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It happened for No Man’s Sky so it can certainly happen with The Good Life as well. It’s not all negatives for the game though. Fans of the director’s other games, like Deadly Premonition, might feel right at home with The Good Life. There is plenty of quirky charm to adore here so let’s go through some positives as well.

10 Best: Character Design

The character design in The Good Life is out of this world. Everyone is uniquely dressed and they look like they’re made out of clay (or something). There are not many games that try this art style, with Lost in Random being the closest and most recent title that comes to mind.

The main character, Naomi, has hilarious catchphrases and facial expressions, while the townsfolk are all charming in their own way. If nothing else, The Good Life’s characters are visually interesting.

9 Worst: The Graphics

The character design is flawless but the rest of the graphics leave something to be desired. The overall world is bright and colorful but it can look dated, at times coming across like an older game from a past generation.

There’s an odd juxtaposition between seeing well-designed characters run around in a broken world of low-grade polygons. The most troubling part about it is the draw distance which can make buildings and other set pieces look blurry.

8 Best: The Story

At the very core of The Good Life, Naomi is tasked with investigating the sleepy town of Rainy Woods wherein she finds out people can turn into animals. She also gets inflicted by the curse which allows her to transform into a cat or dog.

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There’s much more to this life sim than that. Saying anything beyond that premise would be a spoiler but let’s just say The Good Life has a lot in common with Deadly Premonition in terms of themes.

7 Worst: Time Based Content And Complicated Upkeep

There are a lot of examples of how The Good Life ties into Deadly Premonition with more than just the story. For example, events are timed, meaning players have to keep track of when stores are open or when meetings need to take place.

Players must also upkeep Naomi with a variety of meters, including health, alertness, stamina, fortitude, and so on. Basically, there’s a lot to keep track of. Nothing is bad about these systems but it can feel a little overwhelming.

6 Best: “Goddamn Hellhole”

That is one of Naomi’s most used catchphrases. By the end of the game, players may find it hard to get it out of their heads. This is in reference to Rainy Woods which she feels is a backwater town without much to do.

That may be true but it’s that sleepy characteristic that makes Rainy Woods come to life. There aren’t many games set in small little villages like this let alone in open-world games.

5 Worst: Poor Performance

The graphics aren’t the only dips in The Good Life. Most issues stem from the overall performance. The voice acting, while good, is accompanied by the lip-sync being comically off. The load times on the Switch are not perfect.

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The Good Life is far from the slowest release on the Nintendo Switch but it could definitely be better. The frame rate can also go so low that the gamecan look like a stop-motion animated film.

4 Best: Swery’s Oddity Shines Through

Swery, aka Hidetaka Suehiro, is one of the most unique Japanese developers making games right now. Fans of his will not be disappointed by the absurd situations that arise from The Good Life.

Turning into cats and dogs may sound weird but that’s nothing compared to some of the wild events players will see later in the campaign. The Good Life also has a lot of great references to Swery’s other games and pop culture in general.

3 Worst: Map Issues

The game’s map could be a lot better. Firstly, players can’t zoom in, making it hard to read where roads go. There is no way to add markers for manual side quests either. There is fast travel system but it too is a bit broken. Players can warp to their house from any point on the map at the cost of stamina.

They can pay money to warp home from shrines too but players can’t manually warp to shrines from wherever. It’s expensive and complicated to travel. Money is precious in the game too.

2 Best: The Dedicated Skip Button

The Good Life features a skip button for cutscenes, like most games, but that’s not what is being referenced here. There is a literal skip button that allows Naomi to skip around playfully in The Good Life.

How many games do that? It’s a bit frustrating that Naomi can’t jump as well but since her animal forms can jump, it’s not a huge problem. The skipping adds to the overwhelming charm of this life sim.

1 Worst: The Combat

There is little combat in The Good Life. It’s not there right away but eventually, Naomi can kick, her cat form can pounce like an assassin in a stealth game, and her dog form is the strongest of the three.

All three combat styles are a bit wild and unruly. Thankfully, there aren’t many mandatory battles. Most combat situations involve killing animals for pelts or ingredients so that’s a positive at least.

The Good Lifewas released on October 15, 2021 and is available on PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.

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