Like 250,000 other eager gamers, I spent my Memorial Day morning waiting anxiously to cough up $40 for the early access release of Paralives. And after playing so intently that I was late to my pool party, I can confidently say, I see the vision.
If you live under a rock, Paralives is the new indie life simulator game. (This is big news for people who had a very active dollhouse growing up.) Up until May 26, the life simulator game market was essentially monopolized by The Sims, a series of games that arrived on the scene in 2000. So, it’s a big deal for an alternative to emerge.
Now, I love The Sims with my whole heart, but being the only life simulator game has allowed the company to charge exorbitant amounts. And like, yeah, I pay it, but I am a little embarrassed to say I’ve spent more than $500 on a single game. The fact that Paralives costs a flat fee (starting at $40 and increasing over time), including all expansions, already makes it a winner for me.
This release of Paralives was early access, which means players can buy the game for a reduced rate ($36), knowing that it is not finished yet, with the assumption that players will report any bugs, glitches, or suggestions back to the creators.
Needless to say, I have a lot of big feelings about this game, so here are my unfiltered thoughts after my first week playing.
Character creation is hot.
Off the bat, Paralives is differentiating itself in style, and I love it. The comic book-inspired art style is completely unique. The best part about this style is that it’s much easier to make aesthetic characters. In The Sims, if you hit that random generator button, nine times out of ten, you get a goblin. Paralives characters are almost strangely beautiful. As a gal who likes making hot characters, I love this element.
And the customization is truly unmatched. The game makes up for its lack of clothing and hair options by making them all completely customizable. The fact that I can change the root color of my Para’s hair is revolutionary. Don’t even get me started on height customization, nuanced age groups, and clothing patterns! I could spend all day making Paras.
As for personality customization, I haven’t fully formed an opinion. I find the options interesting, but I don’t entirely understand why sleep schedule or physical ability are core personality elements. I think I will need more gameplay to decide whether or not I enjoy that.
I want to live in Melino.
I have mixed opinions on the world. On one hand, Melino (the world in which Paralives takes place) is beautiful, and I want to live there. However, I think all the benefits of this detailed, curated, customizable, open-world game are overshadowed by how hard it is to navigate.
Navigating the world is challenging, both with my screen and for my Para. I have faith that any lagging and glitching is due to early access, and I don’t want to poo-poo it yet, but it has been hard to enjoy the beautiful world.
The house building isn’t as intuitive as I would have hoped, but it’s also not bad. With another week of practice, I’ll be confident. And I adore how personalized everything is. Like, what do you mean I can pick a bed, make it any size, and change the color and pattern of the throw blanket? That is incredible.
Paralives is for the plot.
Paralives has paved the way with this gameplay: It is so different than anything I have experienced before, from the nightly tarot card fortunes to the limited, but curated social interactions. It all feels nouveau and exciting. To me, The Sims was always a game where I liked to create businesses and accomplish goals, but I think Paralives is setting itself up to be the game I play when I want an interesting plot.
My first complaint is needs. I’m not sure if this is a glitch or not, but when my Para’s needs were low, it would not let her do anything else. My second complaint is how long everything takes. Why does my Para use the bathroom for an hour? Why are the speed options super slow or so fast you miss everything? Why does it take my Para hours to get anywhere? These are questions I need answered.
And, I am obsessed with the team.
I can’t help but admire the gumption of the Paralives team. Paralives was produced by an indie team of only 15, funded by gamers on Patreon. They have been incentivising gamers to donate in incredibly interesting ways, like adding their names to the random name generator and creating in-game characters for people who donate at the top tier. But to me, the most impactful incentive is that they really listened to what we wanted. Crazy, right? Adding a height tool or furniture color wheel might not be the height of technology, but it is a huge deal because these are the additions that gamers have been asking for.
And the fact that they aren’t upcharging for additions is a huge plus. I appreciate companies that aren’t trying to squeeze their young customers for every extra penny.
Ultimately, I am incredibly impressed by Paralives. The potential I see is undeniable. It is already a distinguishable and fun game that you can get a lot of gameplay out of. With bug fixes, I think it will be wonderful. And with additions like pets and pools, I think this is on track to be one of the most popular games in the world.