Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town represents a fresh installment in the beloved farming simulation franchise, a series with a rich history in the genre. For those familiar with the lineage, this Nintendo Switch title arrives as the third on the platform, appearing shortly after the remake of Friends of Mineral Town. Having previously explored the initial seasons in a preview, experiencing the burgeoning farm life through spring and summer, a full in-game year has now passed, offering a comprehensive perspective on life as a pioneer in Olive Town. Let’s embark on a seasonal journey to recount the experiences and deliver a final verdict on this latest chapter in the Story of Seasons saga.
Spring: Seeds of a New Life
The narrative of inheriting a grandparent’s farm, while a familiar starting point in the genre, remains the foundation of Pioneers of Olive Town. After personalizing your character, the game begins with your arrival at a farmstead reclaimed by nature, marked only by a tent and the dilapidated remnants of a chicken coop. Welcomed by the mayor of Olive Town, you are quickly integrated into the community through town improvement projects. These tasks, requiring resources gathered from your farm – like iron ingots or lumber – serve as early objectives. The core gameplay loop will resonate with fans of farming sims: revitalize the farm, cultivate relationships within the town, pursue marriage and family, and shape the surrounding wilderness to your vision. Exploration is encouraged, with new areas unlocked by contributing materials to the town builder, enabling bridge repairs and access to previously unreachable zones. Multi-level mines beckon with resources, and hidden areas, guarded by sprites and mini-games, reward thorough exploration.
Summer: Cultivating Progress and Facing Challenges
Time in Olive Town flows at a generous pace, with each in-game hour lasting a full minute, pausing during dialogues and transitions, allowing ample time for daily tasks. After clearing the initial farm area of trees, weeds, and rocks, the focus shifts to tilling the land and planting crops, the cornerstone of earning a living. Supplementing agricultural work is fishing, a simple mini-game that offers a relaxing diversion and a source of income, limited only by your stamina. Stamina, initially plentiful, can be expanded through various in-game upgrades. The game’s controls are intuitive, and tool management via the pause menu is straightforward. However, the sheer variety of materials and tools quickly fills the starting bag, highlighting the early necessity of bag upgrades. A significant factor contributing to bag congestion is the crafting system. Processing raw materials requires constructing machines, transforming ore into ingots, clay into bricks, and wood into lumber through the crafting menu. This process, while essential, introduces a bottleneck: each machine processes only one item at a time, often taking several minutes. This single-item processing necessitates building multiple machines to efficiently handle larger projects, introducing a time-consuming element to resource refinement.
Image showing the player character in Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town standing on their farm, highlighting the early game progression and farm layout.
Autumn: Harvesting the Fruits (and Vegetables) of Labor
While basic tools are provided early on, upgrading them becomes crucial for accessing resources in newly unlocked areas. Tools like the axe and hammer especially demand upgrades; without them, felling tougher trees and breaking larger stones becomes excessively time-consuming. The watering can, while useful, becomes less critical with the ability to craft sprinklers for automated irrigation. The game boasts a diverse array of flowers, crops, and foraged items, enriching the farming and exploration experience. A museum in town provides a place to showcase your achievements, displaying caught fish, unearthed treasures, and even photographs of wild animals encountered. Online features, though limited, add a touch of community. Photos taken with the in-game camera can be shared with other players via a town kiosk. These player-submitted photos appear during loading screens, offering brief glimpses into other players’ farm lives. While load screens are frequent, they are generally short and don’t disrupt the flow of gameplay significantly.
Winter: Town Life and Social Connections
The residents of Olive Town present a mixed bag, ranging from moderately engaging to somewhat bland, with character designs that may not appeal to all players. Daily dialogue often consists of brief, single-line exchanges, usually referencing upcoming or recent town events. Town events themselves are adequate, with competitive events like fishing or mushroom gathering contests offering a slight edge in enjoyment. These events reward participants with trophies and in-game currency. Other events, like the fireworks festival, can be shared with a chosen romantic interest. Building relationships involves gifting and interacting with townsfolk, triggering cutscenes as affection levels rise. Repeatedly engaging with a specific character can eventually lead to a marriage proposal. While the option to befriend every resident exists, the repetitive and somewhat shallow dialogue in these cutscenes can become tedious over time.
My initial year as a pioneer in Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town began with genuine excitement and a satisfying sense of progression. Tool usage and participation in town events contribute to character level progression and title unlocks, which in turn grant rewards like items and money. A comprehensive list of in-game achievements and the high costs associated with late-game farm improvements provide long-term goals. However, success hinges on embracing the inherent repetition of the farming sim genre. While much of the time spent in Olive Town is enjoyable, the material processing bottlenecks and the crafting grind can become frustrating. As the mayor’s tasks diminish, the game shifts towards self-directed goals and player-driven engagement. The emphasis on crafting, a core element of this Story of Seasons installment, is a double-edged sword, offering content depth but also introducing a potentially tedious game loop. Ultimately, Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town offers a substantial amount of content to explore and enjoy, but be prepared for a gameplay cycle that risks becoming overly familiar just as the seasons turn to fall.
