I haven’t written about Hokko Life for over two years (it was in a catch-up coffee in 2020). The game is very, very customizable life sim about starting over in a new place. Players come to Hokko to settle into a new home (customizable!) and turn the village into a charming town (customizable!) by deciding how just about everything looks. Hokko Life is all about creativity. Players will source material, craft, design, paint, build, decorate, fish, and hunt bugs.
In the aforementioned catch-up, I referred to Hokko Life as being a more customizable Animal Crossing, and I stand by that. Craft materials and combine them in a multitude of ways to create new furniture and items. Collect flowers and mix paints to design wallpapers, flooring, and clothing. The town’s resident builder will be able to help expand the town and start attracting new villagers.
The forest and the abandoned mine hold a good chunk of the materials needed to craft. After gathering the materials, head to the workshop and put your spin on every item in the game. That’s right: literally everything is customizable. At the design table, build furniture by combining shapes and materials. Clothing, wallpaper, and flooring can also be created. When expanding the town, place new homes wherever you’d like and just wait for new villagers to come to town! When it comes to decorating, both the inside and outside of any home can be done. And in addition to all of this, there’s also fishing and bug hunting! It’s quite a big game for what was mostly a one-person team to create.
Since it launched in Early Access, Hokko Life has had numerous updates. The Farming Update added a new area to the game and let players test out their green thumbs. The Village Chic update introduced over 250 new hats, masks, glasses, and other accessories. The Super Shopper Update allowed players to visit a new city centre location. The Narrative Update overhauled the game’s introduction and introduced four new villagers. And, most recently, the Mayor Merits update allowed players to complete in-game activities in return for mayor merits that unlock perks to make life in Hokko just a wee bit easier.
Developed by Wonderscope Games and published by Team17, Hokko Life will be released digitally for PC via Steam, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One on September 27. Physical copies will be available for PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One.
