I bought Fantasy Life on a recommendation from a friend. I had heard mixed things about the game, so I was slightly hesitant on picking it up. But I trust my friend’s judgement, so I decided I had nothing to lose. 8 hours in, what’s my consensus?
Honestly, I don’t have one yet. Fantasy Life is a huge game. I can tell I’ve just barely scratched the surface in terms of what it has to offer. The game is a life simulator, while simultaneously containing RPG elements — think Animal Crossing meets Skyrim, really. You can take on a variety of “Lives”, which are basically jobs from other RPG games. You can be everything from a Paladin to a Blacksmith to a Cook to a Tailor, and can switch your Life at your leisure.
By the way, “leisure” is the key word here. Fantasy Life is a very slow paced game. The comparisons I made to Skyrim are not far off. You can do whatever you want in this game, and not feel pressured to complete any particular objective. Want to fell a few trees as a Woodcutter, switch to a Craftsman, and then sell the furniture you end up creating? Go ahead. Want to go mining for materials, use those materials to craft some weapons, and then explore and kill monsters for bounties? Do it! It’s really up to you, and what’s great is that in comparison to games like Skyrim, there’s no overarching, urgent quest that’s waiting for you to hurry up and get the side quests done so you can get back to saving the world.
I’d say that’s one of Fantasy Life’s strong points. It’s truly a relaxing game. At first I was getting anxious at all the quests that I had to complete, but as I settled in and decided to take my time, I was able to enjoy it much more. I can always go ahead and speed through Mario and Luigi: Dream Team. Fantasy Life is a “stop and smell the roses” kind of game.
Also of note! You can create a dark skinned character in this game. I was so relived when I realized I could do that – I’m getting pretty sick of games that are touted as being “life simulators” deciding to forget about one of its demographics. (Animal Crossing, cough cough).
So, Fantasy Life, thus far, has been worth my time. I’m interested to see how it fairs in the long-term — whether the endgame becomes a grind, or if the game as a whole begins to feel repetitive. We’ll see!
Eight-Bit Samurai 