Steam's most popular new game is like Zelda and Animal Crossing had a baby

Welp, I’m pretty sure this game is about to consume all of my free time.

I want you to imagine a reality where The Legend of Zelda franchise and Animal Crossing: New Horizons are having a baby.

You don’t need to picture the deed itself; that’s weird.

Simply think of the lil’ babe you might get. Well, I think that child would look a lot like FANTASY LIFE i: The Girl Who Steals Time.

Technically, this is a successor to 2012’s Fantasy Life (which actually released in 2014 outside of Japan), developed by Level-5.

This being said, it’s a successor in the form of a prequel, so you really don’t need to worry if you haven’t played that aforementioned game.

FANTASY LIFE i: The Girl Who Steals Time is part RPG, part life sim; you’ll find yourself on the island of Reveria where you can choose from 14 jobs known as life classes.

The choice isn’t too important as while you’ll want to complete the tasks in your chosen class, you’ll also be able to switch classes to complete additional tasks yielding unique rewards.

Essentially, your goal is to rebuild a ruined island and you’ll do that by travelling 1,000 years into the past.

That sounds like a serious task, but it’ll include plenty of “slow life” activities, from cooking to crafting and fishing.

“You are an adventurer who sets sail with the archaeologist Edward and his team. Following the light emanating from a dragon's fossil, you discover an uncharted, deserted island,” the synopsis reads.

“A vast abyss, a dragon made of bone, and a girl's message that begs you to save the world...

Travel between the island that thrived 1,000 years ago and the present-day island to unravel the mystery of its downfall!”

The game is available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC, and Xbox Series X/S, with a Switch 2 version also due to be released.

Thanks to SteamDB though, we can see just how much the game has taken off on that platform.

At the time of writing, FANTASY LIFE i: The Girl Who Steals Time boasts an all-time peak of 34,318 on Steam - very respectable for a cosy title.

If you want to bolster those numbers, then give the game a go.