It’s said often, but video games are still a relatively new medium when compared to books and even movies. It wasn’t until recently that people started to recognize individual developers (obviously there are some exceptions), but it’s not like they’re household names. Hideo Kojima is prolific in the game industry, but is his name as recognizable as Steven Spielberg? I mean, my mom raised four boys, the consoles in her house ranged from an Atari 2600 with my older brothers to a PS4 with my younger brother. Yet when my daughter said she wanted to be Bowser for Halloween this year, she had no idea who that was (and no, I don’t mean Doug Bowser). So while some names may hold weight with people ingratiated in the field, it’s not universal. But for anyone that knows the name SWERY, you immediately have preconceived notions of what to expect.

The Good Life is the newest game from Hidetaka “SWERY” Suehiro. This is the man that brought us gems such as Deadly Premonition, D4: Dark Dreams Don’t Die, and The Missing. Yes, they rarely review all that well, and they are no doubt for a niche audience, but they always offer a unique experience. A flawed one, typically, but unique nonetheless. And I can assure you, you’ll get both of those here.

The game opens with the famous fairy tale of Dick Whittington, and asks what happened to the cat after the story ends. You’re then introduced to Naomi, a photographer that ends up in an idyllic town in the countryside. She’s none too pleased about it, but she’s forced into the job to pay off an enormous debt. She’s provided a house with wifi for free, as she’ll be staying in the happiest town in the world. Although Naomi likes to reiterate that it’s actually a “goddamn hellhole.” In any case, the game begins to slowly introduce mechanics such as taking pictures and uploading them for money. You’ll also get a taste of the eclectic cast of characters within the town, and soon be told that you shouldn’t be going out at night. That’s when things start to ramp up.

The game shoves in so many mundane mechanics that seem to be pointless, and the game is very aware of this, as it regularly makes fun of itself. But as with any game that breaks the fourth wall in regards to “bad” game design, those design choices are still something the player must endure. Just because it’s noted that you’re doing fetch quests and your character says it’s like an old-school RPG doesn’t make the experience any less dull. Yet as trite as the game can be, I couldn’t help but adore it. As I’ve mentioned before, survival is not my cup of tea, but it’s almost enjoyable with what you’ll do in this. You’ll eat different dishes, collect ingredients, build your own cooking skills, increase stats, etc. Once the animal portion is introduced, combat can be considered. The photography portion of the game is fun as well, although I think it could’ve been explored a bit more in terms of its importance. But this is a good way of making money with side quests, and learning more about the world.

I’ve been holding off on reviewing this because at launch, the PS4 version of this game looks like an early PS2 game, but somehow runs worse than one while playing on a PS5. I was hoping a patch would come, and there was indeed a patch just recently. I didn’t bother to look up what it included, but I can say that exploration became even more taxing. The environments flicker regularly as if I’m raving with a world that does and doesn’t exist at any given moment. Previously, this was only prevalent in the cut-scenes, with minor flicker while playing the game. This patch made it so you can regularly have a seizure while playing. The game also freezes off and on, sometimes allowing me to play after a few seconds, while other times I had to close out of it and boot it up again. Regrettably, load screens are frequent and longer than I would expect, given what was being loaded. The animations used in dialogue seem a bit off at times, especially when juxtaposed with the small voice clips. Naomi may mimic a gun blowing her brains out while excitedly talking to someone, for example. It’s been a little while since I’ve played a game that’s felt this broken.

This is honestly one of the hardest games I’ve had to review in a long time. There’s so much wrong with it that I feel bad recommending it to people, because it really has no right playing like it does. Yet every time I booted it up, I’d feel a sense of warmth. The broken nature and low poly style gave it a type of charm that brings me back to simpler times. The story is absolutely wild and one that makes me thankful SWERY is still making games, despite the hate he gets for his work. Honestly, just watching him talk about his games is such a joy – and my minor interactions with him over Twitter when this was first announced for Kickstarter were more than pleasant. While not the game of the year, this will no doubt have a cult following, like the rest of his creations.

If you’re familiar with SWERY games and enjoy them, definitely check this out. If you’re not, and you can’t stomach games that aren’t polished, maybe watch a play through online instead. There’s a good amount of game here for $30, it’s just a shame that it’s got such a large barrier of entry with the execution.

5 out of 10

Pros

• Characters
• Mystery
• Cute Animals
• Interesting World

Cons

• Bugs, Visual Glitches, and Freezes
• Load Times
• Some Design Choices (Which the Game Highlights as Bad)
• Dialogue Animations and Voice Clips

The Good Life was developed by White Owls Inc. and published by Playism. The game is available for NS, PC, PS4, and X1. The game was provided to us for review on PS4 and played on PS5. If you’d like to see more of The Good Life, check out the developer’s site.

 

Here at GBG we use a rating method that you are more than likely familiar with – a scale of 1 to 10. For clarification, we intend on using the entire scale: 1-4 is something you should probably avoid paying for; 5-7 is something that is worth playing, but probably not at full price; 8-10 is a great title that you can feel confident about buying. If you have any questions or comments about how we rate a game, please let us know.

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