The Good Life Reviews
The Good Life is a peculiar and endearing game that some will love and others won’t. I quite like it, as the setting, characters, and various activities are as pleasing as they are immersive. There are a few frustrating parts and performance issues, but they can’t hold back my overall enjoyment of The Good Life.
After you get past the rather slow start, like all massive world RPG's you eventually get into the swing of things. You know how to deal with food, sleep, and sickness. You have a pretty good idea where the characters are and you are freely going out and exploring. This is when the Good Life really picks up. Once you get over that hump and really immersed in The Good Life Universe. It's so much fun! The world is massive with lots of NPCs. The character stories are detailed and interesting. Naomi starts evolving as a character. Unfortunately as can be seen by many game reviews, I imagine most game reviewers (and many players) do not get to this point.
But on the off chance you don't touch the things, are reading this, and have ever uttered or read the word "cottagecore" earnestly: this game is for you. Find the nearest friend, family member, or partner who is always talking about what a great deal Game Pass is and force them to download it for you. If you're already acquainted with interactive media, The Good Life is an unpredictable yet satisfying experience that seems to always be throwing the player some new curveball to keep things fresh-much like life itself.
While The Good Life still has some annoyances carried over from Deadly Premonition, it's still a great time with some wacky characters. The transformations and photography are a lot of fun to mess around with, and the life simulation aspects compliment the more relaxed pace nicely.
While there is a lot to love about The Good Life, the slow pace, lack of action and the gameplay loop comprised of fetch quests isn't going to be for everyone. It's a lot more niche than it initially seems. The Good Life is a recommendation for fans of the more "punk" titles from directors such as Swery, Suda 51, and Onion Games/Love-de-lic. Those who enjoyed the quirky and obscure Simple Series of PS2 will likely enjoy it too. Its archaic formula may not be for all, but it has more heart than all of the AAA games combined.
The Good Life is more about the journey than the destination, though. It may not directly explain what it takes to live a good life, but it’s a playful and unique exploration of some possible answers to that question.
Weird, good natured, and pretty funny with it, The Good Life stands apart, like most SWERY games.
The Good Life makes for a nice getaway, but don't plan on staying for too long.
The Good Life is a strange mix of photography-game and life-sim, and while it's not perfect, its flaws are covered by a weirdly charming premise.
It’s quite expansive and filled with things to do, the plot twists are intriguing and engaging, and Naomi does smooth her edges down the further along you get, though she never totally hits for me. If you need a good dose of high strangeness coupled with a lot of things to do, there’s no better time to move to Rainy Woods and get a peek into The Good Life.
The Good Life is an experience that can be quite frustrating for some players. Representing the life of an ordinary worker in a bizarre setting, the game weighs its hand on elements of management that are sure to displease a fair amount of people. However, for those who manage to go further, taking advantage of all the charisma of the game and its unusual proposal, there is a beautiful experience to be found here.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
This surreal, multifaceted experience has its charms; but technical and storytelling snags that hold it back
The Good Life is another flawed yet fascinating gem from Swery65. It's a weird world full of unforgettable characters, and even when the gameplay grows a bit tiring or repetitive, it's worth all the photo quests and fetch missions in the world to see that next bonkers twist in the story.
The Good Life is a play by Swery, for better and for worse. His personality emanates and shares particularities: outdated technical and mechanical problems, but with that magical aura. If you like the author, jump in without fear. Important: it is not translated into Spanish.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
The Good Life comes with excellent narrative elements, but the entire experience is damaged by some weird design choices that result in mediocre gameplay. While this is hardly surprising for a game directed by SWERY, some of the ideas featured in The Good Life, like the cat and dog transformation mechanics, deserved a much better execution, as they feel shallow and not particularly interesting. With such flawed gameplay, only die-hard fans of the Japanese director will truly love The Good Life.
The Good Life knows where its strengths lie. Its functional open-world model and mostly-dated gameplay systems sit quietly in the background and allow its quirky charm to take the spotlight. That charm is piled on thick, with absurd characters (and absurd accents), a plot that digresses so wildly it seems unable to remember where it started and, lest we forget, the whole dog/cat transmogrification thing. The charm and atmosphere have to be seriously compelling if they are to excuse the well-worn mechanics, repetitive tasks and frequent slowdown and pop-in. If Japanese old-school gaming whimsy × twee Englishness isn't for you, then neither is The Good Life. But if you're a SWERY fan and that sounds like your cup of tea, get dunking.
It may not be for everyone, but The Good Life is a celebration of all things SWERY.
Looking past the obvious flaws in The Good Life, players will find a very unusual and engrossing mystery, with a lot of depth to the gameplay and witty characters. It’s a very personal game that presses the player to slow down and take it easy; to chill out and enjoy life.
Like any other game by Hidetaka Suehiro, The Good Life is a unique experience with simple yet engaging gameplay and solid story telling, offering a few hours of pure meditation.
Review in Persian | Read full review
The Good Life kept my attention longer than it should. I was willing to brave through the mundane just to see what unfolds and what bitchy retort Naomi has in store for the weirdos in Rainy Woods.