You may be familiar with the controls if you’ve played any of the Story of Seasons games. As a sequel, the visuals seem almost identical to the original Doraemon: Story of Seasons, with no big improvements, but it’s not like this needed one. The game’s graphic style is quite beautiful, like a watercolored cartoon. All of the characters are well-animated and given proper introductions. The story of the game does not look to be particularly engaging, but it does set up the opportunity of managing farmland.

A boy named Lumis who has been wounded is first introduced to us in the prologue. Lumis owns a farmhouse, which Nobita agrees to manage in exchange for allowing them to remain there. However, this planet, Illuma, too has a queen who appears to be unhappy with Nobita and his friends and takes away their gadgets. With the aid of Lumis, Nobita must find his way back to his home. During his time on this planet, Nobita develops a lot of new friendships with the locals, who also assist him achieve his goal.

If you’ve never played a farming sim game before, the game features a helpful tutorial, but if you have, there’s no need to go through it. The gameplay of managing a farm is straightforward. There are tools for tending the land, such as a hoe for plowing, a watering can for the seeds, and an axe for cutting wood. These tools can also be upgraded in the future to improve their efficiency. A co-op mode is one of the sequel’s new features. This enables two players to work on the farm. If you don’t have somebody to play with, AI can take over, reducing the chore of some of the tedious jobs.

I’ve played through most of the Story of Seasons games, but I found this entry refreshing in the sense that the developers have virtually embodied the Doraemon series by including all of the important characters. Doraemon is represented not just in the story but also in the gameplay. Sadly, despite this, the game’s writing tends to feel more like a dull filler than anything that piques our attention. There are several conversations with the characters in between the various story objectives, but they are rarely engaging. The sequel has a lot more cutscenes in an attempt to add drama, but they aren’t that entertaining.

Nobita can travel across the planet using a world map, however, it is not very useful for navigation. The world map is separated into segments, and if there is anything important to perform in a certain location, a notice will appear on the map, but the player must identify the event that triggers it. This implies that they will have to investigate every spot on the map to determine what causes a certain event. There is a useful to-do list and a bulletin board with chores to do, but the side content itself is weak.

Nobita can capture fish and bugs in addition to caring for the farm by cultivating crops and increasing farmland. These side activities, however, tend to feel monotonous, and the thrill of completing them fades after the first few hours. The game also has a Doraemon flavor with the option to use gadgets. These give some interesting farm management shortcuts that we haven’t seen in earlier Story of Seasons games. Seasonal events occur since the game follows a set calendar, and Nobita must also manage the farm’s revenues and expenses. These might be useful while deciding on farmhouse upgrades.

I played the game on a PS5, but I don’t believe it would be as demanding on a Nintendo Switch. It is also available on a PC, although there is no PS4 port, even though the original was released on it. It’s pretty lovely visually, with its watercolor aesthetics. The world appears to be a living picture, especially given the magnificent backgrounds. The slow-paced nature of the gameplay can be frustrating, but as I spent more time with it, the tools improved to make it acceptable. Co-op mode appears to be fascinating as well, but I wasn’t able to play it thoroughly.

If you enjoy agricultural simulation games, Doraemon: Story of Seasons: Friends of the Great Kingdom is an easy recommendation. It looks stunning graphically, and the gameplay is designed for newcomers to the genre. If you’ve never played a farming sim but enjoy the Doraemon franchise, this may be a good place to start.

Doraemon: Story of Seasons: Friends of the Great Kingdom Game Information

• Price: $49.99
• Publisher: Bandai Namco
• Developer: Marvelous
• Platform: PS5 (Reviewed)
• Disclaimer: A review code was given by the publisher

The post Doraemon: Story of Seasons: Friends of the Great Kingdom Review – Adventures In a New World appeared first on TwistedVoxel.

This is the second game in the Doraemon Story of Seasons series, which is a collaboration between the Doraemon IP and Story of Seasons. Basically think of it as Story of Seasons meets Doraemon. The first game was available for PC, Nintendo Switch, and PS4. The sequel is available for Nintendo Switch, PC, and PS5.

Here is a look at the launch trailer of the game.

Here are some details taken from the press release of the game that was sent by Bandai Namco.

Doraemon, the iconic cat-type robot, returns in an all-new touching story with the hit game series “Story of Seasons.” Play a casual agricultural simulation game set against a beautiful setting with realistic natural features like weather and seasons.

More than 80 of Doraemon’s secret gadgets are incorporated for more enjoyment and a dreamy farm experience! Build a farm in the sky with secret devices like the “Hopter” and “Mini Raincloud,” or harvest pearls with the “Adapting Ray.”

The first DLC “Winter Life,” which includes new clothes, a furniture set, and an additional mini-story, is also available today as part of the Season Pass, ushering in a new season for Noby and his companions to explore. Expect two more DLCs to be released, bringing fresh experiences and pleasure to the game! The Season Pass, as well as the Special Edition and Deluxe Edition with additional seed sets, are available.

Additionally, it is also possible to grab a demo of the game which will be available today.

Here are the system requirements for the game on PC.

MINIMUM:

• Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
• OS: Windows 10
• Processor: Intel Core i5-6600K or AMD Ryzen 3 1200
• Memory: 8 GB RAM
• Graphics: GeForce GTX 750 Ti or Radeon R7 265
• DirectX: Version 11
• Storage: 10 GB available space

RECOMMENDED:

• Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
• OS: Windows 10
• Processor: Intel Core i5-10600K or AMD Ryzen 7 1700
• Memory: 16 GB RAM
• Graphics: GeForce GTX 1070 Ti or Radeon RX Vega 64
• DirectX: Version 11
• Storage: 35 GB available space

Doraemon Story of Seasons: Friends of the Great Kingdom is available now for PS5, PC, and Nintendo Switch.

The post Doraemon Story of Seasons: Friends of the Great Kingdom Is Out Today For PC, PS5, and Switch appeared first on TwistedVoxel.