14 DAY TRIAL // The three-headed guard dog I am facing has plenty of HP, so I first hit it with a poison magic move, to get those moving towards zero. I follow that up with a big slash, which leaves me, open to a return attack. I also use an herb to keep my health up. The three-headed dog has its own three attacks ready, and I need to dodge every one of them to win this battle.
The Use of Life is developed by Daraneko Games, with publishing in the hands of Playism. The title is in Early Access on Steam right now, with plans to deliver a 1.0 version at some point in 2023.
The protagonist is a rabbit called Goshe, who sees his whole village destroyed by a dragon but survives thanks to a mysterious presence. He explores the world to find out what happened, encountering varied other characters. The writing is pretty standard for the genre, although one companion made me chuckle at least once.
Mechanically, The Use of Life is centered on turn-based battles with a reliance on Quick Time Events. Characters get three moves a turn. The rabbit can use magic, deploy his weapon, choose to avoid incoming strikes, or use items (many options are linked to upgrade paths and equipment). Enemies pick the same. It’s then a matter of watching my own character attack while pressing buttons to try and dodge everything enemies throw at me.
It’s a solid system that quickly becomes pretty boring. Moving around the world, dealing with events and conversations, does not offer much more excitement. The upgrade system is interesting but not enough to make any of the other mechanics feel particularly engaging.
The Use of Life doesn’t look impressive. The world is static and brown, the combat sequences are repetitive, and there’s little personality for the characters. The game needs to drop more Japanese RPG tropes when it comes to visuals to grab a wide audience. It also needs a serious upgrade when it comes to sound design.
Conclusion
The world created by the development team has some interesting ideas and I want to see how they can be expanded on to create an immersive universe. The Use of Life has some potential, but it needs serious work before being ready for full release.
Preview code provided by the publisher.
