Fantasy Life i is a recreation that wishes to brighten my day

For those who’ve been on the web for greater than a month, it’s probably that you just’ve seen that gif of Danny Devito saying “Oh my god… I get it.” which originated from a season finale episode of It’s All the time Sunny in Philadelphia. Once I fired up Fantasy Life i: The Woman Who Steals Time and noticed quite a few hours of my life vanish over the following few days, this was my actual response.

All through the years, I’ve met a number of individuals who performed the unique Fantasy Life on the Nintendo 3DS. As a rule, these folks often ranked it amongst one in all their favourite video games ever. Our personal workers author Mikhail Madnani is amongst these of us, and has vouched for it alongside these strains. For no matter purpose, I simply merely missed out on it.

Quick-forward to current day, current time – I wasn’t certain what to play subsequent after Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. When 2025 started, I didn’t suppose I used to be going to get round to Fantasy Life i. I mentally wished it one of the best of luck, since I used to be well-aware of the a number of years of growth hell it went via. A lot of the pre-release footage that developer Stage-5 launched didn’t promote me on the sport; lots of it was when it was nonetheless deliberate to be a Swap unique title… and the footage of that they did present appeared like a large number performance-wise.

Evidently, I didn’t have the very best expectations for this title. It wasn’t till a number of days earlier than its 3-day Superior Entry launch {that a} good friend and I goaded one another into shopping for it and seeing it for ourselves. Maybe probably the most alluring factor about Fantasy Life i to me is how little anybody knew it might end up.

That is going to be a little bit of a tangential peek backstage to offer some context. No western outlet acquired Fantasy Life i overview codes earlier than the Superior Entry interval. The one pre-release overview was from the Weekly Famitsu journal subject in Japan, and I personally don’t pay a lot credence to that. So I’ll admit that a part of what made Fantasy Life i interesting was the mysterious nature of the ultimate product. It was sufficient for me to pay full value for its Deluxe Version to achieve entry into its Superior Entry interval.

Once I requested folks what sort of recreation Fantasy Life was, probably the most intriguing response I acquired was that it was a non-MMO Outdated Faculty RuneScape. This spoke to me as a result of many eons in the past, I devoted many hours as a wee lad to RuneScape on my web browser – even earlier than it received 3D fashions. It’s in all probability one of many earliest video games that made my mind neurons awaken to the idea of leveling job courses in a online game, even ones that have been dedicated to non-combative mundane duties similar to woodcutting, mining, and fishing.

There’s a sure compelling facet to Fantasy Life i that’s rekindling my ardour for this taste of “slow-life RPG” as soon as extra. I assumed I wouldn’t have the persistence for this kind of recreation now that I’m a lot older, and don’t have the identical quantity of free time for video games as I as soon as did. Right here I’m almost 40 hours into Fantasy Life i, and I’ve by no means stopped smiling every time I play it.

Fantasy Life i is a recreation clearly aimed for youthful audiences. Colorfully bubbly menus complement the cartoonishly massive heads of the 3D chibi fashions roaming its world, together with playful dialogue exchanges freed from any swearing. There are distinct, vibrant visible and auditory cues for essential interactions, similar to when touchdown a vital hit on a monster or gathering node. All of its gameplay methods are comparatively easy to know; there isn’t a trickery or 4th-wall breaking meta-commentary that Fantasy Life i is attempting to convey. What you see is what you get.

I believe a very powerful facet of Fantasy Life i that clicked for me is that it’s a recreation that wishes to brighten the participant’s day. In 2025 alone, I’ve performed a number of titles such because the aforementioned Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, The First Berserker: Khazan, Cut up Fiction, Blade Chimera, and The Hundred Line: Final Protection Academy. I need to be clear that I believe none of those video games are dangerous or horrible; they might not be all my absolute favorites, however a handful of them are definitely unimaginable on their very own deserves.

Simply from that pool of video games alone, I wouldn’t say any of them essentially aimed to cheer up or brighten my day. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, The First Berserker: Khazan, and The Hundred Line: Final Protection Academy communicate for themselves with a bleak story premise from the outset. Cut up Fiction’s plot includes a cliche setup of a brand new know-how, and by extension the CEO behind mentioned know-how, being utilized for nefarious means – sprinkled by the tragic backgrounds of its twin protagonists unveiled all through the sport. Blade Chimera has an amnesiac primary character steadily uncover the reality of how the apocalypse of humanity came about.

I’ve had my share of enjoyable with all of them, however they’re all both miserable from the get-go or change into miserable over time intentionally by design. That isn’t to say that there aren’t any “unhappy” moments or moments of battle that transpire in Fantasy Life i, however its kid-friendly nature packages it in an environment friendly method. The story beats are introduced in a easy and straight to the purpose style, with out ever beating it over the participant’s head. They aren’t specified by photorealistic scenes produced with elaborate cinematography. Stage-5 desires gamers to get again to taking part in the sport at their very own tempo, whereas offering a story aim every time gamers select to advance in direction of it.

As time goes on, I’ve begun to cherish when a recreation is constructed and crafted to be a second of reprieve. Final 12 months, I selected Taiko no Tatsujin: Rhythm Pageant as my favourite recreation out of all of the improbable ones that got here out largely due to that purpose. It’s a online game that’s easy, straight to the purpose, and maximizes the period of time folks spend taking part in it somewhat than watching it. I’ve nothing in opposition to the tide shift of many video games attempting to be movies, particularly within the RPG house, however when it looks like virtually each recreation is attempting to be as cinematic as doable… it turns into tiresome.

In the meantime, Fantasy Life i is, at its core, a recreation about knocking issues off quite a few checklists. Every of the 14 Lives (job courses) have ranks that individuals can ascend by finishing every of their job lists. It strikes a satisfying stability the place every of those Lives’ guidelines duties by no means feels tremendous grindy to finish. I may spend three straight hours by no means leaving my base camp’s townhouse as a result of I’m simply crafting to rank up my Alchemist, Prepare dinner, Tailor, Carpenter, Blacksmith, and Artist Lives. On this span of time, I’ve achieved a state of zen. There have already been quite a few instances I booted up Fantasy Life i, and eight hours will fly by within the blink of a watch.

Each single gameplay system on this title is supposed to interweave with each other. It’s very straightforward to get sidetracked, and Fantasy Life i is absolutely conscious that this may occur to gamers – so it makes this inevitability an fulfilling course of.

For example, I’ll need to get the social gathering member that’s rewarded after finishing three comparatively easy quests from a NPC. One in all their quests is likely to be to deliver them a “High” high quality Gold Pickaxe. Nicely, I is likely to be operating low on gold, so let’s go mine some gold. Maintain on, my present Miner tasklist has a number of duties involving gold ore, so I would as effectively knock these out.

There may additionally be close by monsters that my Hunter has quests for, so I ought to eliminate them as effectively. Oh look, the world that these monsters inhabit has bushes and fishing spots that my Woodcutter and Angler Lives have on their tasklist. On this span of time, I’ve achieved a state of zen.

All through this complete cycle of being sidetracked, my three social gathering members have both been cheering me on with buffs and debuffs. If any of them was a Miner, Woodcutter, or Angler, they might’ve helped me out too. As I’m leveling up, they’re leveling up and my Bond with them is steadily rising, which unlocks new abilities for them at sure thresholds. Every time I get round to smithing that Gold Pickaxe, I can even select Blacksmith social gathering members I’ve recruited to assist me make it.

Even describing this hypothetical situation has me itching besides up Fantasy Life i instantly. I can’t stress sufficient how fulfilling this recreation has been, and I really feel nice supporting it. Stage-5 has completed an incredible job addressing excellent points in a well timed method, particularly the sport’s multiplayer assist. It had fairly restrictive circumstances when it first entered Early Entry, however lots of them have been eliminated inside days proper earlier than its full launch. I wholeheartedly hope that it continues to do effectively past its much-deserved 500k gross sales milestone.