Are you sick of hearing about yet another life sim where you farm and take days one at a time? Perhaps you’ve grown weary of pixel-art cozy games, or feel done with cloyingly sweet slice-of-life experiences. Walk of Life, a competitive life sim that was just released on Steam, is here to shake things up.
The most immediately visible thing that sets Walk of Life apart is its art style, which looks like an animated comic book. The game lets you create an adorable character, sure, but Walk of Life‘s hyper-detailed aesthetic also lends itself well to making a weird little freak. You want to walk around with a concerning amount of wrinkles or make someone who looks related to Steve Buscemi? Go right ahead.
Walk of Life‘s classes are also pretty offbeat. There are no standard roles here, like fighter or mage. Instead, you can be one of seven classes: a senior citizen, a shopaholic, a scavenger, an adventurer, a drifter, a workaholic, or a mystic. The experience, which is inspired by tabletop games, lets you approach success however you want to define it. You could climb the corporate ladder or choose to live on the streets. You can be a banker, or make a living only by purchasing lottery tickets. You can make choices about your education, career, and personal hygiene within those parameters, too.
Some activities, like fishing, are more standard fare. But overall, developer Porcelain Fortress is encouraging players to get weird. Appropriately, there’s a moment in Walk of Life‘s release trailer where the player has to make a decision about examining a dirty toilet. Server-wide events also have their own unique flair, as evidenced by the one where the economy suddenly crashes for everyone.
The most exciting aspect of Walk of Life might be its robust decoration options. Thanks to the art style, even objects are neat to look at. Your environment is responsive to what you do, both visually and mechanically. If you don’t keep your household clean, your home will become filthy. If you’re careless for too long, you could end up killing a pet.
It’s only been a day since its release, but Walk of Life already has a few hundred reviews and a “Very Positive” rating on Steam.
One player who enjoys the game with their friends writes, “Almost every day we try something different, whether it is playing a new role, cranking up the difficulty, or experimenting with weird challenge runs like doing a no-work run or seeing how far we can get without paying rent.”
Walk of Life just came out of Early Access, but the developers say they’re working hard to add new roles, quests, events, and quality of life changes. Players seem pretty chuffed about what’s already there, though.
“Have you ever seen a whole lobby lose their jobs, house, and dignity and live in the park?” another review asks. “Love the game. Please buy the game and join the park goblin coalition.”
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