Nowadays, more and more games are being developed by Indie developers that are able to enter the gaming market through Kickstarter or other public funding. Stardew Valley is a wonderful example of one man having a dream. A dream about developing a game that he feels is missing in the game choices of the day. And making a huge success of it too.
Stardew Valley has since made it to every platform you can think of. And it’s been an example for a host of other indie developed games. Most start their life on Steam, some make it over to the gaming consoles.
In this series of articles I take a look at simulation games that are on Steam, but haven’t made the jump to the Switch. Of course, as a fan of Nintendo’s hybrid console I think many of these games would fit perfectly on the Switch. “From Steam to Switch?” lists the games I have on my radar, hoping they will make the switch (pun intended!).
Last week I looked at Ooblets. This week we take a look at The Good Life!
Kickstarter campaign successful
This Kickstarter campaign has been funded with promises to get a release on PC. A PS4 and Xbox release is in the works too. The developers SWERY and Yukio Futatsugi, along with their teams at White Owls and G-rounding also want a Switch version to happen. But so far, it’s a stretch goal.
They have funded ¥81,030,744, which is about $ 717.000 by 12.613 backer. This means the project is funded, but the stretch goal for a Switch version isn’t. At an amount of ¥88,000,000 ($800.000) a Switch version will happen, but I have found no way to pledge an amount. You can only pre-order the game now.
Description of the game
You play as Naomi, a journalist from New York who moves to a backwoods British town called Rainy Woods in order to pay off her massive debt. The only way for her to escape from debt hell is to take pictures of happenings in the town and report on them. Of course, ‘the happiest town in the world’ is not your average town.
It’s your job to pay off your debt by making a living out of taking photographs, but you also have to solve the mystery of the murder that took place in the ‘happiest town in the world. Aside from that, the townspeople are also hiding a big secret. Once a month, in the moonlight, all townspeople suddenly transform into cats and dogs!
The inhabitants of the happiest town in the world are some of the most bizarre people you’ll ever come across. You’ll live alongside them as you solve mysteries and experience a hearty helping of craziness. We’re sure that you’ll eventually come to love all the mystery, horror, and good old charm that this town has to offer.
The townspeople’s relationships will change based on how you play. In one town, you may see a surprising couple start dating… Or a normal character in your town may become the mayor of your friend’s town. You may even be able to influence how the story in your town plays out!
Money makes the world go around
To pay off your debts and to earn yourself a living, you have to make money. Either by posting your photos into Flamingo, the in-game social app. For every like, you get cash. Or sell your pictures to the newspaper Morningvale. There’s also various other jobs to do to pay off your debt.
There are plenty customisation options in the game, the real life seasons are in it too. And once a month, when you are a cat or dog, you have a lot more freedom to explore.
This sounds like my kind of game. So, I do hope they eventually manage to add the Switch to the list of consoles that the Good Life will be released on.
I played the demo they had up for the Kickstarter. It seems pretty interesting.
And quite an interesting combo of sim and some detective work as well thorough photography. I do hope they manage to bring it to the Switch too eventually