Kara Dennison
August 18, 2023 
If you play mobile games, you may have noticed ads for ISEKAI: Slow Life lately. This anime-inspired app just launched a few days ago, with hundreds of thousands of potential dimension-hoppers pre-registered before release. So, the big questions are—what is it, and is it worth it?
We’ve sunk a bit of time into the app to see what’s up. So let’s take a look inside and learn more about your new life as an otherworldly village elder!
The Story
In ISEKAI: Slow Life, you play as a mushroom. (Slimes, spiders, and skeletons were all taken.) Your new myceloid life kicks off in a village of animal-eared people, and your first task is rescuing them from a money-grubbing loan shark. Once you’ve earned their trust, you can start using your smarts to build up the village. As you progress, you’ll also evolve… looking more human as you go.
As you play, you’ll journey through nearby cities, battle, barter, and make new acquaintances. These are either Fellows (allies who increase your overall power) or Family (romantic interests who grant other citywide perks). New functions are being added to the game a little at a time. But the gist of the game is: it’s an otherworldly, anime-themed city builder.
The Good
The best thing about ISEKAI: Slow Life is the art. It’s a very pretty game, both in terms of character art and the functional overworld map. There are also lots of different things to do, depending on what you enjoy. There’s a challenge tower that grants you new designs for your home as you finish each area. You can roam the city for fame, resources, and romance. And you can take your growing harem of fantasy girls on dates.
Progression through the first few levels is relatively quick, and there are ongoing goals to keep you on task. Plus, there are guilds, banquets, and other multiplayer functions, so you can get to know your fellow isekai heroes.
And the Rest
As pretty as it is… when you get right down to it, ISEKAI: Slow Life is a very basic city building and resource management game. There are dozens like it. And if that’s the kind of thing you enjoy, then great! This game might be for you. But as you progress, the novelty of the setting may become secondary to the game loop.
You will also hit a plateau where it becomes relatively difficult to balance village income, Fellow power, and your various quests. Of course, you can always pay real money to lighten the load. But if you can’t or prefer not to, you’ll find yourself stuck for a while. And if you’re interested in collecting characters, it’s a double-edged sword. Most Fellows and Family join you simply by completing tasks or progressing through the story. But gaining enough resources to bring the exclusive ones into the fold is an arduous task… and one that might also require real money.
In short, ISEKAI: Slow Life is a very pretty game. It is also a numbers-go-up game. While there are some interesting story beats early on, those begin to fall away and give way to the grind. If you like the look of this game but need more than increasing cash flow to get you excited, you may want to wait for a few more server functions to go live.
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