Okay, Pathea Games... I See Why My Time at Evershine Is Going to Have a Kickstarter

I've been a fan of My Time at franchise ever since My Time at Portia came into my life. The life-sim is my seventh most-played game on Steam (and that's given the fact there's SMITE and Trove, plus Cookie Clicker, all of which notoriously inflate playtime) despite being one of my least favourite genres; I've made a rage article about the game, and I intend on playing it again soon.

Though my journey is yet to extend to My Time at Sandrock due to its Early Access nature and the fact that I've been waiting for my wife to finish the original so we can experience it together, I'm willing to admit it: I stan Pathea Games. There are very few developers and publishers that I follow avidly for upcoming titles, and truth be told, Pathea Games is near the top of that list. The charming adventure, the gameplay elements... The fact that my household (consisting of me, my wife, and my Mother-in-Law) has over a thousand hours logged in My Time at Portia collectively says a lot about the franchise.

So, it's safe to say that when My Time at Evershinewas announced, I was definitely on board. I wrote the news about the announcement, and I was excited about the release, though I'll admit I was one of the people who questioned why Pathea Games might need a Kickstarter for the third entry into what has now become one of the most famous life simulator franchises. In fact, it is one of the few life simulators that is a franchise, as most developers have a one-and-done process with the genre.

Still, like a good soldier, I followed the Kickstarter page and decided I'd let Pathea Games prove me wrong, though what came next, I didn't expect. Cue the announcement trailer for My Time at Evershine, the upcoming title in the now three-game franchise that, well... you only really need to look at it to see the difference.

My Time at Portia is starting to look dated — as you'd expect from a five-year-old title coming from an indie developer. My Time at Sandrock was an improvement on the first, though it kept its cartoon-y look and vibe while still feeling like a general upgrade... and then there's My Time at Evershine, which has seen the greatest graphical and quality upgrade we've seen.

And it's gorgeous.

There is a downgrade that is worth addressing. While Portia and Sandrock had 28 and 21 singles, respectively, My Time at Evershine will feature only eight bachelors (with two of them to be picked by the Kickstarters). And yeah, while it is quite a smaller roster of characters than we're accustomed to, it's a sacrifice I am willing to make, especially considering it'll have more things to do with the NPCs.

If the graphical upgrade is anything to guide ourselves off of, then it seems like Pathea Games is focusing on quality over quantity, which might actually be a great thing. Sure, different marriage routes had their own unique outcomes, but I wonder what else there will be in store for Evershine's relationships.

My Time at Evershine amazed me with the way it looks so far. Is it too early to tell? Absolutely, but My Time at Portia had 3,708 backers with nearly 50% over-goal, My Time at Sandrock saw a massive increase to nearly 10,000 backers and 400% over-goal. So who knows what awaits us with My Time at Evershine when it launches on Kickstarter, what pledges we'll see, and what sort of goals for the full funding of this next entry.

But you can bet your arse I'm backing it.