A so-so port of a great farming sim game.
What They Say:
Restore your Pa’s neglected workshop to its former glory by fulfilling commissions, growing crops, raising animals, and befriending the quirky inhabitants of this charming post-apocalyptic land!
Content:
My Time at Portia is a familiar game to any Stardew Valley or Harvest Moon fans. You create your character, take a journey to a new home, and attempt to rebuild your family’s workshop/farm through various activities like completing jobs, growing crops, and falling in love. One of the staunch differences from the start is it’s one of the best looking games in this genre, especially for a 3D one.
Originally released on PC in early access, it is now making its way to console and, most importantly, Nintendo Switch where we reviewed it. It is available on the hybrid console both on the go and on TV. On TV, it plays about the same as in handheld. We played the majority of the game in portable mode and it’s on there that it’s clear that this is a so-so port of a great game.
A recent patch made sure that loading times are not nearly as bad on Switch as they were so that isn’t too much of a problem. However, there are still issues like textures not showing up properly, delays in certain items that you are building showing up, occasional frame rate dips, and so on.
All in all, though, it does little to deteriorate from what is a pretty awesome game. There is just so much that you can do in My Time at Portia that you can your hands full with. A fairly lengthy and comprehensive tutorial section at the beginning will guide you well through your first several days in the world, teaching you everything from building to exploring ruins and so on.
There is a lot to take in initially and, perhaps, the most daunting thing about My Time at Portia is the first few hours. It can be overwhelming to grasp all of the different tasks in the game that are even more than other games of the same genre. In addition, it can be difficult to figure out what it is that you should spend your precious time and energy each day doing.
You could chop down trees to better your house and make new furniture but you could also spend that time gathering materials to make the bridge for the next portion of the main story. However, if you do those things, then you might miss out on completing requests from the citizens around the town that are usually time sensitive.
Eventually, it’s simple to find what you like the most and get into the groove of things. At the end of the day, the sheer variety of activities is more of a positive than anything else. Days go by rather quickly in the game, leading to me using the evenings to run around the decently sized open world, speaking with the citizens and increasing my relationship with them.
This is one of my favorite parts of My Time at Portia and it is about as deep as it gets. Building relationships with characters is a challenging endeavor as it takes a lot of time and dedication to raising just about everyone’s relationships. If you’re looking to marry a specific person? Good luck because it is even more difficult.
That isn’t the only thing that is interesting about My Time at Portia. The lore and world of the game are much more interesting than similar titles. For starters, you might notice just from taking a glance at screenshots or trailers but the game actually takes place in a post-apocalyptic setting; albeit, a much more cheery one than most.
What this means for the player is the opportunity to explore old world ruins for relics and whatnot. This adds yet another deep layer of gameplay to already expansive sim game. When you go on exploration, you are given a jetpack that works alright and can be a little finicky to use at times. Once you get the hang of it, though, it’s pretty fun to boost around these ruins and use your scanner to find relics before digging deep underground for them.
That’s even before mentioning the fact that there is some light action-based combat in the game as well. Like much of everything else in this console port of My Time at Portia, it gets the job done but not much more. The same can be said for the passable UI. In handheld mode, the text isn’t always the biggest, and the HUD and the menus aren’t especially console-friendly. They feel a lot at times like attaching the console controls to a more PC-centered UI.
Regardless, if you are a fan of this type of experience, you should absolutely give My Time at Portia a try. Every single thing that you do in the game feels as if it is building towards something greater. With your Pa’s handy workshop at your disposal, you are able to create awesome things like vehicles, bridges, and more. Searching through the recipe book and then watching as you work hard to build something elaborate to then complete it and use it to better your game is as rewarding as it gets.
In Summary:
There’s a lot to love about My Time at Portia. From the sheer number of activities that you can do like building your home, growing crops, and searching for old world relics to falling in love, the amount of hours you can spend with this simulation game is unprecedented. But it is worth keeping in mind that there are some graphical and UI problems that make this just a decent port of what is otherwise a fantastic experience. If you are a fan of taking hold of your own virtual world, watching it grow, and falling in love, there are few more rewarding games out there than My Time at Portia.
Grade: C
Developer: Pathea Games
Publisher: Team17
Age Rating: 10+
Release Date: April 16, 2019
MSRP: $29.99
Platform: Switch (reviewed), PS4, PC, Xbox One
This review was done with a review copy provided by the publisher. We are grateful for their continued support.
