Harvester

1996 DigiFX Interactive Adventure

Windows 11With a fix

MacNot sold

LinuxNative

Gamicality score

Metacritic 533

OpenCritic Not rated

Steam players 861

How it’s combined

Playability today

Runs today3.5/5

Design today2.5/5

Steam user reviews

Very Positive

91%

1,480 reviews1

Get it on Steam

Facts checked November 1, 2026

Does Harvester run on Windows 11, Apple Silicon Macs, Linux and Steam Deck?

Windows 11With a fix

Runs with a fix. See the steps below.1

Mac (Apple Silicon)Not sold

No Mac version is sold.

LinuxNative

Native Linux version.1

Played Harvester lately?

One click, no account, so the next player knows. How we check where it runs

How to get Harvester running today

If cutscenes cut off or skip, apply the cutscene skipping fix linked by PCGamingWiki, or lower the cycles value in the game's DOSBox config file (Steam Community).
If videos do not play in full screen, change output=surface to output=overlay in the Harvester DOSBox config file (PCGamingWiki).

Synopsis

Harvester is a full-motion video horror adventure set in a twisted 1950s small town, where a young man wakes with no memory and is told he is about to marry. Over several in-game days you explore the town, talk to its strange residents and solve inventory puzzles to earn entry into a secretive lodge, with occasional fights along the way.

Developer: DigiFX Interactive
Released: 1996
Genre: Adventure
Where to get it: Steam

Reception

Reviews in 1996 were split, with a Metascore of 53 from 8 critics: PC Gamer liked its fair puzzles and sharp art, while others were put off by its extreme gore and campy acting. Today it is a cult favorite, and Steam players praise its absurd humor, bizarre story and over-the-top violence. The same players often call the puzzles obtuse, the combat clumsy and the game hard to finish without a walkthrough. Several also report cutscenes skipping in the bundled DOSBox setup.

Playability today

The average of two parts, each from 1 to 5. Tap a check to see why. How it works

Runs today

3.5/5

Sold or given away today by an official source
Needs fan patches to run well on Windows 11
?Not confirmed yetSingle-player works without an internet connection
No source covers the current version yet, so this check counts as open, not passed. Played it lately? Tell us
All of its content still works (servers, DLC, unlocks)
No content has been cut, though the Steam version is not sold in Germany (PCGamingWiki).
No proper support for modern resolutions and widescreen
Widescreen is not supported (PCGamingWiki).
No full controller support and no remappable controls
There is no controller support and keys cannot be remapped (PCGamingWiki).
?Not confirmed yetSteam Deck Verified or Playable
No source covers the current version yet, so this check counts as open, not passed. Played it lately? Tell us
No intrusive DRM or required third-party launcher account
No pay-to-win or pushy microtransactions
No known game-breaking bugs in the current version
The known crash and cutscene problems have documented fixes, and no open issue blocks progress for most players (PCGamingWiki).

Design today

2.5/5

Controls feel awkward on a modern controller or mouse and keyboard
Exploration is simple point and click, but fights come down to mashing the mouse button with unreliable hits, and players call the combat janky. Source: alexbevi.com, steamcommunity.com.
Menus, text or interface are hard to read on today's screens
The game runs at a fixed low resolution in DOSBox with no widescreen or windowed option, so it appears small and boxed in on modern screens. Source: pcgamingwiki.com.
Saving is fair: free saves or frequent checkpoints, little lost progress
The game can be saved manually whenever the player chooses, including right before the final choice, which matters because there are no checkpoints and a lost fight ends the game outright. Source: alexbevi.com, steamcommunity.com.
Hard to make progress without a guide
Puzzles range from obvious to very obtuse and deaths often come without warning, and many players say the game is nearly impossible without a walkthrough. Source: alexbevi.com, steamcommunity.com.
Pacing drags: grind, filler or forced backtracking
Each in-game day is a chain of multi-item fetch quests, and the final lodge section, about the last third of the game, is three floors of puzzles and repeated melee fights. Source: alexbevi.com.
Camera and movement never fight the player
The game uses fixed screens that you click through, so there is no camera to control. Source: pcgamingwiki.com, pcgamer.com.