Ever Oasis review – Perfect game for a console’s twilight

But, of course, the aesthetic is not the sole element in these games because nobody wants to just look at pretty things for hours on end. You need a reason to come back and see those pretty things, and Ever Oasis has the gameplay backbone to keep all this supported properly.

It’s proper to call this game a hybrid of the action RPG genre and the Harvest Moon life simulators since both of these elements complement each other perfectly.

On one hand, your seedling will carry out his duties as the town’s chief. This means running the town’s commerce and making sure all of your inhabitants have something to do. Most of them will be able to set up a shop of some kind on your main street, selling useless trinkets to fat birds that swarm to your oasis and frivolously spend their money.

To run these shops, the seedling child must collect resources out in the world and bring them back to restock their supplies. Keeping shop keepers happy makes you money, levels them up, expands their inventory with more valuable products, and will even grant them special abilities in combat if you take them adventuring. More on that later.

This micromanagement is very streamlined. A simple press of a button in its menu screen drops off all necessary items, and casting your Gale spell on the shop’s tent will suck out all of its profits. Even with a maximum number of shops, it never feels like a burden to collect your taxes.

Those not running the shops have others tasks they can perform, like gardening and planning festivals, but any resident can also be dragged out into the map for some good, old-fashioned exploring!

Ever Oasis sets itself apart from Harvest Moon and its ilk by actually having a full blown adventure to compliment all this town management. Actually, I’d say that this adventure is the main show. The seedling child learns of certain objectives out on the map by talking to his residents, and completing each quest will score him new residents, access to new resources, or open up entirely new maps. Some of these are story based, and others are fetch quests. Ever Oasis dodges the problems of some RPGs by never becoming grindy to the point of tedium. The town management and pace of the story are brisk enough to keep it flowing naturally.

The seedling child also gets his hands dirty with combat, meaning Ever Oasis has its fair share of item management with weapon upgrades, armor upgrades, accessories, healing items, all you would expect to find in a full-blown JRPG. Make your dude stronger, pummel enemies that much faster. Again, the point of every RPG.

Enthusiastic residents are also always willing to help in battle. Those with leveled up shops have passive abilities that will help in some combat situations, and others have situational weapons and skills that will open doors, solve puzzles, or land you sweet, sweet treasure chests. Making sure that all of the town members are up to speed and selecting the right ones for each outing a huge decision in Ever Oasis.

Combat feels fine, too. It’s very reminiscent of Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask with a lock-on system and rotating camera. It employs a sword/spear/range weapon system in which some creatures will be weak to certain weapon times, and your seedling will also gain combos and new magic abilities as he levels up, each allowing him to approach enemies with the proper tactics.

Ever Oasis is more of an adventure with a farming add-on, rather than the vice versa you find in most games of this genre. That’s fine, and it helps set it apart from the rest.

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