Here’s a thought for anyone not involved in agriculture or horticulture in any way: would a full-time farmer be attracted to playing a game that emulated, fairly closely, the mundane chores of their everyday working existence? Would they want to play a game that revels in the thrilling detail of crop and animal management, from tilling the soil to selling the produce? We don’t know of any farmers who are gamers, and certainly none who are aware of the relatively niche Harvest Moon games, but if they were, then we doubt they’d have taken the series to their bosom in the same way us townies have. The idea of a futuristic version, with the possibility of new farming techniques, machinery and even produce to be explored, could provide the escapism that both gaming farmers and farming gamers are seeking, and convince them to buy Innocent Life, but they could be disappointed.

Despite the title, Innocent Life’s plot dictates that every other character in the game, apart from the protagonist who you control, has succumbed to the unethical modern methods autofarming that are destroying your fertile volcanic island. Ironically, your character is a robot, but the professor who built you has tasked you with farming a patch of land in a traditional manner in order to help restore the island and gain access to the many underground vaults that were sealed aeons ago. You’ll be told this while you button-tap your way through the 40-minutes, RSI-inducing, treacle-slow introductory sequence, before you have a chance to get your hands dirty in exactly the same way you’ve done in the past, ie by applying a little elbow grease and then planting, tending to and reaping your harvest of assorted fruit and vegetables. This first hour and a half will severely test the patience of those who have experienced this kind of labour before, virtual or otherwise, and newbies are hardly going to be entranced during this time. It’s just unfortunate that this first, critical period isn’t representative of the rest of the game, as Innocent Life will start to reward soon after you’ve built up a little cash and the plot begins to unfold.

The farming theme is familiar once you’ve played beyond your first week and are finally left to your own devices. Until that point, you’re led by the hand through some painfully obvious and protracted tutorials. For those who haven’t played Harvest Moon, there will be a few days of mundane watering, watching and waiting before you realise that Innocent Life is quietly encouraging you to step outside your utopian bubble, to explore and use the time you’re given to stick your nose in everywhere possible and grill the population for their generally inane conversation.

Later in the game a robot will help you out by taking care of some of your routine, leaving you free to indulge in a little adventuring. Your curiosity will be rewarded as there are many items to be found or bought, as well as an abundance of wild crops to be gathered and seeds to be bought in the local supermarket. But there are more than mere extrinsic benefits to diversifying your routine. Stick to your tired old farming and cooking chores and you’ll rarely see anything but your cooking stats increase. But meddle around in everyone else’s business (and homes) and you’ll see an improvement in less conventional stats such as love and challenge. And here’s where Innocent Life diverges from the many games in its past.

Whereas previous incarnations have centered on the farming aspect, Innocent Life is far more role-play and plot driven. Your protagonist, Dr Hope, wants you to break your programming and become more human by engaging in activities usually associated with adventure games. Your farming routine eventually gives way to unlocking and exploring sealed caverns and secret areas in the game, and these often house spirit stones which can be used to open up your farming area. So with your robot helper taking over the day-to-day tasks that were the core of your experience in previous Harvest Moon games, and the compelling pursuit of spirit stones occupying much of your time, Innocent Life rapidly becomes a very different game from its predecessors. And its dichotomy is that this is its greatest strength as well as its biggest weakness.

Adventuring and unraveling the convoluted plot may often be preferable to, and even provide a welcome relief from tending your crops, but it doesn’t disguise the fact that Innocent Life has lost the unique identity of the series. This is compounded by the loss of many of the elements of social interaction, such as courting and having babies, which made the previous games so charming. It’s still a fun game to play, but by meddling with the formula that made the series a cult hit, Marvelous has created a far more generic title that is sure to disappoint fans.

Ben Biggs