The Good Life: Which Side to Pick

During the first few hours of The Good Life, Naomi Hayward not only gains the ability to turn into either a cat or a dog, but she also learns that all those living in Rainy Woods can do the same. As such, Naomi’s current affinity with either the cat or the dog side influences how the townspeople interact with her.

Here’s which side you should pick and how you can raise affinity with either.

Which Side to Pick in The Good Life

In The Good Life, players can raise their affinity with cats or dogs. The current affinity is shown by a gauge located in the top right part of the screen, right above Naomi’s portrait. The higher the affinity is towards any side, the better her interactions will be with townspeople belonging to this side will be. You can learn which side any character is by checking out the icon that appears above them when you approach them.

This also translates into lower prices by certain shopkeepers. Bruno Evans, Thomas Berryman, Michelle O’Reilly, Jan Yi Han, and John Berryman belong to the dog side, while Virginia Yeats, Douglas McAvoy, and George Fakhoury belong to the cat side. The witch Pauline Atwood is the only shopkeeper who belongs to neither side, so there’s no way to make the goods she sells cheaper.

Picking a side is mostly a matter of personal preference, although it is advisable to start with the dog side, as shopkeepers of this side provide items you will need more often at the start of the game, and then switch over to the cat side once you have made enough money to purchase basic items and are ready to invest some of it in improving your house.

How to Raise Affinity

Raising affinity toward any side is not too complicated, but the fastest method does require some money. The most basic way to raise affinity is to turn into a cat or a dog and interact with any character. Raising affinity this way, however, will take you a long time, as the affinity increase for interacting with characters in cat or dog form is rather small.

For a bigger affinity increase, you will need to offer Cat or Dog tributes at any shrine. One tribute costs £100, so you really cannot use this method too much in the early game, as you won’t have much money on you, and the little you have has to be used to purchase more important items. Once you have made some progress, however, you will have enough money to manipulate affinity with ease and reap all the benefits that come from either side as you see fit.