better farm games imo, and better BokuMono..    … Expand
  8. Phuz
    Feb 12, 2022
    0
    I am really sick of buying kids games where they use stupid, unnecessary slang, or write the sound instead of the word, at an age where kidsI am really sick of buying kids games where they use stupid, unnecessary slang, or write the sound instead of the word, at an age where kids are developing English skills, words like 'em instead of them and developin', instead of developing is just ridiculous. I would not have bought the game if I thought it was going to de-educate them.

    I have noticed this in adult RPG's too and it just sounds retarded. I use slang as much as the next man but writing it sounds dumb.

    Can you imagine a Scouse character: alrixxqqwhhqqxt maxxccqqkkhhte, cxxggome 'edqqqckkgh.    … Expand

See all 50 User Reviews

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