Xianxia cultivators training in a temple in an immortal life scene.
Last Friday, when I started playing Steam Early Access farming sim Immortal Life, I only planned to play a couple of hours before bed. I finally finished my session at 5am. He is a standout among farm simulators because he tries to emulate the plausibility of life instead of the sad economy of running a farm. Immortal Life has a beautiful artistic style, all the villagers are very friendly and the farming systems are satisfactory without feeling punished. While the game is still in early access, Immortal Life is my favorite farm simulation game from Rune Factory 3 2009 to Nintendo DS.
Immortal Life is a cross between Rune Factory and Stardew Valley, but with one important difference: instead of European fantasy, the game developed in China is firmly rooted in Xianxia influences. You play as the surviving member of a fallen Taoist sect and you have to rebuild the organization to its former glory. This means expanding your farm, “cultivating” spiritual power by fighting local monsters, and improving your relationships with the local community.
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The game does not innovate in any of these mechanics, but shines with the charm of its world-class construction. I mean, just look at these beautiful crops. There’s something incredibly meditative about getting out of bed every morning and shaking the plants until small vegetables fall off. I’ve never gotten the same satisfaction from Rune Factory games, where you just pull vegetables out of the ground. And instead of spraying your seedlings with a super watering can, you can use special powers to summon a small cloud of thunder to sprinkle your rain grids with rain. Immortal Life not only focuses on the ultimate goal of getting the most out of your crops for profit, but also strives to make farming as enjoyable as possible.
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Immortal Life does not wake up to punish you in search of realism. Your character doesn’t get sick of staying out after bedtime, and you still regain your composure after going to bed at 4 in the morning. If you plant in the wrong season, you will only get a slightly lower yield. The game doesn’t go out of its way to punish you, which is a welcome change when so many similar games force you to micromanage your fictional farm.
For example, I’ve always struggled with how Rune Factory games can often feel like work after a while. There are always dozens of ways to get more energy points and increase the amount you can grow, so instead of going to bed at a reasonable time, use easy-to-obtain ingredients to create more resilient dishes. thus extending your working day. Immortal Life systems are more conservative and only allow you to get a very limited amount of mana points per day. It is also quite expensive to restore the resilience you need for agricultural resources. While these may seem like major drawbacks, it prevented my life on the farm from becoming an endless grind. I would prioritize getting specific resources every day, and I would just go to bed early if I ended up late in the afternoon. Agriculture feels like a means of earning a living, rather than a simulator of ruthless capitalism.
The player studies soybean and pepper crops.
Immortal Life also has a surprisingly robust cooking mini-game for a farm game. Most agricultural simulators simply check that you have the right amount of ingredients and the right equipment. This game goes a step further by having you correct the kitchen and process each ingredient in the correct order. While there is no penalty for taking your time, I have been able to get higher quality dishes by memorizing recipes and thinking ahead in multiple steps; It was very satisfying to get a “Perfect” score by cutting experienced vegetables while my fish was busy smoking on the fire. In addition, there is good game art for ingredients at every step of the process, such as diced vegetables or minced meat.
Honestly, Immortal Life’s kitchen system gave me higher expectations for similar systems in every game. Cooking is very satisfying in real life, and most games simplify the process too much until it’s just about navigating the menus. But this game emulates life, not just the economy behind agriculture. For example, you need to cut the vegetables on a different table than the one used to cut the meat. It’s a small detail, but it reflects a common attitude that the Chinese have towards meat. Do not cut cucumbers on the same board you used to cut pieces of pork with blood; it’s just common sense. And it’s the little details that give Immortal Life the feeling of being a lived world more than a barren yard.
The player brings an egg to the kitchen.
Being an early access game, it has some rough edges. Not all text is translated, so some description boxes are just a blank space or untranslated Chinese characters. The location of the secondary search may also be unclear. The combat is demanding and uninteresting, and I found myself avoiding encounters so I could blow up the rocks I needed. The game also has some optimization issues that make loading screens take up to 30 seconds.
While these issues were slightly annoying, they did not detract from the beauty of Immortal Life’s surroundings or the vibrant personalities of the villagers. I linked up with all the members of my sect, and my favorite part of advancing the plot was finding new dialogues with them. Immortal Life is an early access game that is well worth a try.