Undying Harvest

Undying Harvest is a small farming survival game that takes the usual idea of growing crops and throws a zombie apocalypse into the middle of it. I am trying to keep a farm running while undead creatures are constantly coming after me and my crops. I have to plant things, let them grow, collect what I can and then deal with the zombies, bats and other creatures that are attracted to the farm. I like the basic idea because the two sides of the game actually have a reason to exist together. Farming gives me something worth protecting, while the undead stop the farming from becoming completely peaceful. The farming side is simple, but I think that works for the size of the game. I am not managing a huge agricultural empire with loads of complicated menus. Instead, I am mainly trying to keep crops growing while making sure I am ready for the next wave. The interesting part is having to balance my time. If I spend too much attention on fighting, I can fall behind with the farm, but if I concentrate too much on growing crops, I can leave myself open to the undead. That gives the basic farming loop a bit more pressure than it would normally have. The combat is fairly straightforward, with the main idea being surviving the waves and dealing with different types of undead. Zombies can swarm me while other creatures such as bats give me different problems to deal with. I like having more than one type of enemy because it stops every wave from feeling exactly the same. The top down view also makes it easy to see what is happening around me, which matters when I have several enemies closing in at once. It is more about positioning and keeping control of the area than having complicated combat mechanics. The biggest problem for me is the amount of content currently available. Undying Harvest is still in Early Access, and the developer is clear that the current version is playable but missing features planned for the full game. More upgrades, enemies and other additions are planned, so I have to judge what is actually here rather than what it might become later. Right now the main mode gives me the farming and zombie killing loop, but there is not enough variety for me to treat it as a really deep survival game yet. I also think the game needs more ways to make my farm feel like something I am building over time. The idea has a lot of potential because crops could naturally connect to upgrades, stronger defenses and more dangerous undead attacks, but the current version feels more like the foundation of that idea. The pixel art style fits the dark farming setting well enough, and I like the simple presentation, but there is not a huge amount happening outside the core gameplay. For a small indie project that is still being developed, I can accept that, but it does limit how much I can get out of it right now. One thing I do appreciate is that the game is available for free through its demo and the developer has made the current version fully playable while it is being developed. There is also a clear tutorial that teaches the basics before I get into the main farming and survival mode. I would rather have that straightforward approach than a game that tries to hide how unfinished it is. The current version is clearly meant to be built on, and I think the farming and zombie combination gives it a decent base to work from. Overall, Undying Harvest has a good idea behind it and I like the way farming and zombie survival are tied together. Growing crops while knowing they are also attracting undead gives the game a simple reason for me to balance both sides of the gameplay. The combat is easy to understand, the pixel art fits the setting and there is enough here to see what the developer is aiming for. The limited content and unfinished Early Access state stop me from rating it too highly right now, but I think there is a solid foundation here. For me, it is a decent small survival game that needs more upgrades, enemies and variety before it can really reach its potential. Rating: 7.2/10

0.01% of Stardew Valley but from Temu