There's always room in this world for more spin-offs. Harvest Moon: Mad Dash is such a case. A spin-off of the farming/life simulator series Harvest Moon, this goofy puzzle game has you moving farms around to match crops while dodging threats. It also now has a release date.
The central idea is rather simple, at first. All you need to do is pick up crops and combine them with other crops so you can create large matches worth points. Naturally, it doesn't stay that simple. Soon you'll have many different crops and animals you need to manage, and threats like hogs or bulls charging through the map, forcing you to move your crops so they don't get destroyed. Thankfully, you can team up with a friend and try to make the experience a little easier.
This may not sound anything like any other Harvest Moon game. The series is traditionally known for being a farming simulator, at least since the original came out on the Super Nintendo in 1997. However, Mad Dash isn't the only spin-off the series has seen. One of the most popular is Rune Factory, which originally started out as a fantasy version of the Harvest Moon series. Likewise, an attempt was made to take it into the future with the sci-fi Innocent Life, but that never took off as well as Ruin Factory did. Despite these attempts, the main series remains popular and has gone on to inspire many other games, such as Stardew Valley.
Harvest Moon: Mad Dash will be launching on October 29th for PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch. You can read our E3 impressions on the game here.
How do you feel about Harvest Moon: Mad Dash? Look like an entertaining distraction from the rest of the series? Worried because the trailer actually features 30 to 50 wild hogs? Let us know in the comments below!
