PC Gamer - UK (2022-01)

During every full moon, its residents

transform into cats and dogs – a

power you soon snaffle for yourself.

But while they remain moon-bound,

you can change forms whenever you

like, leaping over walls

and onto rooftops as a

cat, or following scents

and, er, peeing on stuff

in your faster canine

form. You’re Naomi

Hayward, by the way:

an American

photojournalist who

has come to town to

work off an eye-watering

£30,000,000 debt. She’s selfish, rude

and frequently the butt of the game’s

many jokes. She’d make a great

sitcom character, as her dignity is

eroded at every available opportunity.

The main way the game does this

is with its smorgasbord of side quests.

These are the sort of lesser RPG

quests you’d hoover up on a notice

board and then tick off over an

afternoon, but they’re enlivened by a

cast of colourful characters and a

well-realised open world, whether

you explore it on foot, on the back of

a sheep, or on your own four paws.

DOG’S BODY

Quests often utilise your

transformative abilities, but also

Naomi’s camera, which can be used

to generate #content for an

Instagram-style social media

platform. This is the main way you

earn money in the game: by taking

photos that fit with the trending

hashtags. The more popular the

photo, the more money will trickle

into your account. As well as being

engaging in its own right, this system

encourages engaging with the world

around you, and noticing the details

of the game’s vividly British setting.

With its misty, sheep-laden fields,

ancient cairns, and cosy pub interiors,

Rainy Woods certainly looks the part,

while the story delves

surprisingly deep into

British folklore.

Mythological titbits are

mashed together with

sci-fi elements, fourth

wall jokes, and plain

bonkers moments. In

other words, don’t take

the mysteries seriously.

I learned to just roll with it and

embrace the (mostly funny)

nonsense, which culminates in an

ending that takes it to another level.

If you go in expecting concrete

explanations to the town’s myriad

mysteries, you may be disappointed,

but on a thematic and emotional

level, I found the ending satisfying.

But as well as a murder mystery, I

said this was a life sim, didn’t I? Sadly,

this element too is a bit insubstantial:

just one more ingredient inThe Good

Lifecasserole. You can buy

decorations for your garden, plant

and harvest veggies for no real

benefit, and pick from a handful of

pre-defined styles for your house.

You’ll also need to eat (often) and

sleep (oddly very little). But you can’t

really customise your home, or form

relationships with the townsfolk.

That’s a shame, because it’s the

characters that makeThe GoodLife,

from the cash-obsessed Naomi to the

half-cut local vicar, to Lonette, the

buff farmer who lives just outside

town. I like that their cat and dog

forms retain elements of their

appearance or personality, and I love

the clay-like character models that

express so much, even before you

speak to them. Oftentimes, the game

feels like a Wallace and Gromit

pastiche of a modern sci-fi show.

As I reflect onThe GoodLife, it’s

with a warmth I didn’t feel when I

was traipsing back and forth across

the wilderness to gather bafflingly

elusive crafting components, for

villagers that seemed to have

confused me with Deliveroo. But the

more you explore a place, the more

you come to know it, and the more it

starts to feel like a real place.

After solving countless tiny

problems, tangling with bigger

supernatural ones, and literally

marking my territory with litres of

dog piss, I’ve come to regard Rainy

Woods as a home.

79

Weird,goodnatured and

prettyfunny withit, The

Good Lifestandsapart,

just likemostSWERY

games outthere.

VERDICT

Y

ou’ve probably heard of SWERY. Or if you haven’t, you know

his magnum opus, DeadlyPremonition, of which The Good

Lifeis a kindred spirit. Both involve a murder in a small

town, but while the former leans into detective work and

survival horror, The GoodLifeis a life sim... sorta. It also feels

like an RPG, but with (almost) no combat and an abundance of menial

quests, which have you trudging the mysterious town of Rainy Woods.

THE GOOD PLACE

It’s a dog’s (andcat’s) lifein THEGOOD LIFE

ByTom Sykes

I learned to just

roll with it and

embrace the

(mostly funny)

nonsense

NEED TO KNOW

WHATIS IT?

A life sim/mystery/

adventure game set in a

town whose residents

transform into cats

and dogs

EXPECT TO PAY

£24

DEVELOPER

White Owls Inc

PUBLISHER

Playism

REVIEWED ON

Intel Core i7-10750H,

16GB RAM, GeForce

RTX 2060

MULTIPLAYER

No

LINK

whiteowls.co.jp

GOOD VIBRATIONS

The GoodLife’sgenre stew

10%

MURDER

MYSTERY

I wouldn’t buy

the game just

on this basis.

It’s a minor

element.

30%

ADVENTURE GAME

The Good Life has the same crazy,

anything-can-happen spirit.

5%

SHEEP SIM

You can tame,

name, and

ride sheep.

15%

LIFE SIM

It’s noStardew

Valley, but you

do feel like a

resident.

40%

RPG

RPGs are full

of slightly

tedious side

quests.

The GoodLife

REVIEW