Rating: 4/5
Tomadachi Life: Living the Dream, a life simulation game, was released April 16 for $60 on the Nintendo Switch. Its predecessor, simply named Tomadachi Life, was released in 2014. Those who played the original reported that it lacked many of the unique customizations its updated version offered. After seeing Living The Dream trend online, I decided to buy the game myself and review what it offers.
On the first day of playing, I easily progressed through the tutorial, which was getting me started by creating Miis (customizable digital avatars) to liven up my island and unlock buildings. Starting off basic, I made a few fictional characters. Eventually, I was introduced to special events called “ponderings,” where I either needed to solve a problem or grant a desire the Mii had. These were the basics of the game, but the real fun is in customizing my island’s residents and making them interact.
To create relationships around the island, Miis need to interact. In this game, I had to hold and drag them to each other, which is guaranteed to cause a conversation between them. Based on the compatibility of their personalities, they will either warm up to each other or be disinterested in pursuing a friendship with the other. Miis can also develop crushes on other Miis as long as they are adults and the target’s gender matches their dating preferences. This is based on hidden RNG (random number generator) that determines possible interaction events, but you have the option to shut down the idea when a Mii asks if they are in love.
The highlights of the game are the ability to add facepaint and create custom clothes for Miis to make them more accurate to a player’s vision. Players are able to also edit the dating preferences of their Miis, allowing their ships (romantic pairings between fictional characters) to become real on their islands even if they were gay or nonbinary, which wasn’t possible in the original Tomodachi Life. They are also free to decorate their island using props from the in-game decoration store and pathways given through fountain wishes, so if a player wants to make a date spot or a forest, they can customize it to their liking.
I really enjoy the silliness and the freedom the game gives me. It has no filters so I can draw whatever I want added and put any custom phrase that I want added to the lingo. The game gives its players a lot of leeway with their islands, but it still has a lot to be desired. For one, you cannot draw custom hair. It’s possible to make bangs using the facepaint feature, but the aesthetic appearance only works when looking at the Mii’s frontview. There is also not an option to create custom accessories like bracelets or socks, which limited the customization of my Miis and the lack of hijabs was a common criticism I saw online. The gameplay also gets repetitive after a few days of hardcore grinding, so I recommend you create meme Miis and encourage odd crossovers such as Slenderman and Spongebob.
Overall, Tomodachi Life: Living The Dream is a great game that offers more liberty in creation and inclusivity than its predecessor, but it’s best for gamers who like playing casually or sitting back to see what happens. Speedrunning this game is tedious and is not recommended in order to enjoy what features it offers, so if you like laid-back gameplay and want to see your favorite characters talk to each other, this game might be a fit for you.
