My Time At Portia, Early Access Watcher Stream
0Disclosure: This game copy was bought by the reviewer.
This game functions and acts similarly to another quirky game I play from time to time called Atelier (insert any title). You build up your workshop with the needed machinery, you take requests from the towns people for items or story progression related structures, or you gather resources to make all the items needed. You also need to dive into ruins to bash mice in the face for certain resources and collect lost data discs to unlock better machines that can be built to reduce crafting times on components. You are also given the option to build a reputation with the towns people leading to a possible marriage proposal following a mini-game.
It looks alright in terms of structures and the environments, but good lord do some of the people look bizarre. It is partially due to the missing facial animations and on-off voice acting, but that is a minor grip. Music and basic sound effects are hit and miss (sword slashes sound awkward as hell) that can cut out randomly, but the main three songs are pleasant to listen too. Frame rate has maintained reliably during my entire playthrough and while it did crash once, it happened during the same time Malwarebyte’s botched update was released.
I have a couple of minor complaints: enemies can stun lock you easily when in groups, the boss is reused in the hazardous ruin, some blueprints are locked out by poor instruction and the tutorial could use a little more explanation in terms of the romance/reputation building. You can farm in the game to make certain items, but it is relatively pointless and doesn’t get unlocked until you complete a quest. All of this said, I will admit I was trapped by the “one more turn” syndrome while playing this and thoroughly loved making items. I like how the mining is color coordinated while mixed in with relic farming and the story is decent for what it is. I have poured about 20 hours into my initial run (restarted after the stream) and have a little left to go, so the 25 hours promised right now seems realistic. The mentioned visual and sound issues are a bit distracting, but the core gameplay is solid and the decent length of the current story provides enough to warrant the price tag.
I was surprised how much fun I would be having with this one. If you are interested purely in the job/crafting aspect, then it is a great title that will keep you busy. If you are looking for something with more romance options and interesting background digging, then hold off for the moment. The characters don't divulge much in terms of their personality with the increase in reputation. Wait for a sale though if you are still unsure in general.