The Good Life" review: A slow life in the "happiest town in the world" full of cats, dogs, and mystery!

How are you doing, Akiba Research Institute readers? This is Nero Hyakkabe, a writer who buys too many games. Suddenly, have you ever longed to live in the countryside?　Needless to say, the countryside has its own difficulties, but I think there are many people today who dream of a slower pace of life that is different from city life, where you are pressed for time and swallowed up by the crowds.

This time, therefore, we would like to introduce "The Good Life," a game on Steam that allows you to enjoy a slightly different kind of country life.

Mystery, fantasy, and murder! The Good Life" is a game that is full of charm!

The Good Life" is an open world adventure game with 3D graphics. Set in a country town, the game is a "slow-life mystery about paying off debt" genre. The name of the genre is full of intriguing elements, but let's start with the story.

The main character is Naomi Hayward, a photographer who is in debt and at a loss. She is asked by her client Morning Bell to "solve the mystery of a country town in England," and the story begins when she arrives in "Rainy Woods," a place far from her familiar home of New York City. The main character, Naomi, is a bit of a foul-mouthed ...... character with a very unique way of speaking, but she is an honest, positive, and friendly character.

When Naomi arrived at Rainy Woods, she was greeted by Elizabeth Dickens, the woman in charge of the town hall. She is wheelchair-bound and somewhat mysterious, and to Naomi's surprise, she offers her a house to live in the town. Naomi wonders if there is such a thing as a free house, but Elizabeth tells her, "This is Rainy Woods, the happiest town in the world. Everyone who comes here is welcomed with open arms," she says with a beaming smile. This is indeed a "slow-life mystery about paying off debt. The story is quite mysterious right from the start.

Naomi begins her investigation of Rainy Woods, the "happiest town in the world," using a small, rundown house a short distance from the town as her base. One night, Naomi witnesses the strangest sight in town. The townspeople suddenly transformed into cats and dogs right in front of Naomi's eyes!　In Rainy Woods, the town's inhabitants transform from human to cat or dog at night. What a mysterious and fantastical turn of events! ......

Furthermore, later on, Naomi can transform herself into a cat or a dog by chance. This is becoming an increasingly rich fantasy development. ......　Even after transforming into a cat, Naomi's trademark sunglasses are still there, which is a bit surreal and cute.

Transforming into a cat has many advantages in terms of exploration, such as being able to run faster than when she was human, jump over low walls, and climb walls marked with claw marks. One of the charms of this work is that you can use the transformation to go places you could not go when you were human, and you can enjoy the element of solving puzzles.

Naomi pursues the mystery of Rainy Woods, sometimes transforming into a cat or a dog, but then she gets caught up in a murder in the town. This is a very sudden development ......!　We invite you to see for yourself how this enigmatic story unfolds and what happens next.

Earn money with buzz-worthy photos! You can also enjoy cooking and growing vegetables! Unique game system explained!

The main objective of "The Good Life" is to pay off debts while exploring the mysteries hidden in Rainy Woods.

This may give the impression that there is a lot of complicated work to be done, but the game uses a quest system, and you can progress through the game by completing the various large and small quests that are presented to you, so it is not complicated at all.

In addition, multiple quests can be accepted at one time, and you can check what you need to do to accomplish a quest and the next destination at any time you like, giving the impression that the game is quite easy to play.

The story revolving around the mystery of Rainy Woods can be advanced by completing the "main quests. So how can you repay your debts? The main character, Naomi, is in debt to the tune of 30 million pounds.

In today's Japanese yen, this amount is more than 4.5 billion yen! 　It sounds like a lot of money, unless you participate in a life-reversal gambling tournament sponsored by some mysterious organization, but of course there is no such a development in this film.

As mentioned above, Naomi's job is a photographer. Therefore, money is basically earned through "photography. Pressing the button to look through the camera's viewfinder while exploring changes the view from the third-person to the first-person perspective, so you can take photos as your senses dictate.

The key to earning money is the in-game SNS "Flamingo," which you can access from your home computer. Upload your photos to Flamingo and earn " emo likes," not "like," to earn money as advertising revenue. It is a unique system with a strange sense of reality, in which "taking good photos and getting buzz anyway is justice.

Speaking of reality, Naomi uses a computer at home, but because she lives in the countryside, the Internet connection is "hella slow," and it takes quite a long time to upload photos. It is a bit stressful, but I feel that the game creator was very particular about the fact that the game was made to immerse the user in such a worldview.

The social networking service "Flamingo" is a serious world where you have to earn "emo likes" and get buzzed in order to make money. The key to getting buzz is "hot words.

By taking and uploading photos that match keywords such as "#lively garden" and "#sounding toast," you can easily get "emo likes" and earn a lot of money. This system of keeping an eye on social networking trends, riding the trends quickly and efficiently, and aiming for buzz, is very realistic in a good way, which is a point that I found interesting.

Speaking of realistic points, we must not forget the system related to physical condition. Naomi has various "realistic" parameters such as "full stomach," "sleepiness," and "stress," as well as "cold" and "headache," which are also "realistic" conditions. These abnormalities are also "realistic".

These conditions require expensive medical treatment, so you must take good care of yourself without forgetting to eat and sleep, and without being absorbed in your search. But still, "Eating and sleeping are important!" is a realistic phrase that is not at all like a game strategy. ......

You can order food at cafes in town and learn recipes as you eat the same dishes over and over again. The dishes you learn in this way can be made in your own kitchen at home or in an outdoor kitchen, saving you time and money. If you don't eat the food you make right away, but take pictures of it and upload them to social networking sites, you may even have a chance to earn money, depending on the hot word.

Incidentally, there is a parameter of physical condition called "healthiness," and some dishes may recover "fullness" but not "healthiness.

For example, salads and soups may restore health, but junk food may make you feel full but not healthy, and if you keep eating junk food, you may eventually get sick. This "realistic" system is one of the interesting aspects of this game.

Cooking is a standard element in slow-life games, but another standard element in today's slow-life games is the "farm". In "The Good Life," you can create a family farm using a garden outside your home. You can even cook your own meals using the vegetables you sow and grow. In addition, you can bring various objects into the garden and decorate it to your liking, so if you like to play, you are sure to become addicted to the farm element alone.

This is the best part! Summary of "The Good Life's" main points

I have introduced the story and system of "The Good Life" so far, and now I would like to introduce some of my favorite points of this title.

First of all, I would like to mention the quirky characters. The main character Naomi, who is both foul-mouthed and quick-witted, is quite a unique character, but the residents of Rainy Woods are all as quirky as Naomi.

The residents of Rainy Woods are all just as quirky as Naomi, including Douglas McAvoy, an armor-clad construction worker with a big body and a quiet voice, and Morris Downer, a B&B owner who has not slept for 30 years because he is being hunted by the Grim Reaper.

I felt that these quirky characters perfectly match the bright and mysterious world of "The Good Life" and make it a one-of-a-kind work.

The next point I would like to mention is the "fun of photography. The town of Rainy Woods, with its unique residents, rustic and nostalgic townscape, lush nature, and abundant wildlife, is filled with many photogenic sights.

While it's fun to search for hot-worded subjects to earn money, it's also fun to let your inspiration take you on a photo spree, capturing people and scenery. Uploading your best photos to Flamingo and getting lots of "emo likes" will give you more than just money; it will also give you a sense of joy and pleasure. I am sure that many players have found themselves immersed in the photo shoot, putting their quests aside.

The mysterious storyline is fascinating, but the abundance of side-trips, such as the aforementioned photo shoot, is also a major attraction of this title. Cooking in the kitchen, growing vegetables in the garden, going out on the town to your favorite café, taking photos that look good, transforming into a cat and running around in the fields and mountains collecting materials needed for cooking and making items, returning home to upload photos on SNS and check the emo likes you get.... There are plenty of things that players can do in this title, as you can see at ....... In addition, there are numerous sub-quests requested by residents and clients, making the game very rewarding to play.

The adventure game genre has the danger of becoming a monotonous game with a series of quests. However, "The Good Life" is full of slow life elements that can be enjoyed freely, as well as side-trips such as subquests, and I felt that the game is designed in such a way that players can enjoy it without getting tired of it.

Let's enjoy a slow life with "The Good Life" during the winter vacation!

So, I introduced "The Good Life" to you.

The Good Life" offers a unique and original game experience that cannot be found in any other title, thanks to the perfect fusion of the freewheeling slow life element and the drama element that keeps you wondering what is going to happen next. This is the perfect game to enjoy during your holiday time during the coming year-end and New Year holidays, so if you are interested, please check it out.

• Title Information
• The Good Life" (White Owls Inc.)
• Genre: Debt repayment life simulator
• Release date: October 15, 2021
• Price: Steam 2,980 yen (including tax), other platforms 3,980 yen (including tax) (as of November 23, 2021)
• Copyright: ©2021 White Owls Inc. Licensed to and published by Active Gaming Media Inc.

Author：Nero Hyakkabe

Freelance writer who buys too many games. I currently have more than 300 games in my stack. Also a novelist. Author of "Yubisaki Kaidan: 140 Scary Stories" (PHP Kenkyujo), "Goa-ken: Unrated Edition" (Kodansha), etc.

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