Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time looks like the RPG take on Animal Crossing: New Horizons that I've been waiting for

Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time might just be the Animal Crossing: New Horizons replacement we've been waiting for. 

During today's Nintendo Partner Direct we got to see more of the previously-announced Fantasy Life game, and even found out its October 10 release date. We also got a more in-depth look at gameplay and it's very reminiscent of Animal Crossing: New Horizons - mostly due to the fact both games have players living on a deserted island which they need to build from the ground up.

Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time has a unique twist though. Rather than working hard to appease your tanuki landlord, players of the Level-5 title will need to travel back in time to gain resources and bring them back to the present. Similar to Animal Crossing, Fantasy Life will see players chopping down trees, crafting furniture, and all kinds of other activities to restore the island to its former glory. 

As the game's title would suggest, there's also more of a fantasy and RPG element to this life sim. For instance, each player will have a role, or Lives, as they're called in the game. This includes everything from Miners to Magicians, Carpenters, Farmers, Cooks, and more - which can all be swapped in or out depending on the task in front of you, whether you're fighting dragons, crafting furniture, or cooking up a feast.

One of the best things about New Horizons was having friends come over and visit your island. The good news is that The Girl Who Steals Time also has its version of this as up to four players can gather on one island at a time. There's also a lot of mystery surrounding the island which you can gradually uncover as you work towards rebuilding it, as well as enemies to battle, and friendships to build.

Find out what else is on the horizon with our upcoming Switch games list.