They say there is a game for everyone out there. This game is likely for someone, but I am definitely not that person. After an hour, as promised for all games good and bad, I was very relieved when I no longer had to play this resource-gathering and building game that is like oh so many others, but done poorly in oh so many ways.
Please keep in mind that while I am ripping this game apart, that my experience is based SOLELY on the one hour gameplay at the start of any game. I am merely speaking about how good (or bad) of a job the game does at convincing you to play the game and continue doing so in the first hour of gameplay. When a game has me staring at the clock after a mere 15 minutes, most of which is introduction scenes and tutorial aspects of the game, we know that we are in for a game that I am not going to enjoy.
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You start the game out the same way that you would any other gathering and building game. You get plopped into a house and given very basic information about things you need to gather in order to get increasingly complicated things built. Then you end up wandering aimlessly for the most part, to search for these things just lying in the ground. I'm not criticizing this aspect of the game because honestly, how else are they going to do it?
The problem that I initially have with the game is the amount of running back and forth seeking various villagers that will get you to the next stage of development. This entire fiasco is completely pointless as it doesn't offer any benefit as far as understanding the lay of the land is concerned. It kind of reminded me of the "fetch quests" in Final Fantasy: A Realm Reborn and subsequently the reason why I hate all fetch quests in all games. If there is no point in the travel, then just fast-travel me through it. It's not like I am fighting anything during these long-stretches of walking towards the "quest star" so why friggin bother with it at all?
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By the time my one hour was coming to a close I was finally getting into the meat and potatoes of the game which is your construction bench where you can create increasingly complicated items for your farm at. When I started to see how many different mechanisms were going to be necessary to create some of the more fun looking items in the game I started believing that it would take absolute ages to actually do anything in this game other than just run around chopping down trees and digging up plants. I suppose there would be some interest in setting up a perfect farm at some point but the idea behind all of these games is to always have you aspiring towards more and more complicated items on your property.
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I suppose that could be interesting for someone that REALLY enjoyed Farmville or something similar but those games never really appealed to me. Something bizarre that I encountered was that certain higher-level items or crafting stations also involved a timer to completion of the item in question and this time to completion would sometimes be many hours. This reminded me of all of those mobile building games where they would attempt to dupe you into paying real-world money in order for said item or building to be completed right away.
I don't know if My Time at Portia attempted to monetize this game in the same fashion but I certainly hope not and can't believe there are actually people out there that would pay it, if it does exist.
After my one hour was up I gladly left this game because despite the fact that they clearly put a lot of time into the graphical and sound side of things in the game, they failed at making it something that wasn't just a carbon copy of so many other games out there. If it sounds like I am being particular harsh on this title please note that with rare exceptions, I have never really cared for games like this anyway.
I would give this one a pass unless you really enjoy this sort of "building RPG."
Games I have tried in my journey to play every PS-Plus Extra game for at least an hour
- Windbound (survival game with rogue-like elements - not recommended)
- Magicka 2 (top-down humorous multiplayer hack and slash-sort with immense spell system - maybe recommended)
- Tearaway: Unfolded (charming casual 3D platformer with inventive graphics and gameplay designed for all ages - recommended for casual players)
- Spiritfarer (casual simulation / resource-management style game with an extremely good story - recommended for all)
- Observation (point and click survival sort of... interactive game of sorts set in space - found it very boring after just one hour and do not recommend)
- Gabbuchi (simplistic puzzle game that I feel is better suited to mobile devices. Not recommended on consoles)
- The Messenger (8-bit style action/platformer that is a throwback to original Ninja Gaiden. It's simplistic fun. Recommended)
- Megadimension Neptunia VII (typical JRPG with some adjustments made to combat for uniqueness. Could be fun and I lukewarmly recommend for someone willing to dedicate 50 hours to a turn-based RPG)
- Monster Jam: Steel Titans 2 (monster truck racing game that will appeal only to people who are already fans of the sport - not recommended for any other people)
- Entwined (Visually appealing rhythm pace game that is very easy to pick up but gets repetitive after 30 minutes or so - recommended for anyone that can get it for free.)
- 2Dark (8-bit graphic survival horror/stealth hybrid. The game becomes extremely difficult really fast and therefore failed to hold my attention - not recommended)
- Virginia (interactive-cinema...not really a game and it is over in a couple of hours. Not recommended)
- Trials of Mana (simplistic action RPG that will definitely appeal to the casual gamer that is a fan of old-school RPG combat mechanics - recommended)
- Journey to the Savage Planet (FPS exploration game in a semi-open-world environment. The game is intentionally silly and I loved it - recommended)
- Resogun (arcade-style single-screen SHMUP that will get boring to most people after an hour or so. Not recommended)
- The Book of Unwritten Tales 2 (point and click adventure game that doesn't work on consoles and is just irritating to play - not recommended)
- Mighty No. 9 (it's Mega Man but terrible. Definitely not recommended)
- Moving Out (delightfully funny moving company simulator. It gets boring and repetitive pretty quickly. Recommended for a short laugh)
- Last Day of June (a sad story done in 3rd person perspective that while an interesting story and/or life lesson, quickly becomes repetitive and dull. Not recommended)
- Shiness: The Lightning Kingdom (action adventure RPG with an inventive combat system that unfortunately becomes very boring very fast. Filled with bugs and invisible walls, I lost interest within the first hour. Not recommended)
- Hue (inventive puzzle-platformer that whose basic controls are the reason why it is fun. This is also the reason why it gets old after a couple of hours)
- Dragon Quest Builders (simple building game similar to Minecraft with a quest and story system built it. A lot more fun than I thought it would be and highly recommended)
- Bound: Shattered Kingdom (artistic 3D platformer with an unusual graphical style that has an amazing story. It's only 2 hours long but still very good. Recommended)
- Hohokum (an artistic and relaxing experience but ultimately it isn't really a game because there are no clear objectives. Not recommended.)
- Bound by Flame (basically a budget Witcher but fails in almost every way. This game was frustrating to endure for an hour. Not recommended )
- Stray (a simplistic and beautiful adventure / puzzle game that I think most people would enjoy. However, it isn't as perfect as professional reviews would indicate IMO)
- Alienation (action RPG that plays similar to Diablo3 but set in a futuristic world. Recommended for casual multiplayer with friends)
- Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (A classic beat-em-up akin to Double Dragon that loses its appeal in the first 15 minutes of gameplay. Not recommended)
- I am Dead (Point and click puzzle-hunt game with a fantastic story that is unfortunately bogged down by very boring gameplay. Not recommended)
- The Gardens Between (puzzle adventure game that has a wonderful story in it that involves no words being spoken. It's a wonderful casual experience and is very-well made although a bit on the simple side... recommended)
- My Time at Portia (building management / RPG that is like so many other games out there that are exactly the same. Since there is basically no innovation here I would give this one a hard pass)