Games Happy

In the event you’ve been on the web for greater than a month, it’s doubtless that you simply’ve seen that gif of Danny Devito saying “Oh my god… I get it.” which originated from a season finale episode of It’s At all times Sunny in Philadelphia. After I fired up Fantasy Life i: The Lady 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. Most of the time, these individuals normally ranked it amongst one among their favourite video games ever. Our personal employees author Mikhail Madnani is amongst these people, 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 positive 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 improvement hell it went by. A lot of the pre-release footage that developer Degree-5 launched didn’t promote me on the sport; plenty of it was when it was nonetheless deliberate to be a Change unique title… and the footage of that they did present seemed like a large number performance-wise.

For sure, 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 could prove.

That is going to be a little bit of a tangential peek behind the scenes to supply some context. No western outlet acquired Fantasy Life i evaluation codes earlier than the Superior Entry interval. The one pre-release evaluation was from the Weekly Famitsu journal problem 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 worth for its Deluxe Version to realize entry into its Superior Entry interval.

After I requested individuals what sort of recreation Fantasy Life was, probably the most intriguing response I acquired was that it was a non-MMO Outdated College RuneScape.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 bought 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 lessons in a online game, even ones that had been dedicated to non-combative mundane duties equivalent to woodcutting, mining, and fishing.

There’s a sure compelling side to Fantasy Life i that’s rekindling my ardour for this taste of “slow-life RPG” as soon as extra. I believed I wouldn’t have the endurance for one of these 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 at any time when 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 necessary interactions, equivalent to when touchdown a important hit on a monster or gathering node. All of its gameplay methods are comparatively easy to grasp; there is no such thing as a trickery or 4th-wall breaking meta-commentary that Fantasy Life i is attempting to convey. What you see is what you get.

I feel crucial side of Fantasy Life i that clicked for me is that it’s a recreation that desires 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, Break up Fiction, Blade Chimera, and The Hundred Line: Final Protection Academy. I wish to be clear that I feel none of those video games are dangerous or horrible; they will not be all my absolute favorites, however a handful of them are actually 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 converse for themselves with a bleak story premise from the outset. Break up Fiction’s plot includes a cliche setup of a brand new know-how, and by extension the CEO behind stated 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 most important character step by step uncover the reality of how the apocalypse of humanity passed off.

I’ve had my share of enjoyable with all of them, however they’re all both miserable from the get-go or turn out to be 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 trend, with out ever beating it over the participant’s head. They aren’t specified by photorealistic scenes produced with elaborate cinematography. Degree-5 desires gamers to get again to taking part in the sport at their very own tempo, whereas offering a story aim at any time when gamers select to advance in the 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 yr, 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 individuals spend taking part in it moderately than watching it. I’ve nothing towards the tide shift of many video games attempting to be movies, particularly within the RPG area, however when it looks like virtually each recreation is attempting to be as cinematic as potential… 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 lessons) have ranks that individuals can ascend by finishing every of their activity lists. It strikes a satisfying steadiness 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 occasions I booted up Fantasy Life i, and eight hours will fly by within the blink of an eye fixed.

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 totally conscious that this can occur to gamers – so it makes this inevitability an pleasing course of.

As an example, I could wish to get the social gathering member that’s rewarded after finishing three comparatively easy quests from a NPC. One among their quests is perhaps to deliver them a “High” high quality Gold Pickaxe. Nicely, I is perhaps 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’d as properly knock these out.

There may additionally be close by monsters that my Hunter has quests for, so I ought to eliminate them as properly. Oh look, the world that these monsters inhabit has timber 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’d’ve helped me out too. As I’m leveling up, they’re leveling up and my Bond with them is step by step rising, which unlocks new expertise for them at sure thresholds. Every time I get round to smithing that Gold Pickaxe, I also can select Blacksmith social gathering members I’ve recruited to assist me make it.

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