Plot
The game takes place long after civilization has been destroyed, where humans have emerged from underground and begun rebuilding society, eventually banding together to form the Alliance of Free Cities and a military organization called the Civil Corps. The player (male is by default named Marco and female is by default named Linda) is cast in the role of the child of a famous builder, who inherits their father's workshop in the independent city state of Portia after he goes traveling.
Once the player arrives in Portia, they are greeted by Presley, the commissioner of a guild, who escorts them to the workshop. The goal of the game is to expand the city of Portia and become the best builder while also facing rivalry with another builder named Higgins. [2]
The player starts by constructing a bridge to a location called Amber Island and has run-ins humanoid rats called Bandirats that have been stealing things around town, a pair of bandits named Tuss and Huss who are pretending to be debt collectors before being exposed by a builder named Arlo, and panda/bat hybrid monsters called Panbats who are poisoning the environment. Gale, Portia's mayor, has also made plans to construct transportation called Dee Dees to connect to other towns, which requires for the player to build a hot air balloon and make improvements to the harbor, and an investor named Musa from the Alliance arrives to help with the project.
After fixing a broken pipe, the player is knocked into an underground cavern along with fellow builder Sam, where they fight the Rat King, the leader of the Bandirats, who are responsible for the town's recent water pollutions. The player also discovers a robot chef named Ack from an ancient civilization, having crash landed in Portia in an ancient spacecraft, who later becomes a town resident and chef.
While examining an old mine to find out the cause of mysterious recent earthquakes, fellow builders Mint, Sam, and Arlo get trapped in a cave-in and the player works with another worker named Remington to rescue them from a rogue robot called Rock-on. It turns out the earthquakes are caused by ancient technology in the mines. Mali, an agent from the Alliance Central Intelligence, arrives to investigate the technology.
The player later works with Sam to capture Tuss and Huss, who are believed to have stolen an ancient relic. The real thief later infiltrates the town in search for a powerful A.I. called the All Source. The builders and Mali capture the thief, who is revealed to be a masked knight called the Rogue Knight, but he is too strong for them to defeat and escapes.
The player later works with the other builders and Alliance agents Ursula Everglade, Ryder, and Ten to hunt for hidden relic keys in ancient ruins to unlock the way to the All Source. They soon learn that Mali's plane was shot down while on her way to warn the Alliance. Upon finding the base where the All Source is, Ursula, Ryder, and Ten betray and capture them with the help of Rogue Knight, revealing themselves to be a band of pirates called the Sky Sharks, but a reformed Tuss and Huss rescue them.
The builders deduct that the Sky Sharks have a mole working with the telegrams. They infiltrate the base and defeat Ursula, who escapes, but Rogue Knight finds and activates the All Source, using it to attack the town, though a boy named Toby steals an essential part of All Source to prevent it from teleporting. This results in the school being destroyed.
After the player defeats it, they fight Rogue Knight, but is overpowered. They are saved by Django, Toby's uncle, who is strong enough to fight back against Rogue Knight, revealing himself to be the legendary Storm Knight. This forces Rogue Knight to flee while Ryder, Ten, and the Sky Sharks' mole are arrested and the All Source, whose actual name is Wendy, is reprogrammed to help the town.
It is later discovered that the Sky Sharks and Rogue Knight are working for a vile empire called Duvos, who are at war with the Alliance, and that Mali survived the crash, revealed to have been caused by the Sky Sharks. The player helps rebuild the town and marries a bachelor or bachelorette. Their father, referred to as Pa, visits them and presents them with the Robopig Rider, a pig-like hovercraft. The story ends with Pa leaving town afterwards to go on another journey.
Reception
My Time at Portia received "mixed or average" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic. [5] Miranda Sanchez of IGN called its core gameplay fun, but saying that each of its parts was lacking in some way, and that the game had "annoying audio bugs". [2] Alex Fuller of RPGamer called the game "charming" and "a lovely place to spend time in", but also saying that it was too long, criticizing how "players have to wait for NPCs to decide to do something". He stated that it was "very enjoyable", but had "significant weaknesses". [21] Rich Meister of Destructoid said that while the world was "bright and full of charm", "waiting around for things to happen can get old pretty fast", and calling the game's mining "painfully dull". [22] Philippa Warr of PC Gamer criticized the game's pacing, stating, "By being so slow, My Time At Portia both repels and appeals. It offers a kind of gaming oasis, making few demands and just pootling along. That type of thing can be a place of respite for the right player or the right mood." [23] Ginny Woo of GameSpot praised its tranquil environment, pleasing aesthetics, and well-designed crafting system while lamenting the lack of meaning in several mechanics, the lack of payoff in the narrative's premise, and the conflicting day-night cycle pacing. [24] Zoe Delahunty-Light of GamesRadar+ lauded the convincing NPCs, varied seasonal events, and sense of progression while taking issue with the loading times and lack of voice acting in cutscenes. [25] Chris Scullion of Nintendo Life recommended the game after a patch was issued in order to fix its lengthy loading times. [26] Rebecca Stow of Push Square called the game "vibrant, relaxing, and brimming with charm". [27]
The PC version was among the best-selling new releases of the month on Steam. [28] [b]
