My Time at Portia
My Time at Portia | |
---|---|
Developer(s) | Pathea Games |
Publisher(s) | Team17[a] |
Engine | Unity[citation needed] |
Platform(s) | |
Release |
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Genre(s) | Farm sim, role-playing, simulation |
Mode(s) | Single-player |
My Time at Portia is a 2019 farm life sim role-playing video game developed by Chinese studio Pathea Games and published by Team17. It was released on 15 January 2019 for Windows and the release on the Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Android, iOS and macOS followed suit. It has some similarities to other farm sims such as Stardew Valley. A sequel, My Time at Sandrock entered early access in 26 May 2022 and was fully released in 2 November 2023.
Plot
[edit]The game takes place long after civilization has been destroyed, where humans have emerged from underground and begun rebuilding society. The player is cast in the role of the child of a famous builder, who inherits their father's workshop in the independent city state of Portia after he goes travelling. Once the player arrives in Portia, they are greeted by Presley, the commissioner of a guild, who escorts them to the workshop. The goal of the game is to expand the city of Portia and become the best builder.[2]
The player has run-ins with a pair of bandits named Tuss and Huss, who have been stealing things around town. After fixing a broken pipe, the player is knocked into an underground cavern along with fellow builder Sam, where they fight the rat king and his minions, who are responsible for the town's recent water pollutions. The player also discovers a robot chef named Ack from an ancient civilization, who later becomes a town resident and chef. While examining an old mine to find out the cause of mysterious recent earthquakes, the builders get trapped in a cave-in and the player rescues them from a rogue robot. It turns out the earthquakes are caused by ancient technology in the mines. Government inspector Mali arrives to investigate the technology. A thief later infiltrates the town in search for a powerful A.I. robot called the All Source. The builders and Mali capture the thief, who is revealed to be a masked knight called the Rogue Knight, but he is too strong for them to defeat and escapes. Rogue Knight is revealed to be working for a band of pirates called the Sky Sharks. The player works with the other builders and an agent named Ursula to hunt for hidden relics across town, as well as build a hot air balloon and make improvements to the harbor for the mayor. They soon learn that Mali's plane was shot down by the Sky Sharks. Upon finding their base, the pirates capture them and Ursula is revealed to be their leader, but a reformed Tuss and Huss rescue them. The builders deduct that the Sky Sharks have a mole working with the telegrams. They infiltrate the Sky Sharks’ base, but Rogue Knight activates the All Source and uses it to attack the town, though a boy named Toby steals an essential part of All Source to prevent it from teleporting. After the player defeats it, they fight Rogue Knight, but is overpowered. They are saved by Django, Toby's uncle, who is strong enough to fight back against Rogue Knight, revealing himself to be the legendary Storm Knight. This forces Rogue Knight to flee while the Sky Sharks and their mole are arrested (though Ursula escapes) and the All Source is reprogrammed to support the town. It is later discovered that the Sky Sharks and Rogue Knight are working for a vile empire called Duvos, and that Mali survived the crash. The main story ends with the player’s father visiting them, who eventually leaves town afterwards.
Gameplay
[edit]The player must gather resources and combine them in recipes to create items. Eventually, players gain more tools that allow them to harvest resources faster, such as a chainsaw to chop down large trees.[2] Once items are complete, they can be submitted for rewards, town favor and money. The largest assignments can directly change the town itself.[2] The game also contains dungeons that require the player to fight enemies.[2] Players are also able to romance (hang out and marry) certain NPCs. Gameplay is done in a third-person perspective and combines aspects of role-playing video games and simulation games.
Development
[edit]My Time at Portia was initially released as an early access game on Steam from 23 January 2018[3] before being fully released a year later. Three months later, it was ported to the following consoles: Nintendo Switch, Xbox One and PlayStation 4. A mobile version for Android and iOS was released on 5 August 2021 followed by macOS on 12 May 2022.[4]
Reception
[edit]Aggregator | Score |
---|---|
Metacritic | PC: 73/100[5] NS: 71/100[6] PS4: 75/100[7] XONE: 73/100[8] iOS: 72/100[9] |
Publication | Score |
---|---|
Destructoid | 5.5/10[18] |
GameRevolution | [20] |
GameSpot | 6/10[16] |
GamesRadar+ | [12] |
IGN | 8/10[11] |
Nintendo Life | [13] |
PC Gamer (US) | 63/100[15] |
Pocket Gamer | (iOS) [14] |
Push Square | [17] |
RPGamer | [19] |
TouchArcade | (iOS) [10] |
My Time at Portia received "mixed or average" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic.[5] Miranda Sanchez of IGN called its core gameplay fun, but saying that each of its parts was lacking in some way, and that the game had "annoying audio bugs".[2] Alex Fuller of RPGamer called the game "charming" and "a lovely place to spend time in", but also saying that it was too long, criticizing how "players have to wait for NPCs to decide to do something". He stated that it was "very enjoyable", but had "significant weaknesses".[21] Rich Meister of Destructoid said that while the world was "bright and full of charm", "waiting around for things to happen can get old pretty fast", and calling the game's mining "painfully dull".[22] Philippa Warr of PC Gamer criticized the game's pacing, stating, "By being so slow, My Time At Portia both repels and appeals. It offers a kind of gaming oasis, making few demands and just pootling along. That type of thing can be a place of respite for the right player or the right mood."[23] Ginny Woo of GameSpot praised its tranquil environment, pleasing aesthetics, and well-designed crafting system while lamenting the lack of meaning in several mechanics, the lack of payoff in the narrative's premise, and the conflicting day-night cycle pacing.[24] Zoe Delahunty-Light of GamesRadar+ lauded the convincing NPCs, varied seasonal events, and sense of progression while taking issue with the loading times and lack of voice acting in cutscenes.[25] Chris Scullion of Nintendo Life recommended the game after a patch was issued in order to fix its lengthy loading times.[26] Rebecca Stow of Push Square called the game "vibrant, relaxing, and brimming with charm".[27]
The PC version was among the best-selling new releases of the month on Steam.[28][b]
Sequel
[edit]In October 2020, Pathea Games announced a sequel titled My Time at Sandrock, set on a desert and planned to release it in early access for PC via Steam in March 2021, with the full version for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S originally planned for a mid-2022 release.[30] However, in March 2021, Pathea Games announced that they had not received a local rating certification to publish the game online, so it seemed like early access would be potentially delayed until after May 2021.[31] Early access release was subsequently pushed out further until early 2022.[32] The game released via early access on 26 May 2022.[33] After a delay from its September launch window, the full version of the game was released on 2 November 2023.[34] While there are no plans to introduce multiplayer to My Time at Portia, its sequel does.[35]
In September 2024, Pathea Games announced a second sequel titled My Time at Evershine, set in a whole new world and with improved multiplayer.[36][37]
Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Fuller, Alex (5 August 2021). "My Time at Portia Released on Mobile". RPGamer. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
- ^ a b c d e Sanchez, Miranda (29 January 2019). "My Time at Portia Review". IGN. Archived from the original on 26 June 2019. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
- ^ "My Time at Portia". IGN. 23 January 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
- ^ Acebedo, Bayani. "My Time at Portia Announces Mobile Port". whatoplay. Archived from the original on 7 May 2021. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
- ^ a b "My Time At Portia for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 7 June 2019. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
- ^ "My Time At Portia for Switch Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 23 January 2020. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
- ^ "My Time At Portia for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 9 June 2020. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
- ^ "My Time At Portia for Xbox One Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 10 June 2020. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
- ^ "My Time at Portia for iOS/iPad Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on 16 January 2022. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
- ^ Madnani, Mikhail (5 August 2021). "'My Time at Portia' Review – Massively Improved over Consoles in Some Ways, Lacking in Others". TouchArcade. Archived from the original on 5 August 2021. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
- ^ Sanchez, Miranda (29 January 2019). "My Time at Portia Review". IGN. Archived from the original on 17 January 2022. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
- ^ Delahunty-Light, Zoe (16 April 2019). "My Time at Portia review: "Almost perfects the life-building simulator genre"". GamesRadar. Archived from the original on 18 January 2022. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
- ^ Scullion, Chris (16 April 2019). "My Time at Portia Review (Switch)". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on 18 January 2022. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
- ^ Ng Dellosa, Catherine (4 August 2021). "My Time at Portia review – "The end of the world isn't so bad"". Pocket Gamer. Archived from the original on 16 January 2022. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
- ^ Warr, Philippa (1 February 2019). "My Time at Portia review". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 16 January 2022. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
- ^ Woo, Ginny (16 April 2019). "My Time at Portia Review – Crop Circles". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 18 January 2022. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
- ^ Stow, Rebecca (16 April 2019). "My Time at Portia Review (PS4)". Push Square. Archived from the original on 18 January 2022. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
- ^ Meister, Rich (20 January 2019). "Review: My Time at Portia". Destructoid. Archived from the original on 18 January 2022. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
- ^ Fuller, Alex (3 February 2019). "My Time at Portia Review". rpgamer.com. Archived from the original on 7 November 2021. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
- ^ Santa Maria, Alex (16 April 2019). "My Time at Portia Review | Bringing in a Harvest Boon". GameRevolution. Archived from the original on 16 January 2022. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
- ^ Fuller, Alex (3 February 2019). "My Time at Portia Review". rpgamer.com. Archived from the original on 11 June 2019. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
- ^ "Review: My Time at Portia". Destructoid. Archived from the original on 11 June 2019. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
- ^ Warr, Philippa (1 February 2019). "My Time At Portia review". pcgamer. Archived from the original on 6 July 2023. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
- ^ "My Time At Portia Review – Crop Circles". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 26 June 2022. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
- ^ Delahunty-Light, Zoe (16 April 2019). "My Time at Portia review: "Almost perfects the life-building simulator genre"". gamesradar. Archived from the original on 31 March 2023. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
- ^ "Review: My Time At Portia – An Engaging Life Sim That Will Eat Up Your Spare Time". Nintendo Life. 16 April 2019. Archived from the original on 16 March 2023. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
- ^ Square, Push (16 April 2019). "Review: My Time At Portia – A Delightful Post-Apocalyptic Life Sim". Push Square. Archived from the original on 8 March 2023. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
- ^ "Best of 2019: New Releases". Steam. Valve. 26 December 2019. Archived from the original on 28 December 2019. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
- ^ "A Look Back – The Best of 2019". Steam. Valve. 26 December 2019. Archived from the original on 28 December 2019. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
- ^ "My Time At Portia Developer Announces Sequel, My Time At Sandrock". IGN. 26 October 2020. Archived from the original on 26 October 2020. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
- ^ "Steam Community :: My Time at Sandrock :: Early Access Delayed". steamcommunity.com. 5 March 2021. Archived from the original on 26 May 2022. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
- ^ Allen, Joseph (26 November 2021). "My Time At Sandrock Gets 2 New Romanceable Characters". TechRaptor. Archived from the original on 26 January 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
- ^ Gerblick, Jordan (5 April 2022). "My Time at Portia sequel My Time at Sandrock mines May release date on Steam Early Access". GamesRadar. Archived from the original on 29 April 2022. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
- ^ Romano, Sal (23 August 2023). "My Time at Sandrock delayed to November 2". Gematsu. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
- ^ FAQ – Pathea. Retrieved 19 July 2023
- ^ Koselke, Anna (17 September 2024). "My Time at Evershine is an ambitious sequel harboring all of the cozy elements fans know and love, with a bit of city-builder flair mixed in". gamesradar. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
- ^ Koselke, Anna (17 September 2024). "My Time at Evershine is finally adding the multiplayer mode that fans of the cozy RPG sim series have wanted for years". gamesradar.
- 2019 video games
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