Again just a reminder. I am scrolling to the bottom of the Apple Arcade list, playing them all, and then making a list. Next up is Various Daylife.

n

Various Daylife is a brand new RPG by Square Enix. That was enough to get me excited for this game. I started playing this game back in 2019 when it released and have played it casually off and on since then. According to my save file I have over 50 hours played but have yet to beat the game. I was determined to beat this one but the drive is gone and I’m hanging it up.

nn

Various Daylife is called a turn based RPG which it is but it’s almost more of a life simulator. Outside of the combat, which was a much smaller part of the game than I thought it would be, you are navigating a town and just talking with people. When you’re not doing that, you are going to work and completing jobs.

n

Let’s start with the town. The town layout is easy to understand but navigating where you want could be tedious at times. Finding the right person or vendor you need took some getting used to.

n

You will make friends in this game and you have to keep up those relationships. You need to visit them, speak with them, and even go out for dinner or drinks with them. Relationship building is something in games I normally do not enjoy and nothing changed for me here.

n

The job system is actually how you level up. From your home you pick a job to do that will increase certain stats and decrease others. You have to figure out a balance to keep leveling a build that you want. What was frustrating with the job system was that not only can you fail a job, but you can work yourself too hard that you pass out and lose the stats you just worked for. You have to take time to rest and have food in between working to make sure this didn’t happen. It was just an extra layer of pain to go through while trying to strengthen your character.

n

You also have to level up your friends. The only way to do that was by hanging out with them. This forces you to really try and build those relationships.

nn

There is a lot to do outside of combat and then when you finally get to combat it was not as fun as I would have hoped for. They were going hard at an innovative new combat system but it’s basically just your typical turn based combat.

n

The way the battles work is you are automatically walking from point A to point B and then battles will automatically trigger. During these segments they take days of game time to travel so your party members need rest and food. You have to plan ahead to be able to set up camp. You also have to pay attention to the environment you will be in to decide what food to bring. Certain foods will spoil in certain conditions. These all just added busy work for me. It did not add any fun to the game.

n

n

n

Verdict

n

I always say I will never score a game if I didn’t complete it. Even though I have over 50 hours and I would feel confident scoring it, I am not going to. Various Daylife is a complicated turn based RPG that’s really a life sim in disguise. I have played a lot of this game but have had very little fun while playing.

nn

Final score: Unlikely to return

nn

The List

n
1. What the Golf?

n

2. Way of the Turtle

n

3. Where Cards Fall

n

4. Various Daylife

n

5. Word Laces

n