Naoko starts with nothing but the clothes on her back. Since she cannot go home without 15,800 yen, the primary gameplay loop revolves around scavenging and selling.
We had a chance to chat with the game's developers about their inspiration and vision for "That Life: The Rural Survival RPG". Here's what they had to say:
: Returning to civilization is not free; players must raise exact amounts of local currency to purchase train tickets or pay off debts.
Survival RPG / Simulation Theme: Rural Life, Agriculture, Economic Struggle Perspective: Typically Isometric or First-Person that life the rural survival rpg
Navigating "green and unpleasant lands" where scarcity leads to desperate combat using improvised weapons like cricket bats or pitchforks.
Unlike mainstream survival games that focus on supernatural threats or futuristic wastelands, this subgenre relies on realistic environmental hazards, financial strain, and community dependency. Players must battle stamina depletion, unpredictable seasonal changes, and economic ruin in order to successfully rebuild a home from scratch.
Players must keep a careful eye on at least half a dozen key gauges: . Yes, you read that correctly—urination and defecation are active mechanics in this game. If you ignore your character’s call of nature for too long, you suffer negative status effects like "incontinence" or soiling, which can lead to social penalties or criminal charges for public indecency. Naoko starts with nothing but the clothes on her back
Find for getting started in Japanese Rural Life Adventure.
: A nostalgic, slice-of-life RPG focused on a student spending a month in a coastal village. It heavily emphasizes community interaction, helping neighbors, and exploring local secrets.
: Every piece of fish caught in the local rivers or item crafted at your workbench can be traded with eccentric neighbors or traveling merchants for better tools, blueprints, and fuel. Why "That Life" Redefines the Survival RPG Genre Here's what they had to say: : Returning
Let me walk you through a typical first spring in that life the rural survival RPG , because the game’s reputation is forged in its opening hours.
The world of "That Life" is filled with status ailments that can cripple the player. Beyond the standard hunger or food poisoning, Naoko can be afflicted with stress-induced debuffs that render her unable to fight or work. She can get dirty (covered in mud or worse), which impacts how NPCs interact with her.
For the last decade, the survival genre has been defined by a specific, visceral anxiety. We are accustomed to the “urban scramble”—the frantic looting of abandoned pharmacies in The Last of Us , the rusted skyscrapers of I Am Legend , or the radiation-choked subways of Metro . The iconography of the end is concrete, glass, and steel.
What separates this game from casual fare is its obsessive attention to realistic rural systems.