Summary

Sky Harvest is a life and farming simulation game where you travel to the fabled town in the skies, Magica! Here, you’ll take over your grandfather’s old farm in the skies along with the town’s restaurant as you learn the skills to grow crops and turn your harvests into delicious meals. Have fun exploring the world, building relationships with the friendly townfolk, and even take a break with some fishing in this chill and cozy game!

Plotline

Your beloved grandfather had just recently deceased. His last request is to be laid to rest in his favorite place – the island farm that he had called home for most of his lifetime. Honoring his wishes and curious to see for yourself the fabled town of Magica in the skies, you boarded an airship and travelled there.

Here, you’ll meet lots of friendly townfolk, of whom you can forge relationships with by chatting and gifting them items they like. Gradually, you’ll learn most of their stories and the story of the magical town you now inhabit.

Gameplay

For anyone who has played a life and farming sim before, you should feel right at home in this game. After customizing your character, you’ll immediately be sent on a trip to the floating city of Magica to start your new life as a farmer.

The main gameplay loop in this game is very simple – you’re primarily a farmer, and hence, the main way to earn money is by plowing, planting, watering, growing, and harvesting a variety of crops at the large farmable plot at your Homestead. There are many crops to grow here, with some being able to produce multiple harvests per seed. You can get the seeds from various merchants in town if you have the cash on hand. Naturally, the growing duration and harvest amount vary from crop to crop. Some crops sell for more while others provide more energy when consumed as well.

However, before you can do that, you’ll need to first clear the plot of stones, logs, and shrubs, which coincidentally also provide you with resources that you’ll need to craft a variety of items later. Note that these “resource nodes” will randomly pop up after the start of a new day, even if you’ve cleared the plot the day before. Some of the nodes may also require upgraded tools to clear, so you’ll just have to build your farm around these obstacles for now.

Of course, to do all this hard labor, you’ll need to have enough energy. The game’s energy-based system is pretty straightforward – there’s an energy bar at the bottom right of the screen. Thankfully, you only consume energy if you labor at your farm, be it plowing, watering, or even clearing shrubs and stones. Chatting with NPCs, and jetpacking (more on this later) or running about don’t drain your energy level.

Interestingly enough, you’ll also get to turn those raw produce you’ve harvested from your farm into delicious dishes, from sweet treats to a breakfast platter, to even shrimp cocktail, and sell them to various customers. Cooking itself doesn’t cost you any energy.

Similar to an RPG, there are quests to complete in Sky Harvest as well. You’ll get most of your quests from the Mayor himself since his questline is crucial to unlocking new game features, such as the restaurant you’ll eventually get to manage, where you’ll get to prepare food and sell it, but other townfolks may require your help from time to time.

The pace of the game can also be a bit slow, even for a cozy game. Some players may take issue with this. Similar to the jetpack controls, the movement controls can also be wonky at times, making it a bit difficult to get the interaction prompts to appear. You really have to position your character at the right angle to get the prompt to pop up.

Graphics/ Sound

Set among floating islands above the clouds, Sky Harvest uses a stylized, cozy 3D visual approach designed to evoke a relaxed and inviting atmosphere. The environments are built with colorful, storybook-like visuals rather than realism. Character models and villagers are also stylized with slightly exaggerated proportions and expressive animations, helping them stand out against the soft backgrounds.

In terms of sound, Sky Harvest provides a nice, cozy environment and atmosphere by looping soft and relaxing background music as you explore the skybound world, reinforcing the gentle rhythm of the game’s farming and life-simulation gameplay. There aren’t many voice acting here, except for the introduction, but this might be something the devs are working to add to the game prior to its release.

Conclusion

All in all, Sky Harvest may still be a work-in-progress, but the game already has its fundamentals nailed down right, offering players a chance to build a home, nurture the land, and enjoy a tranquil world among the clouds at a relaxed pace. If you love what you’ve read but are still hesitant to buy an EA title, you could always keep the game in your wishlist for now and check back in once the game’s a bit closer to its release date.