My Time At Portia Impressions

It’s been a pretty rough early go in 2019, but thankfully a handful of great games has made each day enjoyable. One of those titles is My Time At Portia, a story driven crafting game that has plenty of charm and will keep you playing for hours. Developed by Chinese developer Pathera Games, and being published by the notorious Team 17 – of Worms fame – this game has just recently launched across all platforms, and thanks to the good people over at Team 17, we had the opportunity to take it for a spin!

The story begins as you arrive at the city of Portia, where you are tasked with taking up your dads old run down shop, and turning it into a thriving business venture. You will quickly interact with a number of key towns folks as you attempt to get your carpenters licence, and potential clients for your goods. Once you move past the initial introductory moments, you will be free to explore the town and countryside, collecting resources and restoring your dads house and workshop. It might sound familiar, and that’s because it is, but lets take out farming, and instead insert carpentry.

The early moments of My Time at Portia only gives you a small glimpse into what is to come, but even that glimpse quickly will take hours of time away from you, and in the best possible way. As you wander and mingle with the town folks, fulfilling their requests, you might have the opportunity to romance some of them. If that doesn’t suit your fancy, why not explore the various dungeons and caves dotting the landscape, finding unique and rare resources, and fighting off terrible enemies. There is something to do around every corner of My Time at Portia’s colourful and detailed world, and I was constantly discovering something new, even after dozens of hours of playing.

You quickly learn there is far more to Portia than just building stuff for clients. There are games that can be played, people to fight for money, citizens protesting the use of bad technology, and even special events to attend. You quickly learn that everything starts from something. For example, one of your first major projects is to build a bridge, which may seem easy at first, until you determine all the work that goes into finding all the resources needed. For those who have played simulation games before, this shouldn’t be anything new; for those unfamiliar, prepare for what might seem to be a redundant, boring exercise in mining, shopping, smelting, and crafting. The end product, however, always makes the work worth it, at least in my opinion. Each major project that you finish ultimately propels the story forward. Know what you are getting into, and you’ll have a good time.

My Time at Portia is currently available across all platforms. We’ve enjoyed our time with the game so far, and will have more to say about it as we progress further!