Various Daylife
A mobile RPG from the creators of Bravely Default and Octopath Traveler.
Various Daylife is a role-playing game from Square Enix, developed by DokiDoki Groove Works. Key staff from the Bravely Default and Octopath Traveler teams led its creation. It first launched on iOS via Apple Arcade in 2019, then reached Nintendo Switch, Windows, and PlayStation 4 in 2022. A paid iOS version called Various Daylife mobile arrived alongside an Android release in January 2023.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- DokiDoki Groove Works
- Publisher
- Square Enix
- Producer
- Tomoya Asano, Masaaki Hayasaka
- Artist
- Naoki Ikushima
- Composer
- Go Shiina
- Genre
- Role-playing
- Modes
- Single-player
Facts from the source article.
Development
The game was first announced on September 10, 2019, at Apple's yearly iPhone event, and launched as a title for the Apple Arcade service on September 19, 2019. Development was led by Square Enix staff responsible for Bravely Default and Octopath Traveler, including game designer and producer Tomoya Asano, who worked with the DokiDoki Groove Works team. Mfi controller support was added in a March 2020 update. In July 2022, it was announced as one of the first titles removed from Apple Arcade, and it was released on Nintendo Switch and Windows in September 2022, with a PlayStation 4 release on September 16.
Reception
Various Daylife received mixed or average reviews according to Metacritic. TouchArcade highlighted it as one of the Apple Arcade service's notable titles, citing its interesting battle system. Dedicated reviewers were less positive: Destructoid criticized the game as cumbersome, lacking polish, and underdeveloped, though conceded that enjoyment could be found as the world opens up. RPGamer found it hard to recommend playing or avoiding, noting it was fun in short 10 to 15 minute intervals but bemoaned the time needed for its 30+ hour campaign. Vice considered it one of the worst Apple Arcade titles, calling it poorly developed and suggesting it might have served mainly as a promotional effort for Square Enix's support of the new service. All three reviewers agreed the game was more palatable as a simple, casual mobile game than a big-budget console release. RPGamer and Vice criticized the interface for not using the screen well, positing it may have been originally conceived for Nintendo 3DS screens. Destructoid and Vice felt it was an ideal candidate for the Apple Arcade subscription service, working better as part of a monthly fee than as a standalone purchase.
More in Square Enix Games of the 2010s
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced