Paralives

A brand new life simulator into the mix isn't the most unusual thing we've ever heard of. A game of the genre developed by a single person - now that is something that piques interest. Paralives is an upcoming, very ambitious offering that aims to break the boundaries of big publisher titles - promises of creativity and flexibility missing from the genre.

Paralives has picked up traction over the past few months - now being well funded through a Patreon page. The game has hired additional personnel to add layers of polish - and it's safe to say the game is already looking good. So can it live up to the potential of a revolutionary new indie life simulator? Let's have a bit of a preview.

Something is Missing From Our Lives

The game's announcement contained nothing starkly different from the big-name life simulator 'The Sims' franchise offers. Players will adhere to standard mechanics. Character creation, employment opportunities, residence design, and more are all there. Basically, taking on the challenges of everyday life. What is promised in Paralives, in contrast, is a level of customization that sees nearly limitless opportunities for players - something major published life simulators don't have.

Already the game looks fascinating - art style, creation potential, storytelling, the works. Players are treated to models and assets - they can change the shape, color, and size with a gorgeous looking interface - and character customization down to intricate levels. The ambition really shows in trying to quell the frustrations around the Sims games.

Initial thoughts are that people who obsess over the idea of fantasy creations will find a lot to love in Paralives. The incredible building editor will let you build the home you've always dreamed of without any restriction. Get your furniture and fixtures down to the last detail - even shape your own plot of land!

While we've only been exposed to the surface of what Paralives is offering - the game looks intriguing. The lack of narrative and "raison d'etre," so to speak, aren't exactly present. But the initial impressions are that this will be a community-based sandbox game, where objectives are set by the user. With the recent successes of liberal creation games, the minimal direction won't seem to be an issue.

A Life Simulator for Life Livers

The developers have laid out their mission - and their funding seems to have people entirely on board. Paralives is aiming to provide stiff competition to its counterpart franchise 'The Sims.' Using the user-friendliness and flexibility of Cities: Skylines is a basis - the game seeks to raise as one of the most lucrative life simulators on the market.

Pros:

• The art style and interface accessible and in parallel to games goals
• There are meticulous levels of customization for homes and characters
• Houses and furniture can be designed exactly how you want them

Cons:

• No plotlines, narrative, or objectives just yet
• We have yet to see whether the game will live up to its potential

Building houses, creating characters, and keeping track of their lives while gradually guiding and protecting sounds like real life, but it's just one way to occupy your long evening in the life simulation game, Paralives. What, you thought we were talking about another game? Well, let me demonstrate their drastic differences.

Main Enemy

Paralives is a life simulator game. Before the announcement of this game, only one giant of this sphere was associated with the phrase "life simulator" - The Sims. So what is Paralives and why do so many people herald the demise of The Sims series?

Cozy atmosphere

The games differ significantly in style. If The Sims at least somehow tried to give its characters a more realistic look, in Paralives everything looks delicately cartoonish. It's like you're in a Pixar cartoon, or you're watching a cartoon series based on a famous comic book. However, even if there are differences in style, they should be similar in gameplay, because in both you have to patiently watch the characters created.

Similarities and Differences

It's not all that simple, but both games do come out with almost identical gameplay. So what new will Paralives bring and what will it leave from The Sims? Let's break it down in a direct comparison of the two games:

• House Creation. This feature is an integral part of the gameplay of both games. However, in Paralives, the building has surpassed the building mode of The Sims. Walls can be made in any shape. Furniture varies in size and can be placed not neatly on the cells, the construction mode became more fascinating and scalable. Paralives allow you to use the imagination of the player and do not constrain any frames.
• Character creation mode. The Sims 4 players were very upset by the lack of a color wheel to change characters' hair, clothing, and furniture. However, Paralives allows you to change the colors of every little detail. The People Editor allows you to customize the weight, skin color, and vegetation and even choose different eye colors with the palette.
• An open world that can be freely explored without bothering to wait for downloads.

All the best of The Sims plus good and necessary innovations - we get an interesting game, with familiar mechanics that fulfilled all the needs of players The Sims even too well.

In the gaming industry, there has always been a focus from the various developers and publishers which has emphasised the fantastic. Games which allow us to escape the monotony of normal day to day life and live a life or experience something far beyond the realms of possibility. However, in contrast to that, there has always been a gaming genre that has embraced the mundane and done so to great effect, the simulation genre. These games have always prided themselves on allowing players to live a second live without the constraints of society and Paralives is yet another game of this nature which allows players to build their dream home.

This game plays like other building sim games and life sim games like The Sims, Animal Crossing, Home Design Makeover and House Flipper. This game prides itself on the meticulous levels of detail that one can go into when designing a virtual home. However, is this a dream residence, or should this home be levelled? We find out in our review of Paralives.

Para-Living The Dream

Firstly, lets get into the gameplay for this game. We were absolutely blown away by the level of customisation that is on offer within this game. It takes the house building mechanics that you might find in The Sims, then really goes to town, raising the production value through the roof. You can create any shape or structure you want, adjust heights, change tones, swap out small assets like handles or curtain rails to others that meet your style requirements. Plus, it can all be done through an intuitive UI that makes the process of building your dream home a breeze.

The visuals are also surprisingly good too. You would expect this game to go with simply textures and assets. However, each texture is detailed, character models are cel-shaded to great effect and the assets used are true to life, making this interior design fantasy the most authentic thing we have seen for quite some time.

The one downside, at least at the time of writing. Is that there doesn’t seem to be any sort of life simulation aspect to this game yet. Something that would really take this game to the next level and even help challenge the big names like The Sims for example.

The Verdict

Overall, Paralives is a surprise package that delivers one of the most complete interior design sims that we have ever laid eyes on. It allows players to tweak their aesthetic right down to the finest detail and does so with visuals and assets that are truly excellent. As we mentioned, the game needs a life simulation often to make this more of an interactive gameplay experience.

Pros:

• Incredibly detailed building mechanics
• Great visuals

Cons:

• Currently lacking a life simulation mode