A new video this week has revealed the launch window of The Good Life. It’s something that I wasn’t aware of until now. As far as I’ve been aware, the game has been set for launch at some mysterious point in 2020 for the past year. I’ve not seen anything announcing a delay, but this seems like confirmation that the game is now going to hit Nintendo Switch, PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 at some point next summer. That’s great news, because this game has been in development for absolutely ages. It had a hugely successful Kickstarter campaign, but only now are we getting anything close to a release date.
The Good Life follows Naomi, a photographer, as she finds herself stuck in a small English town. She needs to work to pay off her debt by taking photography jobs from the locals, but not everything is as it seems. At night, the locals have some kind of power to turn into animals, and Naomi is able to access that same ability in a few forms. This allows her to access new areas of the town, opening up new opportunities for solving mysteries and completing more jobs of course.
What I love most about this game is its sense of humour. Sure, it might not look like a solid game just yet, but it’s got a charm that’s undeniably enjoyable. I love the aesthetic of a little English town in any game, but here SWERY really seems to have mastered the themes and feel. The fact that you can turn into an animal also feels like something that weirdly fits with everything that the developers are going for here. Usually this would be out of place in a game with mysteries and photography as its main themes, but I don’t see anything out of the ordinary with this game at the moment.
I may end up being wrong. The final game could be incredibly jarring and ridiculous. My expectation is that it won’t be though, the game is going to have a spark that will ignite a small cult following. That’s my prediction at least.