Unharvest plague spreading operates on a compounding decay engine where manual harvesting quickly gives way to automated chain reactions. Developed by SkorpionDev, this reverse-farming incremental game tasks players with eliminating an entire standing wheat field rather than cultivating it. Progress is tracked by a percentage counter and an unholy soul tally in the top-left corner of the screen, which funds the skill tree opened via the Tab key.
Spreading decay across the massive farm requires balancing passive infection procs, cooldown reductions, and deployable insect swarms. Moving through the crop rows while staggering upgrades prevents dead time and strips the field bare in under thirty minutes.
Core Plague Spreading Mechanics
At the start of a run, withering is strictly manual. Moving with WASD and using left-click strips individual stalks of wheat, causing them to turn black and drop their unholy essence. Each harvest action initially triggers a three-second cooldown, yielding only single-point returns.
Accelerating this process requires unlocking the Spores node for 100 points. Spores transform standard single-target hits into an area-of-effect chain reaction:
- Spread Chance: Spore activation begins at a base 10% rate per wither. Upgrades increase this probability to 25%, 40%, and a maximum of 50%, guaranteeing a spore burst every two hits on average.
- Spread Radius: The default infection blast covers 1 meter around the targeted stalk. Consecutive tier purchases expand the burst radius to 3 meters, 6 meters, 10 meters, and 15 meters.
- Critical Withering: Critical nodes grant a 5% to 20% chance to trigger critical strikes, dropping floating numerical bonuses ranging from +5 to +20 extra points per stalk.
- Stalks Per Wither: Increases the base bundle harvested per action from 1 up to 2, 3, 5, 8, and eventually 20 stalks at once.
Recommended Upgrade Progression
Clearing the field efficiently depends on buying automation tools before sinking heavy funds into raw yield multipliers. Unlocking continuous click-free harvesting early eliminates manual strain and maximizes spore procs.
- Initial Action Speed and Yield: Buy the early cooldown reductions and raise stalks per wither to 2 and 3 so point generation hits double digits immediately.
- Unlock Spores: Spend 100 points on the Spores node as soon as it appears to enable chain-reaction clearing.
- Hold to Wither: Save 1,000 points to unlock continuous input. Holding left-click replaces repeated clicking, keeping attack intervals active while moving.
- Boost Spore Radius and Chance: Invest in spread chance up to 40% and widen the radius to 6 meters. Walking through dense patches triggers cascading bursts across adjacent rows.
- Unlock Locust Swarm: Accumulate 10,000 points to purchase the Locust node, granting an active ability mapped to right-click.
- Activate Auto-Wither: Purchase the "Wither as you walk" node. Passing near standing crops will automatically drain their life without requiring aiming or clicks.
- Scale Locust Duration and Speed: Pump points into swarm duration and travel speed so locusts traverse distant sectors of the field unattended.
- Zero Cooldown Capstone: Accumulate 100,000 points to reduce manual withering cooldown to zero seconds, creating a continuous aura of decay.
| Upgrade Name | Point Investment | Upgrade Function |
|---|---|---|
| Stalks Per Wither | 10 to 5,000 points | Increases harvested stalks per action from 1 to 20 |
| Wither Cooldown | 10 to 100,000 points | Lowers attack delay, reaching 0 seconds at the final tier |
| Spores | 100 points | Grants a chance to chain decay to adjacent crop stalks |
| Spread Chance | 250 to 10,000 points | Increases spore chain probability from 10% to 50% |
| Spread Radius | 250 to 20,000 points | Expands spore blast radius from 3 meters to 15 meters |
| Hold to Wither | 1,000 points | Enables continuous withering by holding down the button |
| Critical Wither Chance | 100 to 5,000+ points | Grants a 5% to 20% chance for bonus point payouts |
| Critical Wither Reward | 750 to 15,000 points | Multiplies the extra points received per critical hit |
| Locust Swarm | 10,000 points | Unlocks a deployable line swarm on right-click |
| Wither as You Walk | Mid-tier points | Automatically decays stalks near the player's movement path |
Deploying Locust Swarms for Large-Scale Clears
Locusts function as the primary long-range clearing mechanism in Unharvest. Unlocked for 10,000 points, pressing right-click releases a dense insect swarm in a straight line forward. The insects eat through wheat stalks independently, sending a steady stream of skulls back to the player HUD.
The base cooldown for the swarm starts at 60 seconds. Upgrading swarm cooldown reduces this timer down to 35 and 30 seconds. Players can also purchase upgrades for swarm speed, duration (scaling from 6 seconds up to 12, 18, and 25 seconds), and swarm radius.
Because locusts travel across the entire field, firing them diagonally or through uncut sections while walking around the farm perimeter prevents backtracking later in the run.
World Clues and Hidden Collectibles
As wheat disappears, the cleared ground exposes environmental props, notes, and illustrations that sketch out the game's setting. Pressing E on these objects logs them into the collection sub-menu accessible via Tab.
- Prayer: A religious holy card found dropped on the dirt.
- Count: A discarded ledger page showing tallies.
- Toy Horse: A small child's rocking horse labeled "A gift from before the field went quiet."
- Visitor: An illustration showing a horned entity looming beside a farming family.
- Scythe: An abandoned farming tool with the prompt "Still sharp. Won't matter."
- Warning: A crude sketch warning of the incoming devastation.
- Feast: A drawing depicting insect swarms consuming the harvest.
- Omen: An illustration depicting figures on horseback, referencing apocalyptic themes.
- Unpaid: A notice of debt or overdue bills.
- Gravestone: A marker reading "They'll be back for the rest."
- Scarecrow: A lone scarecrow in the field with the text "It's been watching the whole time."
- Barn Supplies: Grain sacks inside the open shed marked "They were saving this. For what, I wonder?"
- The Windmill: As decay reaches 75%, the mill sails stop turning, prompting the message "The mill stopped. Nobody came to fix it."
- Tree Stump: A cut stump allowing the player to sit and view the darkened sky and withered field.
Full Version Content Teased in the Demo
The demo caps out upon reaching 100% field clearance, displaying a completion screen that confirms the full release will include new plagues, different historical eras, and fields beyond wheat. Several nodes in the demo's upgrade tree are visibly locked and labeled for the full game:
- Blight: An advanced infection branch located beyond late-tier Spores.
- Rats: A secondary summon plague distinct from insect swarms.
- Rot: An alternative passive decay status condition.
- Swarm Count Upgrades: Additional charges allowing multiple locust swarms to remain active simultaneously.
Frequently Asked Questions
What controls are used to play Unharvest?
Movement uses WASD. Left-click handles withering, right-click unleashes the locust swarm once unlocked, E interacts with world objects and notes, and Tab opens the plague upgrade menu.
Can you wither the butterflies, trees, or buildings?
In the demo version, only the wheat stalks can be withered. Butterflies, boundary rocks, the farmhouse, and the windmill cannot be damaged or collected.
What happens when the field reaches 100% completion?
The run concludes immediately once the final stalk of wheat decays. The game displays a completion screen showing total play time (typically between 20 and 30 minutes) and prompts the player to return to the main menu or wishlist the game on Steam.
Does walking with Auto-Wither replace clicking?
Auto-wither drains plants passively as the player moves, but manually holding down the wither button alongside movement allows spore bursts and manual bundle bonuses to trigger simultaneously for faster clear speeds.
