A minute-ish long trailer and a press kit are the only things we have that explain the upcoming Steam Early Access game Hokko Life. That’s fine though. We’re excited anyway.
Hokko Life is a community sim like Animal Crossing that will be released on Steam Early Access sometime in 2020. It features a focus on creativity and expression that is only going to get better as the game progresses through Open Access.
Game Features
Below are some of the core mechanics that have been announced so far. It’s going into Early Access though, so the sky really is the limit.
CRAFT
“Head to the forest or the abandoned mine to chop; mine, and dig for resources. Take what you’ve collected back to town and craft them into materials you can use in your own designs.”
It feels like every game has a crafting system nowadays, but that is because crafting is a great way to keep people engaged. It also makes exploring the map more entertaining as you never know what interesting resources you might find. I’m interested to see how deep the crafting system progresses as we move towards a full release.
DESIGN
“Gather your materials and head into the workshop to put your own spin on every item in the game. Use the design table to build your own furniture, combining different shapes and materials in a simple but powerful editor.”
The design feature is one of the most exciting bits of Hokko Life. Animal Crossing has design options too, but this is a PC game so I can imagine that there will be some very cool options. I can’t wait to build an Engaged Family Gaming themed house in my village!
PAINT
“Pop on your overall, get out those brushes and throw some colour down. You can design wallpaper, flooring and even T-Shirts for you and the villagers to wear. Get everyone in town wearing your own unique designs!”
I’m excited about the painting tools as well. It will be very interesting to see what kids come up with.
BUILD & DECORATE
“Enlist the help of the resident builder and start expanding the town. Place buildings wherever you like and get them ready for new villagers to move to town. Customize these new homes inside and out; choose designs and place furniture to make a home your new friends will love.”
Town building is one of my favorite game mechanics. I LOVE moving buildings around and lining up beautiful streets. The options shown in the trailer look great!
FARM
“Turn any plot of land into a place to grow vegetables and other plants, use your green fingers to grow and sell the best produce.”
I have to admit that i’m a little cooler on farming games than I am on some of the other mechanics in Hokko Life. I always end up stressing out about how inefficient I am being (even if I’m doing well). This has caused me to restart after three game days in Stardew Valley more times than I am comfortable putting in writing.
FISH
“Spend a quiet morning at the various fishing spots around the world of Hokko and build your fishing collection. Fish have unique habits, so you’ll need to vary your approach, with each catch providing it’s own challenge when you reel in.”
I’ve spent a lot of time fishing in video games over the years. So much time, in fact, that you might think that I would enjoy it in real life. I don’t! But, that won’t stop me from enjoying the fishing here. This is going to be less about the mechanics, and more about obsessively collecting all of the different fish in the game.
BUG HUNT
“Fluttering and scuttling about the world of Hokko you’ll find a whole range of insects for you to catch and build your collection with; keep an eye out, you never know what might be hiding in that bush!”
The bug hunting mechanics will, similarly to fishing, be all about collecting a wide array of bugs available during different seasons. This will likely be very similar to the bug hunting in Animal Crossing, but that’s more than OK.
The Trailer!
What do you think? Are you picking this one up? Sound off in the comments and let us know your thoughts!
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Michael Duetzmann