Paralives Early Access release on Dec. 8

[Beebo Brink]

I'm cautiously optimistic about this life simulation game. The illustration art style really appeals to me, compared to the ultra-realism of Inzoi which I found vaguely offputting.

For a number of reasons (such as game bloat) I'm not buying any more Sims 4 DLC unless the concept knocks my socks off, and so far there's nothing on the horizon that meets that criteria. I can put my entertainment money toward Paralives instead, which means I have to figure out what this Steam thang is and how I use it to buy a game.

 

[Jopsy Pendragon]

Is the name of the game supposed to sound like "paralyze" ? Because that seems like an undesirable association...

 

[Free]

Is the name of the game supposed to sound like "paralyze" ? Because that seems like an undesirable association...

The name looks to be a portmanteau of Parallel and Lives, considering the game play lets you "live" the lives of multiple, separate characters. But, yeah...

 

[Noodles]

Looks pretty neat actually. I like that art style as well.

 

[Beebo Brink]

Looks pretty neat actually. I like that art style as well.

The studio is a small indie, so I'm willing to buy the game just to assuage my curiosity and support them tilting at windmills. If it ends up being as fun as The Sims to play, then even better.

 

[Argent Stonecutter]

I like the generic "checking for dog poo" circa 2005 animation.

 

[Noodles]

The studio is a small indie, so I'm willing to buy the game just to assuage my curiosity and support them tilting at windmills. If it ends up being as fun as The Sims to play, then even better.

Wasn't this also basically Cities Skylines in relation to Simcity at some point. Its not unheard of that a smaller studio can do better thsn the big ones.

 

[Jopsy Pendragon]

The studio is a small indie, so I'm willing to buy the game just to assuage my curiosity and support them tilting at windmills. If it ends up being as fun as The Sims to play, then even better.

The 'moral' of The Sims seemed pretty clearly "My sims don't have time to satisfy all their needs to in a day (Hunger, Energy, Bladder, Hygiene, Social, and Fun) *and* hold down a job and/or learn new skills."

Which sorta drove home the point that me in RL didn't either, which sorta stomped all over my ability to enjoy playing the game. =(

 

[Beebo Brink]

I've installed Steam and added Paralives to my Wishlist. Apparently they've reached 1 million Wish Lists, which is more than the creator expected. So it sounds like there is a fair amount of interest in the game. Fingers crossed that my computer specs are adequate for this game; they weren't for Inzoi.

 

[Katheryne Helendale]

If this is a Steam game, is there a chance it'll run on Linux?

 

[CronoCloud Creeggan]

If this is a Steam game, is there a chance it'll run on Linux?

Unless they've got some kind of weird anti-cheat or limit the game to SteamOS only, it should. Just have to enable Proton.

 

[Beebo Brink]

With the confirmation of news that EA has been gobbled up by a Saudi private equity firm allied with Jared Kushner, a LOT of Sims fans are extremely perturbed. This is going to drive even more interest -- and money -- toward Paralives. I was already onboard with giving it a try, but this makes me even more enthusiastic about support an indie company, and I suspect a lot of angry, frustrated Simmers will feel the same way. Instead of purchasing the upcoming Expansion Pack release, that same money could go to Paralives as a protest buy and a middle finger to EA.

This isn't necessarily a good thing, since an explosion of users can be overwhelming to a small group. But hey, if you have to choose your challenges... you could do worse than Early Access success.

 

[Beebo Brink]

The Paralives Early Access release has been postponed some 6 months, with release now slated for May 2026. According to the devs, they had made good progress on the Paramaker (the character creator) and the build tools, but feedback from game testers indicated that the available gameplay was weak. They reached the difficult decision to delay release rather than start off with a version of the game that would disappoint users.

Overall, the community of potential users was sympathetic to the reasons for the delay. Personally, I'd have been happy just to play with the characters and building tools, because so far that seems to be their biggest advantage over The Sims. The ability to resize furniture and objects, to easily position them, to color ever component with a color wheel rather than a limited palette of colors is all so enticing. When it comes to what I've seen of the gameplay... I'm not as enthralled. I like the mechanics -- a series of cards that are context-specific -- but overall the paras seem to be earnest and lacking in whimsy.

But I'm willing to see what changes another 6 months bring about.

 

[Nika Talaj]

So, Beebo, have you had a chance to try the May release?

I think this game is really promising, but they are a really small group, and I fear that with their current hiring restrictions (must speak French and live in Montreal), they will not be able to grow the game quickly enough. Of course, they could lift those restrictions - but possibly at the cost of team cohesion.

 

[Beebo Brink]

So, Beebo, have you had a chance to try the May release?

I think this game is really promising, but they are a really small group, and I fear that with their current hiring restrictions (must speak French and live in Montreal), they will not be able to grow the game quickly enough. Of course, they could lift those restrictions - but possibly at the cost of team cohesion.

Quick growth is probably more of a risk factor. They're making good progress addressing bugs and glitches (of which there appear to be many) and the majority of players are enthusiastic and patient. They've sold 1 million copies of the game, which provides a solid funding source for the next few years, so there's a good chance they'll make at least a modest success.

I've been interested in the game for at least a year and supporting it through a (very small) Patreon subscription, but I was always aware that the concept of the game was not the ultimate test. The ultimate test is playing. Unfortunately, the timing of the release could not have been worse for me. I'd just discovered Two Point Museum and was having SO MUCH FUN playing that game that pretty much nothing could compare and my one foray into Paralives fell flat. I haven't logged back in since.

Probably my biggest reservation about Paralives before it was released was that it seemed to lack whimsy. That fear turned out to be well founded, and it's behind my meh reaction to inZoi, too. Two Point Museum has made me realize exactly what parts of the Sims appealed to me the most, and it wasn't the life simulation aspect. It's the whacky humor, managing a goal-driven progression (whether career or collecting). My favorite Sims activities were collecting and moving along career paths. I found the socializing tedious and most of my sims were single loners. They were vehicles for exploration of the world.

The Sims 4 was sniffing cocaine; Two Point Museum is injecting it straight into my veins.