Highly Anticipated Cozy Game Climbs Steam Charts with Impressive Early Reviews

May has been a pretty disappointing month for cozy gamers, as many big anticipated releases fell flat due to bugs and other issues. However, it looks like Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time is going to deliver. Officially released today, May 21st, Fantasy Life i has been available for Early Access for a few days for gamers who opted for the Deluxe Edition. And those gamers are giving rave reviews of Fantasy Life i, suggesting that the long wait for the new cozy game was worth it.

The original Fantasy Life launched worldwide back in 2015, capturing the hearts of cozy gamers with its fantasy setting and job-based “life classes” system. Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time is its highly anticipated sequel, following the messy launch of the ill-fated Fantasy Life Online. After a few delays, the latest Fantasy Life entry is finally here, and early signs suggest it’s going to be a huge hit.

Even though it’s not officially out yet, pre-orders alone have Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time sitting almost at the top of the Steam bestsellers list. And this game has a big, multi-platform launch planned, meaning those Steam gamers are just a slice of the potential audience for Fantasy Life i. The game releases today, May 21st, for PC, Nintendo Switch, PS5, PS4, and Xbox Series X|S. It’s likely we’ll see those Steam chart numbers continue to climb, as Fantasy Life i reviews suggest it’s living up to the hype. Gamers on Steam and in the r/fantasylife subreddit are raving about the new cozy game, which combines the best of many staples in the genre for an in-depth, enjoyable gameplay loop.

Early Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time Reviews Make It Cozy Game of the Year Contender

Since Early/Advanced Access for Fantasy Life i started over the weekend, many gamers already have several hours in the game. And that means we’ve got plenty of early reviews to let us know just how good this new cozy game is. And friends, it’s good news. The game has already amassed nearly 2000 reviews on Steam, landing it in the Very Positive range. Gamers are praising the sheer amount of content in the game, which features 14 different classes to explore, skill trees, gathering, and crafting. One Steam reviewer calls Fantasy Life i “Animal Crossing + Zelda + RPG” and honestly, does it get better than that?

The Quality of Life of the game is CRAZY
byu/Star-Kanon infantasylife

RELATED: Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time Confirms Day 1 Patch & Steam Deck Playability

One feature that players aren’t loving so far is multiplayer, something that Level 5 has already addressed with the latest Fantasy Life i patch. Beyond that, most gamers say this sequel manages to capture everything they loved about the first game and make it better. One Steam reviewer says that Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time “has managed to exceed my expectations in pretty much every possible way.” In a year filled with messy cozy game launches and disappointing, half-baked farm sims, this is a major win.

Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time releases on May 21st at 11 AM EDT. It will be available on basically every platform, with a same-day global launch for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.