Paralives: A Love Letter

If you don't know, Paralives is an indie life simulation game that officially launched in Early Access on May 25th of this year. For many people, this is the first time that they are hearing of this game. But my memories of Paralives go all the way back to 2019, stumbling across some of the very first proof of concept videos that were prototyping what this game could be. 

Fam, it is finally here, and I am officially gagged. Gooped, gagged, absolutely living. After waiting 7 years for this game, I have been having the time of my life. It is so rewarding to finally play the game and all that it entails.

Early Access

First things first, the game is officially $39.99 USD. If you bought the game the week of launch, it was slightly discounted for $35.99. Many (most?) people are unwilling to pay this much money (side note: in Paralives, they spend Paradimes) for an early access game that is bound to be buggy and is officially unfinished. That being said, I am a gamer that is willing to pay for a buggy early access game. The game is expected to be in early access for two years, with regular bug fixes, and a major update in the fall of this year. As of the writing of this entry, the team has already pushed 3 patches, which have already increased the quality of the game.

The History

For as long as "life simulation" has existed as a genre, The Sims franchise has been the top dog. Some have tried to recreate what The Sims does, but none have particularly succeeded. Especially back in 2019. Up until that point, it had been nearly 20 years of Sims Supremacy with no real viable competitor. InZoi wasn't even a concept and didn't start development until 2023. When Alex Masse decided to show off window and curtain resizing from build mode, it felt like the heavens had opened up and showed simmers that there could be another way. 

Originally, the game started off as a one-man show on Patreon but quickly grew to a team of fifteen people. As an early backer myself, it was so exciting to be part of the community that helped ideate all the ways a life simulator game built in the 2020s could be better than we ever imagined. Community feedback and suggestions were taken into account every step of the way. As the team grew, the game started to feel more and more hopeful.

Build Mode

I have to be honest, build mode is absolutely unhinged in this game. When you first load the build mode and take a look at the available wallpapers, flooring, and build items, it can seem a little limited. That is until you realize the color wheel from The Sims 3 is back in action. Custom colors, textures, swatches, and furniture parts are back in play. Windows, doors, curtains, beds, tables, shelves, and beyond can be resized. Every item has the ability to "Toggle Advanced Widget," which is essentially the T.O.O.L. mod for the other game but natively built into the interface without mods and without a ton of hassle to enable.

Press the * key on your numpad to quickly enable or disable the advanced widget!

The Paramaker

The Paramaker is truly a worthy competitor. The Paramaker allows the user to customize nearly every aspect of their character. Some notable inclusions right out the gate are a height slider, clothes layering, realistic (cute!) hair for people of color, EYELASHES, nicknames, posture, and beyond. The ability to customize just one side of your Para's features makes it easier to create more asymmetrical and realistic-looking characters. Once again, the color wheel is available, so you can customize as much or as little as you desire.

You can show units in Metric, Imperial, Bananas, or Texas

Seriously though, the height slider adds a touch of realism that really feels special after all this time. Seeing your Para interact with others throughout the world and noticing that they are different heights but in the same age group just feels good.

Surprises

I did not expect some of the game elements! Anyone that is familiar with social mechanics in The Sims knows that it is an endless pie menu of options and micromanagement hell. The more packs you have, the more menus and submenus exist for the player to click, click, click... sometimes 4-5 layers deep in the menu. In Paralives, there is a new mechanic called "Together Cards."

These cards appear after your Paras have been talking for enough time to allow their progress bar to fill up entirely. Then one of the Paras in the conversation can choose a card to direct at another Para in the group. Cards that are prompted for a Para are influenced by their Vibe, Social Perks, and more.

You can get a plant for free at the garden shop every day!

Other interesting aspects of the game are the influences derived from other cozy genre favorites. There is a Community Center that is reminiscent of Stardew Valley and a Museum that reminds gamers of Animal Crossing. People familiar with those games know that the Museum accepts donations and then displays them as they are submitted. I have to assume that the Community Center also works the same as in Stardew Valley, where the center is rebuilt over time as the player submits more items and completes certain collections. I haven't completed this aspect of gameplay so I can only speculate! There's another nifty feature that displays the portrait of the Para with the highest level of that skill on a wall in the Museum. Pretty sure it's bugged though as you can see from this photo...

Last Thoughts

In short, despite the bugs, I have been having an absolute blast playing this game. I cannot wait to see how it continues developing over the years. It has been refreshing to enjoy an open world, sandbox building, and a whole new way of character interaction. As I continue to mine this game for gems, I will report back and continue to preach to good word of this amazing game.

And did I mention the team promised to never charge more money for DLC?