HomeNewsGamingParalives Makes an Excellent Impression as a Sims-Alternative

Paralives Makes an Excellent Impression as a Sims-Alternative

The mix of creative freedom, voyeurism, and playing God seems to work perfectly in this case again.

The small studio’s game competes with a very well-known franchise and offers gameplay inspired by it. Paralives is a singleplayer life simulation and is funded entirely through Patreon.

Build and decorate dream houses, let your favorite characters live in them. We know this concept already: This is the kind of gameplay we are familiar with from Electronic Arts’ “The Sims” franchise. However, the remarkable thing about Paralives is that the development of this title doesn’t come from a AAA studio, and there are a few more differences.

The mastermind behind all this is Alex Massé (Twitter). After developing the prototype of the game completely on his own, his team has now grown to around 10 people in the meantime. They work strongly with the community, which financially supports the project via crowdfunding and diligently provides feedback.

 

How does the Paralives gameplay differ from The Sims?

What might look like a simple copy of “The Sims” at first glance, however, turns out to be a worthy competitor that wants to attract attention with innovations.

Paralives takes place in an open world, which should give you more opportunities for free development in many ways. This is also reflected in the design options for your houses and characters. Instead of equipping your house with already purchased furniture via DLCs, you can work with various in-game tools to further customize your interior. Here you can get a comprehensive impression of the build mechanics.

 

In addition to the very advanced build mode in Paralives, you can customize your characters (called Paras) down to the smallest detail in the so-called Paramaker – From hair color and style to freckles and the shape of the lower body. In addition, however, there is a plethora of subcategories you can play around with. Get a glimpse of the almost limitless possibilities:

 

The Live Mode in Paralives

Not only the outer form of your Para is important for the developer, but also its inner life because immersion has a high priority. This includes lively and realistic interaction with the environment and other Paras. Your characters will thus also have different feelings and reactions, which will be shown in realistic animations. To showcase this, the developer just released a new sneak peek video a few days ago:

 

The picturesque look of the game

Besides the convincing gameplay approach, the simulation also scores points, not least for its extremely likable graphics. The characters present themselves with hand-drawn textures that resemble watercolor paintings. Even the environment has hand-painted textures, which makes it look very atmospheric and coherent. This form of graphic implementation moves away from the silent, colorful sim world and breathes even more life and personal reference into the simulation.

In numerous gameplay videos, you can already get an impression of the game Paralives. In this screenshot, we are in a constructed building and look at a very coherent interior. In the center of the image, a white desk with a light wooden top can be seen in a long shot. On the table are two black monitors and in front of them is a brown closed laptop. To the left and right of the desk are two green, palm tree-like potted plants. Above the desk, there are three white cube-shaped shelving elements on the wall, in which there are small plants and a picture. Above the monitor is a white clock with a black border. We are standing on a light brown parquet floor and on the right there is a rectangular window with brown shutters. The wall where the table is located makes a curve on the left side, leading to another area of the room. The wallpaper has a light gray color and daylight shines in through the window. We are curious when the release date will be available.
An interior design in Paralives (Source: Alex Massé)

 

What about the Paralives release date?

The game has been in development since January 2019 and has made steady progress since then. Being close to the community and having them heavily involved in the creative process will likely contribute significantly to the success of the title. Numerous wishes and ideas have already been incorporated into the community-backed project.

The Unity-based title is still in an early stage of development, and a release date is unfortunately not yet known. It will definitely be released for PC and macOS, and you can already add it to your wishlist on Steam. If the concept of Paralives appeals to you, feel free to support the Canadian team on Patreon.com.

In this screenshot, we can see an impressive interior from an elevated perspective. The house has a first floor, which we can see at the bottom of the image. There, on the right, we can see a dining area with several bar stools, where red light is depicted on the wall. On the left, a dark staircase leads up to another floor, where a modern bed with a white blanket, and black pillows can be seen. On the left side, brown shelves with books of different colors rise into the air. The floor or on all floors a brown parking floor. On the right, a large slanted window front is depicted, through which daylight shines and impressively illuminates the apartment. There is also a white and black telescope next to the bed. In the center of the image, a female character with brown short hair, a white top, and blue jeans stands in front of the bed, so we can see her from behind in a long shot. There are vine-like green plants in several places in the room.
Screenshot from Paralives (Source: Alex Massé)

 

Build, create and live in other great worlds

There are many great and already released open-world and crafting games waiting for you to discover. For an exquisite selection, check out these Open World Games on PC, our ranking of the Best Sandbox Games, or have a look at our favorite Survival Games for PS4/PS5.

 

What do you think of the new life simulator? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.


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