The market for life sims has never been bigger or better than now.

Obviously with that comes a lot of releases and a lot of games that flood store fronts, many of which do the bare amount and not really offer anything too different or exciting. But thank goodness that is not the case with Fantasy Life i.

In fact, I would be bold enough to say Fantasy Life i is the most interesting, enjoyable ‘life sim’ I’ve played in years and it’s because it’s not doing things in a conventional way but mashing several genres together in an accessible, exciting way.

So yes, sure, you can excavate, create paths, build houses, place tiles and move buildings around. There’s even multiplayer so you can party up and unite on other islands. But this is a game that also focuses on lives, building up your jobs, developing a skillset. And in that, you can focus on a trajectory that you vibe with most and feels most fun for you.

I started out as a Paladin, which, as I was working through the game, felt the most sense. There’s a lot of Paladins in this little fantasy island and lots of little creatures to fight in order to gain XP, loot and level up. You’ll be surprised by the volume of encounters out of the gate. And because of that, with the game’s story and this sizeable open world, it feels like a beautiful, fun mini RPG like a Final Fantasy. Or perhaps more closely, Live a Live.

And that would be fine, the writing is actually one of the best parts of the whole game. It’s cute, surprisingly witty, and definitely raises a chuckle or two. Level 5 are responsible for the brilliant Ni No Kuni, after all. As well as the Professor Layton series. The characters are actually great too, and you’ll quickly build attachments to your favourites. But that’s not all there is to find here and the game really comes to life when you choose between professions.

One minute you can be a paladin and the next? A cook. Blacksmith. Miner. Fisher. The game actually encourages you to experiment, chop and change and really get used to the idea of switching up your professions. And the result is creating a game that is a lot of fun to get into and very difficult to put down. I’ve plunged hours into Fantasy Life already, probably more than I have in any of the recent Story of Seasons or even Rune Factory.

In your little town, there’s lots of little side quests and sub-stories to do, and each requires you to be working in a certain career. Cook up a delicious meal, then you’d better get good at being a chef. There’s a particular fish you need to find, hope you’ve got your rod ready.

The professions have their own individual quikks to learn too. For instance, if you’re mining, each vein has a level attached to it and you’ll need to be mindful of whether you have enough stamina to gather from it. This can also be helped by finding little sweet spots on the vein, rotating around it to find the optimal striking point. And if your strikes are delivering the desired impact, you can even have excellent gathering which means you’ll get even more minerals than expected.

Then you can take those minerals into blacksmithing and actually try to craft some unique swords and armor, making sure to time your actions with the requests of the desginated material. Tapping at the anvil or holding to douse the heated mould in water. You can even put your own little signature on the weapon for your blacksmith’s seal of approval.

And it’s pretty easy to alternate too, just switching between your lives at the tap of a button or even when approaching the resource, spot or workstation you need, the game gets you in the right guise.

There’s lots of little touches like that in Fantasy Life, and going back to the storytelling and dialogue, it really does come across as characters often break the fourth wall with their funny little digs. The game often plays and has fun with itself, never taking itself too seriously but at the same time cleverly walking the line of charm you’d find in a good anime.

All that and you can decorate the interior of your home ala Animal Crossing and really shape things to a way and style you like. With a cutesy and charming art style that just resonates on a level with other similar products, but also jives in its own distinct way.

There’s even little dungeons you need to visit, each with their own little puzzles or situations to resolve and full of hidden secrets. Don’t get me wrong, they’re not Zelda standard but they’re great to venture in and around and you can really lose some time roaming through them and trying to discover everything the island has to offer.

The free-roaming nature of the game and the fact it is so portable really just add to that experience. This game is designed for you to dip in and out of. Put on while wathing TV to grind some levels, or do some casual decorating, and when you fancy a longer play session, get into the story. Much like the core loop itself, it’s a bit of a jack of all trades and while it’s not necessarily a master of any, everything it does is very well polished, fun, approachable and ends up being a massive time sink.

Even multiplayer is approachable with the ability to play online with 4 of you or just playing locally with 2, you can grab a controller and couch co-op through. The game is just designed to be approachable and playable at every step.

My only criticism is some jobs do feel a little similar to others, and their entry points and quests correlate and crossover a little more than I expected, but it’s a minor gripe. I’d love to see Level 5 continue to build out the game and maybe even offer some new fantasy lives in future updates. One can dream.

Fantasy Life i is a gem, quite frankly. It keeps surprising, manages to still be entertaining hours after first booting it up, and looks absolutely stunning and sounds just as captivating. I just felt so cleansed after playing it, like a wave of good vibes just washed over me, leaving me with the biggest smile on my face. Genuinely I could not stop playing and I’m desperately eager for more and more.

If you’re looking for your next fix in the space and want to try something a little bit different that feels closer to a Dragon Quest Builders than a Stardew Valley, Level 5 have absolutely nailed the formula and created one of the must-play games of 2025!

Verdict

Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time is just a delight from start to finish! It boasts a charming world with cool characters, surprisingly enjoyable story, solid mechanics to keep building the world the way you want it and offering variety in the ways you play. Some jobs do feel a little similar with their mini-games and quests and to really get the full feel of the game you do have to progress quite far into the story, so if you’re coming into this just wanting a life and building sim out of the gate, you’ve got quite a way to progress. But considering how good the story is and how charming the world and its characters are, this was never a problem for me and hours later, I can honestly say Level 5 have made one of the must-play games of 2025!

 

Pros

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Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time is out now on PC, PS, and Switch 1/2.

Played on Steam / ROG Ally

Code kindly provided by Level 5 for review purposes