My Time at Portia First Impressions

Getting involved in the telesis of society

I have a weird relationship with life simulation video games. On one hand, I love new beginnings, creating something out of nothing, and being rewarded along the way. Games such as The Sims, Harvest Moon, and Animal Crossing give me the opportunity to live a different fantasy life, and it can be as idyllic or chaotic as I want it to be. Almost always, though, I feel compelled to play it meticulously—preparing before I even start the game by watching walkthroughs and reading wikis, tracking things in spreadsheets, optimizing time and efficiency. As crazy and exhausting as that all sounds, sometimes, I derive genuine pleasure from playing that way. However, I also wish I could just relax a bit.

In addition to reflecting on my neuroticism, recently, much of my free time has been spent playing My Time at Portia. In this sim RPG, you inherit your estranged father’s workshop in the city of Portia. As you work to become the best builder, you also advance the technology of the city and befriend a charming cast of townspeople. The primary activities are gathering resources, processing them (e.g. smelting copper ore into bars), and using them to craft various items, but the game also has farming, fishing, combat, and romance mechanics.

Your character holds a selected item above their head, as if in awe of it, which makes for a hilarious screenshot when gathering animal poop for crafting.

So far, I have played ten in-game days, or for about eleven hours. The repetition of chopping wood and mining stone is soothing in a way. I like managing my materials, planning ahead, and assembling components to build things. It feels rewarding when I unlock new blueprints or level up and can further my skill tree. On the social interaction side, there is a nice variety of townspeople to get to know, and they maintain their own schedules around town instead of standing in their shops the entire day. Like in Harvest Moon and Stardew Valley, you can eventually marry someone, and they can help you out around your workshop.

The other day, I unexpectedly triggered a cutscene with two NPCs that was quite sweet. It struck the balance that I aspire to when playing life sim games—that of being prepared and yet still pleasantly surprised.