The Good Life – Review
Our Score: 8/10
In The Good Life enjoy everyday life while solving a murder mystery in Rainy Woods – known as the “happiest town in the world” – in this all-new “Debt Repayment RPG”!
Journalist Naomi Hayward is drowning in debt and is at the end of her rope. Having accepted a request from The Morning Bell newspaper to “uncover the mystery of a small English town”. Naomi finds herself far from her home in New York, in Rainy Woods. Upon beginning her investigation, Naomi – camera in hand – soon discovers an inexplicable phenomenon in which the townspeople transform into cats and dogs as night falls. Then, as just she’s looking into that particular mystery, a murder occurs. Join her as she attempts to reveal the truth about Rainy Woods.
What is The Good Life
As a journalist, Naomi is able to earn money by taking photos of Rainy Woods at the request of The Morning Bell and the town’s residents. Also, if she can manage to snap photos of whatever happens to be trending on the social media site “Flamingo” and increase her number of followers, she just might be able to earn enough money to make life in this small town that much easier.
Naomi herself eventually becomes able to transform into a cat or dog. Turn into a cat, and gain the ability to jump and climb all over town to explore; or transform into a dog, and use your acute sense of smell to track the town’s residents. Use your respective abilities as a human, cat, and dog wisely to more easily solve the various mysteries and incidents you’ll face.
Rainy Woods is full of various spots, as well as an array of events just waiting to happen. Explore the areas around the town to unlock shrines and camping grounds, expand your field of mobility, and enjoy the comfortably open world. Hopping onto a sheep and riding around the hills is just so much fun!
Look and Feel
The Good Life looks like a game from the PlayStation 2 era of games. I mean, it is a Swery game so he has a very peculiar way of approaching visuals in a game. The character models are alright and I would say the presentation of the game is what lets it down.
However, this is a Swery game. And if you’ve never played a Swery game let me fill you in. On the surface, everything looks normal but the moment you start getting into it, you better prepare yourself. That charm and absurdity that made Deadly Premonition such a cult classic is present here. It feels like Shenmue and Deadly Premonition but less dark.
Final Verdict
The Good Life is another Swery title that will be divisive but if you’re a fan of his games, this is a no-brainer to play. You might think it’s a cutesy-fun game and a departure from what he has done in the past but that’s far from the truth. Want to know the truth? Find out yourself as Naomi.
