By The inaugural new, full-featured Fantasy Life title in 13 years appears to have justified the anticipation, as 92% of its over 2,000 Steam reviews approved on its launch day.
Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time serves as the sequel to the initial Fantasy Life, which debuted in Japan in 2012 for the 3DS. The franchise merges life/farming simulation elements like fishing, cooking, and crafting with Zelda-esque dungeons and combat, with this latest edition providing a significant extension of that foundational idea.
The primary difference, apart from offering 14 distinct jobs (essentially classes) instead of the original’s 12, is the innovative time travel theme that allows movement between drastically different environments that influence gameplay and progression. Additionally, you can switch between multiple jobs more easily during your explorations.
In other aspects, you’re collecting materials, reshaping your island, embellishing your home, navigating dungeons, and traversing an expansive and varied open world, which seems to be satisfying long-time enthusiasts and newcomers alike.
The Girl Who Steals Time launched today on Steam, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X, and Nintendo Switch following three days of pre-order early access, and it has already achieved an impressive peak player count of 34,318 on Steam, well surpassing publisher Level 5’s previous title Ni No Kuni 2: Revenant Kingdom (another excellent game). Reviews are similarly favorable on the PlayStation and Xbox storefronts.
As highlighted by Wario64 on Bluesky, that surpasses Doom: The Dark Ages’ 31,000 peak, although that comparison is somewhat irrelevant since the new Doom title is available on Game Pass where it likely garners much more attention.
It is also important to mention that the Japanese and Chinese markets, a crucial demographic for Fantasy Life, aren’t fully represented in these Steam statistics due to time zone discrepancies, suggesting a strong possibility of reaching a higher peak once those players join in.
Even now, perusing the game’s Steam reviews, it’s evident that developer and publisher Level 5 have created a success.
“I’ve never penned a review before and likely won’t again, but this game has taken over my life,” states one review that aptly summarizes the overall sentiment of others. “I’ve already clocked in 16 hours and it just released.” This user adds that they “hadn’t experienced the original, so I wasn’t even driven by nostalgia—still completely hooked.”
“This is the first occasion in quite some time where I can say I feel a $60 game I bought is worth the cost, and I haven’t even completed it yet,” reads another enthusiastic review.
One possible drawback noted in several reviews is the seemingly limited multiplayer feature, permitting up to four players to socialize on a single island and explore dungeons.
According to numerous reviews, the multiplayer capacity is mainly linked to endgame content and doesn’t allow for simultaneous playthrough of the primary campaign or side quests, which could be a disappointment for those wishing to progress with friends.
Only time will reveal if Fantasy Life