Latest news with #lifeSim
Geek Girl Authority
26-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Girl Authority
STARSAND ISLAND Is Primed to Redefine Romance in the Life Sim Genre
Starsand Island has quickly become one of the most anticipated cozy games of the year. Following the release of its latest trailer this week, hopeful players are especially excited about the game's clean, anime-style graphics, adorable animals and, of course, romance. While dating is always a topic of interest going into any farming and life sim, what makes Starsand Island so special is how it breaks genre traditions with a more realistic approach. I was skeptical at first, since titles like last year's SunnySide kind of dropped the ball in a similar attempt. But Seed Lab's developing life sim could take genre romance in a new direction. A More Realistic Affection System Seed Lab When it comes to the farming and life sim genres, your decisions have always affected how your relationships with dateable NPCs play out. Some titles, like Harvest Moon and Fields of Mistria , lock you into a will-they-won't-they narrative until your relationship is strong enough to decide whether you'll remain friends or pursue a romantic partnership, but dating in Starsand Island seems to work a little differently. RELATED: July's Most Anticipated Video Games Developer and publisher Seed Lab says the game's NPCs aren't just 'flat characters' or 'cold quest tools.' Rather, they're fleshed-out personalities with their own memories, emotions and aspirations. In taking this approach, helping out with personal goals and appreciating the little things in life foster your bonds and encourage NPCs to evolve. As you get to know them, they also get to know you . This way, every interaction is an opportunity to take a step forward — or back. Taking the Next Step Seed Lab Starsand Island 's romance system relies on a more realistic rule of progression than others. In Seed Lab's latest reveal trailer, we got a closer look at the character profile for an islander named Pastelle. And while in-game text is still in need of a bit more polish, relationship milestones are already clear-cut. When you're just getting to know the island's singles, you can start off by gifting them items they might like. This is standard practice in the genre, and most will find this custom familiar. But once you reach two hearts, you can then go on an outing together. Your relationship continues to move forward in this way, with room visits unlocked next, then requests and, finally, cohabitation. That's not all that makes the developing title a standout ahead of launch, though. RELATED: Mobile Game Monday: Lost in Play Voice Acting Brings Starsand Island's Dating Scene to Life Seed Lab Voice acting for NPCs and the player may not be entirely unheard of in the farming and life sim genres. But–at least for me — there isn't a title that immediately comes to mind. In most cases, you carry on conversations in silence, save for a change in music. Starsand Island breaks tradition and stands out here. In the affection system trailer released by Seed Lab this week, we heard a good bit of spoken dialogue from the masculine base farmer and Pastelle. Lines were delivered between scenes of all the activities you can share with the island's most eligible. This includes watching TV, taking a seat on a backyard swing together, riding your bikes through town, bathing in hot springs — and more that's yet to be revealed. That said, it looks like these lively conversations may be limited to cutscenes. Traditional dialogue (with options) is still very much a thing here. And judging by the clips we saw in the new trailer, there's plenty of room to flirt, offer advice and lighten the mood with humor as you grow closer with the folks around Starsand Island. Starsand Island will release in late 2025 on PC (Steam). 15 Co-Op Game Announcements From June 2025 Olivia Rolls (she/her) is a weekly contributor at GGA, specializing in cozy games, anime and all things horror. Her byline has appeared at publications like The Mary Sue, The Escapist, GameSkinny and more. When she's not writing deep dives on her favorite games, shows, movies or characters, she's probably yapping about the latest pop culture trends or catching up on another Pokémon playthrough. E-mail professional inquiries to [email protected]. You can also find Olivia on Bluesky and LinkedIn.
Digital Trends
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Digital Trends
Steam has a hit new life sim and it will brighten your day
As part of this job, I watch a whole lot of Nintendo Directs. Hundreds of games are beamed into my eyes every year and I try my best to retain as many of them as possible. As you can imagine, some fall through the cracks. That was the case with Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time, which was first revealed on a Nintendo stream in 2023. Even after making an appearance in February's Nintendo Partner Direct, it still didn't stick in my mind. I'm not sure why. Maybe it got lost in a sea of recently announced life sims, like Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream and Tamagotchi Plaza. For whatever reason, I didn't expect it to make much of a splash. As it turned out, I underestimated the power of Nintendo 3DS nostalgia. Fantasy Life i is out now and it's doing exceptionally well on Steam for a niche game. At the time of writing, it has reached a peak of over 47,000 concurrent players and 92% of its user reviews are positive. That only accounts for PC players too, not those jumping in on Nintendo Switch. The success got me curious enough to hop in and start my own life. I'm glad I did, because Fantasy Life i is a plesant little vacation that has made my days just a little brighter. Developed by Level-5, Fantasy Life i is a brand new entry in a cult hit life sim series that started on the Nintendo 3DS in 2012. Since then, its only other installment was a mobile game that was discontinued in February 2023. That makes Fantasy Life i something of a long-awaited sequel for fans of the original. And those fans were clearly hungry for it. Recommended Videos I can understand why as soon as I start playing. Described as a 'Slow-Life RPG,' Fantasy Life i is about an archeologist who is accidentally sent to a mysterious world where labor is valued. There's a big central story here that involves bone dragons, time travel, and the fate of the world, but that makes everything sound more stressful than it is. The real appeal? The fact that I simply get to live a quiet life. Fantasy Life's closest equivalent is Rune Factory, as it mixes some light hack and slash combat in between more peaceful town management. The hook is that players can learn 14 different jobs, each of which has its own skill tree, progression system, and function. I start by getting a cook's license and am taught how to turn any food items I get into meals by way of a quick minigame. I level up, get access to more meals, and start filling out my skill tree to improve my cooking efficiency. I repeat those steps when I get my licenses to become a miner, woodcutter, angler, and more. I immediately get the appeal as I start obsessing over leveling up each job, completing set tasks to increase my license level. What's so neat here is that Fantasy Life essentially allows players to become a town's entire supply chain. I cut the wood that I use to make swords that I then equip for my paladin job. I can plant my own vegetables by day, cook them by night, and then sell them around town. Lots of life sims allows players to do all of this, but Fantasy Life is clever to break them all out into specific job paths that each have their own RPG progression system. I feel more like a tradesman than a player pressing buttons. That's only one layer of it, too. There's also a town building component where I can terraform a patch of land, build houses for villagers, and decorate my house. Then there's some dungeon crawling, as I can hop into an open-world desert at any time to hunt for materials and level up my classes. Drop a central story on top of that, filled with boss fights and time travel shenanigans, and you've got a fairly robust life sim that you could sink well over 100 hours into. I just have one word of advice if you do decide to jump in: take it slow. When I started, I figured I'd simply mainline its narrative and start doing the life sim part afterwards. That's doable, but not exactly an ideal experience. Fantasy Life expects players to naturally level up their skills between story missions. I quickly found that late game enemies were kicking my butt because I hadn't been leveling up each of my combat classes. The more I did, the more skill nodes I could unlock that would boost my attack and defense. And leveling up my blacksmithing skills meant I could make stronger gear for myself. After misunderstanding that, I was left trying to grind everything up quickly, which meant doing a lot of repetitive minigames all at once rather than spreading them out. It's more difficult to embrace what's ultimately a series of grinds if you're doing them all at once. I have a few gripes with Fantasy Life i that hold it back from being a game I plan to turn into a routine, namely its very limited multiplayer integration that makes it so players can't work through the story together. Even with that complaint, though, it's hard not to be charmed by it all. Fantasy Life i is a sweet little game for those who love doing little digital chores and feeling rewarded for every single one. Considering how dark the real world is, it's the exact kind of escape a lot of us probably need right now. Maybe that's why it's so popular. Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time is out now on PC and Nintendo Switch.
