More than a year after my preview of My Time at Portia on PC, the game has finally made its way to the console space. I haven’t touched it since that early alpha phase, so I was excited to jump back into Portia and see if this brightly colored post-apocalypse grabbed me more this time around.

About an hour into the journey this time, which got me much further than previously since I knew what I was getting into (and due to some improvements to the navigation), my wife came out and was excited to see what I was playing. Apparently she didn’t pay much attention when I first played it, but this is the kind of game she loves. However, she’s not always into the 3D styled farming games, so she said she’d be happier watching. It’s a shame, since these are far more up her alley. Regardless, I continued with the building and resource management simulator for another thirty hours, falling what feels very short of completing the game.

My initial interest in this game spawned from the IPs that it claimed to hold resemblance to. There are definite ties to the likes of Level-5’s Dark Cloud series, although I’d argue those don’t hold up anymore with dated mechanics. For the time, they were fun and innovative, but they’d need a bit of an overhaul to stand out now. The biggest aspect of Level-5’s series was the combat, as it was a dungeon crawler first and foremost, and then focused on village building. In Portia the building is the focus, and combat is tertiary, being a hack and slash with rolling. Arguably that’s all that’s necessary, and you could say that’s what most of the Souls games are depending on your weapon of choice, but it makes for a fairly boring system here as there is no real challenge, even when facing the bosses. Luckily, that’s not all the game has to offer in terms of gameplay.

After the fairly quick introduction and tutorials, you’ll find that you’re tasked with a rather hefty commission of making a bridge. This is where you’ll take everything you’ve learned and put it to practice, while also learning about mining and just how much of a time commitment this game is going to be. The initial things you create use “raw” materials that you merely find, while the bridge requires “refined” materials and many additional tools to create these. The game does a good job of not making you feel rushed for any one event, but the process to complete the bridge left me wondering whether or not I could be doing something else in the meantime. I can’t help but feel like I’m not making progress while playing this game, and I completely understand that some people use this to Zen out by collecting and managing resources, but from the very start it feels to be bloated to the point of pushing people that aren’t already invested in the genre away. It’s not that it’s difficult; it’s just not considerate of your time.

Outside of Dark Cloud, the game is likened to Harvest Moon and Animal Crossing. I think the argument of it being like Stardew Valley could be made, and is probably the most accurate with the amount of content available, although ConcernedApe’s game seems to have a bit more charm. Notably, Studio Ghibli is also brought up as a likeness, but I have some trouble seeing this. This isn’t like Level-5’s latest RPG series Ni no Kuni that actually worked in tandem with the famed movie studio for the first entry, creating an aesthetic that actually felt like a playable Ghibli world. Instead, this has a cutesy world with seemingly one-dimensional characters (they get better as you build relationships) and some fun character and environmental designs, but nothing that jumps out as super memorable. This isn’t a fault per se, but it is a bit disappointing after seeing it touted as such – this was a main reason my initial interest was piqued. Ghibli creations have characters you can relate to, and worlds you get sucked into and don’t want to leave – Portia definitely has some charm, but it’s hardly a bathhouse that I’m cursed to work in forever.

The game has undoubtedly improved since I originally played it, and having it on console is nice, but it still has its fair share of technical issues. I’m by no means a framerate savant, but there are some heavy dips while playing, and the poor collision detection and animations only contribute to this. It’s a shame, because the game has a lot for those that want to delve into it. None of it is what I’d deem exceptional, but all of it comes together to create a cohesive experience that fans of the genre will no doubt enjoy sinking their teeth into, story and all.

My Time at Portia makes many promises and manages to not break any of them. The game provides plenty for you to explore and learn yourself, and that’s perhaps where it will shine most for some and create frustration for others. There’s always something to be working on, and the game lets you determine what that is – I just wish it made me care enough to keep doing any of it.

6 out of 10

Pros

• Heaps of Content
• Easy to Play
• Unique Setting

Cons

• Unnecessarily Long Time Commitment
• Performance Issues

My Time at Portia was developed by Pathea Games and published by Team17. It is available on PC and launches on NS, PS4, and X1 April 16th, 2019. The game was provided to us for review on PS4 and PC. If you’d like to see more of My Time at Portia, check out the official site.

 

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