My Time at Portia asks a simple question: what if the end of the world left behind a nice place to run errands? Pathea Games’ 2019 farm life sim role-playing game dropped players into the independent city state of Portia long after civilization fell, and handed them a neglected workshop, a commission board, and a town full of people who need things built. It came to Windows on 15 January 2019, with Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Android, iOS and macOS versions following.
Trailer, via XBOX.
A Neglected Workshop and a Rival Named Higgins
You inherit your father’s workshop after he leaves to travel. Presley, the guild commissioner, greets you in Portia and walks you to the property. The goal is straightforward: expand the city and become its best builder.
Standing in the way is Higgins, another builder, and he is the game’s most reliable irritant. The first real job is a bridge to Amber Island. After that, Portia keeps handing you problems.
Bandirats, Panbats, and the Rat King Below
Humanoid rats called Bandirats steal from around town. A pair of bandits, Tuss and Huss, pose as debt collectors until the builder Arlo exposes them. Panda/bat hybrids called Panbats poison the environment. After you fix a broken pipe, you and the builder Sam fall into an underground cavern and fight the Rat King, the Bandirats’ leader and the cause of the water pollution.
You also find Ack, a robot chef from an ancient civilization, who crashed in an ancient spacecraft and stays on as a resident and cook. Mayor Gale plans Dee Dees, a museum, and a tunnel to the neighboring city of Sandrock.
Gathering Resources and Combining Recipes
The loop is resource gathering and recipe combining. Better tools arrive over time, including a chainsaw for large trees. Finished items earn rewards, town favor and money. The biggest assignments change Portia itself.
Dungeons require fighting. Certain NPCs can be romanced, hung out with and married. All of it runs in third person, blending role-playing and simulation.
An Alliance at War With Duvos
Portia sits in a world where humans emerged from underground and formed the Alliance of Free Cities, plus a military group called the Civil Corps. The Alliance is at war with Duvos, a tyrannical empire after ancient technology and new territory.
That war mostly stays off to the side, and that is the right call. The game’s charm is local.
Where the Building Slows Down
The comparison to Stardew Valley is fair and unavoidable, and My Time at Portia does not always win it. The combat is the weakest thread — dungeons exist because the genre expects them, not because the fighting earns its place. Crafting timers and commission queues can turn a charming town into a waiting room.
What holds up is the town itself. Ack the robot chef, the Bandirats, Gale’s Dee Dees — these are specific, odd, memorable pieces of a post-apocalypse that decided to be pleasant instead of grim.
What the Score Reflects
My Time at Portia is a good sim with a great setting and a combat system it never needed. The sequel, My Time at Sandrock, entered early access on 26 May 2022 and fully released on 2 November 2023, with My Time at Evershine in development.
KEY FACTS
– Score: 7.0/10, the published critical aggregate across 10 outlets
– Released: 15 January 2019 on Windows; other platforms followed
– Developer: Pathea Games. Publisher: Team17
– Platforms: PlayStation 4, Android, PC, iOS, Mac, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
– Modes: Single player, third-person perspective
– Sequels: My Time at Sandrock (early access 26 May 2022; full release 2 November 2023); My Time at Evershine in development
7 of 10.
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