What is ‘Heartopia’ and why is everyone playing it now
There’s a new game that’s been popping up on social media feeds lately, and it’s more than just cutesy ads.
Game content creators have been sharing snippets of gameplay that’s been all sorts of entertaining, funny, and creative: imagine cute, wide-eyed characters running around a vibrant little town… only to walk into a recreation of a Jollibee or Mang Inasal. A few steps next door, they enter a glistening ice castle. And past that, a modern house that looks straight out of an architecture and interior magazine.
Welcome to the world of “Heartopia,” a new cross-platform game that’s being marketed as a “relaxing slow-life simulation” where you can create and customize your own home (or “business,” as other gamers have been quick to adapt), interact with friends, and try out a variety of hobbies.
Many players have described it as something of a hybrid of “Animal Crossing” and “The Sims”—and for a generation of young millennials who grew up with the OG life simulation game, you’d get the appeal.
Blessed by the Astralis
The game starts with the player being welcomed into the town as a person supposedly blessed by a revered being called the Astralis. People around town—like the mayor, shop owners, and hobby experts (the non-playable characters, or NPCs, essentially)—all show the player the basics of life in town. Basic gameplay revolves around fulfilling quests from various townspeople, who will then reward the player with in-game currency and other necessities.
While there are event quests and a loose storyline, players are free to play the game in any way they like. Most players take joy in crafting their dream homes (a joke on social media went: “Tahimik na ako sa social media, may bahay at lupa na kasi ako”—with the aforementioned house and lot being their “Heartopia” home).
Meanwhile, others take the game to a new level—creating restaurants, cafes, and other establishments where friends and members of their town can hang out. Some even built mini towns on their home plots.
The result? A cute little community game that lets players not only flex their creativity but also invites interaction and socialization.
An oasis or mirage?
For young millennials and Gen Z, the game’s appeal perhaps lies in how it can fulfill a yet to be realistically achievable dream of building and owning your own home. With rising costs in real estate and even basic necessities, this cozy life simulator serves as a simple escape.
But as things usually are, an oasis may eventually turn out to be just a mirage: The longer one plays the game, the more the gameplay may turn repetitive.
The quests usually cycle through the same formula (collecting or harvesting produce, playing with or feeding animals, delivering items to townspeople), and while there is some novelty in how players can obtain new items (the clothing store refreshes—or rather, recycles—its collection every day, while the furniture store changes its offerings every week), the novelty may quickly wear off.
To stay unique, purchases (using real-life money) will later on be required.
And while the game has been positioned as a “slow-life simulation” (thanks to activities like gardening, cooking, pet caring, fishing, and the like), hacks to “earn more money” have turned the slow life model into a virtual hustle, with players incessantly harvesting crops around investing in multiple stoves to cook dishes to sell to NPCs.
Nevertheless, if what you just need is a cute virtual home to host virtual parties with your friends, add this to your game rotation.
