{"id":1954126,"date":"2026-05-25T09:04:41","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T06:04:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1954126"},"modified":"2026-05-25T09:04:41","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T06:04:41","slug":"paralives-feels-like-the-perfect-tranquil-tonic-to-the-chaos-of-the-sims","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1954126","title":{"rendered":"Paralives feels like the perfect tranquil tonic to the chaos of The Sims"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"article \" data-ads=\"true\" data-article-type=\"features\" data-article-group=\"feature\" data-paywalled=\"false\" data-premium=\"false\" data-sponsored=\"false\" data-type=\"article\">\n<header class=\"article_header\" data-component=\"article-header\">\n<div class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n<nav class=\"nav_breadcrumbs\" data-component=\"nav-breadcrumbs\" aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\">\n<ul class=\"nav-links\">\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Home<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/features\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Features<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/paralives\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Paralives<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/nav><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_details\" id=\"main-content\">\n<h1 class=\"title\">Paralives feels like the perfect tranquil tonic to the chaos of The Sims<\/h1>\n<p class=\"strapline\">Little computer people.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_asset\">\n<figure class=\"headline_image_wrapper\">\n<p>        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"headline_image\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/paralives-relax-header.jpg?width=690&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;dpr=3&amp;auto=webp\" alt loading=\"eager\" data-uri=\"paralives-relax-header.jpg\" data-lightbox width=\"690\" height=\"388\"><figcaption>\n          <span class=\"attribution\">Image credit: <cite>Eurogamer\/Paralives Studio<\/cite><\/span><br \/>\n        <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"metadata\">\n<div class=\"avatar\">\n<p>    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Matt Wales avatar\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/1521645425.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"180\" height=\"179\"><\/p>\n<p>  <img alt=\"Matt Wales avatar\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"1521645425.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"180\" height=\"179\">\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text\">\n<div class=\"byline\">\n                  <span class=\"article_type\" data-slug=\"features\"><br \/>\n                    Feature<br \/>\n                  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"by\">by<\/span> <span class=\"author\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/authors\/matt-wales\">Matt Wales<\/a><\/span>                    <span class=\"job_title\"><br \/>\n                      News Reporter<br \/>\n                    <\/span>\n            <\/div>\n<div class=\"published_at\">\nPublished on <time datetime=\"2026-05-25T09:04:41+00:00\">May 25, 2026<\/time>              <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"mypop-header-wrapper\">\n<p><button class=\"mypop-button button wide\" data-state=\"follow\" data-type=\"tag\" data-uuid=\"9d76b4d0-5684-46a6-9a1a-19d2ebcd1afb\" data-name=\"Paralives\" data-follow-text=\"Follow Paralives\" data-unfollow-text=\"Following Paralives\" data-aria-follow-text=\"Follow Paralives\" data-aria-unfollow-text=\"Following Paralives\" data-popup=\"true\" data-force-login=\"true\" aria-label=\"Follow Paralives\" title=\"Follow Paralives\"><br \/>\n  Follow Paralives<br \/>\n<\/button>          <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>Paralives gets off to a lovely start. We fade up to see the camera tracking a moving train as it winds serenely across a bucolic landscape. Slowly it moves in for an aerial view and the roof pops off, revealing the guard inside. And this is your movement tutorial; you&#8217;ll guide the little fella into the next carriage, where a cluster of passengers leisurely watch the world go by. One handsome man slumps blissfully against his girlfriend; a group of friends laugh together across the aisle. Another man gazes dreamily into space, nodding along to something on his headphones, while a dad nearby keeps a watchful eye on his son. This household selection screen &#8211; which tells you so much about each group&#8217;s dynamic just by looking at them &#8211; feels emblematic of a Sims-like full of warm little touches and distinctive ideas.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"aside right\">\n<h2>Paralives (early access)<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Developer:<\/strong> Alex Mass\u00e9 and team<\/li>\n<li><strong>Publisher:<\/strong> Paralives Studio<\/li>\n<li><strong>Platform:<\/strong> Played on PC<\/li>\n<li><strong>Availability:<\/strong> Out 25th May on <a href=\"https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/app\/1118520\/Paralives\/\">Steam<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Paralives, of course, is highly anticipated and then some. It first popped onto my radar years ago, when someone shared an animated gif of some extremely impressive building tools. And since then, equally dazzled life sim fans have contributed over $2.5m toward its development. All of which brings us to the present, and Paralives&#8217; long-awaited early access release. And while it arrives in a state that feels <em>very<\/em> early access &#8211; just last night I watched my character successfully level up 2,911 times during a single work shift &#8211; it&#8217;s an enormously encouraging start all the same.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div class=\"video_wrapper youtube\">\n<a aria-label=\"Paralives - Official Early Access Gameplay Trailer\" class=\"video-facade full-size\" data-platform=\"youtube\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/6btLZMca_Bk?autoplay=1\" title=\"Click to play video from YouTube\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Cover image for YouTube video\" class=\"video-facade__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/6btLZMca_Bk\/hqdefault.jpg\"><span class=\"video-facade__title\">Paralives &#8211; Official Early Access Gameplay Trailer<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/a>\n<\/div><figcaption>Paralives early access gameplay trailer.<a class=\"video\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=6btLZMca_Bk\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Watch on YouTube<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>I might be getting ahead of myself, though. At its core, Paralives is unmistakably riffing on The Sims. You start by creating a household &#8211; unsuspecting slaves to your omniscient storytelling whims &#8211; either selecting from one of those pre-made offering, or diving right into its robust character creator. It&#8217;s not <em>quite<\/em> as intuitive as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/the-sims-4\">The Sims 4<\/a>&#8216;s Create-a-Sim, but it&#8217;s close &#8211; you manipulate a <em>representation<\/em> of your character&#8217;s body parts rather than their body parts directly (I assume there&#8217;s some EA patent at work here). And it&#8217;s capable of producing a wide variety of Parafolk as you tweak height, shape, musculature, facial features, hair, and so on &#8211; before styling them up with accessories, layered clothing, to create different outfits for different occasions.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>From there, it&#8217;s time to choose a house, again either starting from scratch or purchasing one of the many pre-built homes on Paralives&#8217; map. I should say I&#8217;ve only dabbled a bit with Paralives&#8217; building tools so far but I&#8217;m already impressed; its gridless system is enormously flexible, and it includes other welcome tricks like curved walls. Furthermore, many objects features bespoke, and often surprising, customisation options. Grain can be adjusted independently of colour on wood floors, for instance, and you can even tweak the mount thickness in picture frames. Furniture, meanwhile, can often be resized on an individual axis while all the trimmings adjust to fit, turning a single bed into a double one or a seat into a sofa.<\/p>\n<div class=\"gallery\">\n<div class=\"image_wrapper\">\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/paralives_1.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1.7777777777777777\" width=\"3840\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"bounds_lossy\" data-uri=\"paralives_1.jpg\" height=\"2160\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1.7777777777777777\" width=\"3840\"><br \/>\n<span class=\"loading spinner large\"><\/span><\/p>\n<nav class=\"pagination--hoverable\">\n<div class=\"previous\">\n<button class=\"button pagination-button\"><br \/>\n<span aria-label=\"Previous\" class=\"icon\" role=\"img\" style=\")\"><\/span><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"next\">\n<button class=\"button pagination-button\"><br \/>\n<span aria-label=\"Next\" class=\"icon\" role=\"img\" style=\")\"><\/span><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<\/nav>\n<div class=\"details_overlay\">\n<div class=\"counter\">\n<span class=\"current\">1<\/span> <span class=\"of\">of<\/span> <span class=\"max\">12<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"details\">\n<div class=\"button-wrapper\">\n<button aria-label=\"Toggle information\" class=\"toggle button outline\"><\/button><br \/>\n<button aria-label=\"Close fullscreen gallery\" class=\"close button\"><\/button>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"thumbnails-wrapper overflow-shadow-x\">\n<div class=\"thumbnails\">\n<button class=\"thumbnail active\" data-attribution=\"Paralives Studio\" data-uri=\"paralives_1.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/paralives_1.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"paralives_1.jpg\" height=\"2160\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Paralives Studio\" data-uri=\"paralives_2.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/paralives_2.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"paralives_2.jpg\" height=\"2160\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Paralives Studio\" data-uri=\"paralives_3.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/paralives_3.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"paralives_3.jpg\" height=\"2160\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Paralives Studio\" data-uri=\"paralives_4.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/paralives_4.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"paralives_4.jpg\" height=\"2160\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Paralives Studio\" data-uri=\"paralives_5.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/paralives_5.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"paralives_5.jpg\" height=\"2160\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Paralives Studio\" data-uri=\"paralives_6.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/paralives_6.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"paralives_6.jpg\" height=\"2160\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Paralives Studio\" data-uri=\"paralives_7.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/paralives_7.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"paralives_7.jpg\" height=\"2160\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Paralives Studio\" data-uri=\"paralives_8.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/paralives_8.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"paralives_8.jpg\" height=\"2160\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Paralives Studio\" data-uri=\"paralives_9.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/paralives_9.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"paralives_9.jpg\" height=\"2160\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Paralives Studio\" data-uri=\"paralives_10.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/paralives_10.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"paralives_10.jpg\" height=\"2160\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Paralives Studio\" data-uri=\"paralives_11.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/paralives_11.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"paralives_11.jpg\" height=\"2160\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Paralives Studio\" data-uri=\"paralives_12.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/paralives_12.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"paralives_12.jpg\" height=\"2160\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fullscreen_info\">\n<div class=\"caption\">\n<span class=\"label\"><br \/>\nCaption          <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"text\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"attribution\">\n<span class=\"label\"><br \/>\nAttribution          <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"text\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"inline-gallery-caption\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"advert_container\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>And once your semi-autonomous creations finally have a place to call home, Paralives quickly shifts toward the kind of social storytelling sandbox that Sims fans have been exerting their ruthless fancies in for over a quarter of a century. You&#8217;ll shape your digital charges&#8217; relationships, make money through rabbit-hole jobs, mold their personalities by expanding their skills, and, of course, look after their everyday needs. But it&#8217;s the way developer Paralives Studio builds on these familiar foundations that makes the game, even in early access, feel worthy of further investigation. And that (as unhelpfully vague as this is) starts with a <em>vibe<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"2\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Even in its quieter moments, The Sims feels like it&#8217;s perpetually teetering on the brink of chaos; its systems, its exaggerated speed, and even its cartoonishly expressive animations, maximising the sense of soap-opera-style dramatics. It&#8217;s breakneck, it&#8217;s slapstick, and I wouldn&#8217;t have it any other way. But Paralives takes a different tack; opting for a sort of cosy-game-adjacent level of lower-stress, lower-stakes tranquility. It&#8217;s an ambience reflected in its aesthetic, as Paralives Studio adopts a muted, sketchbook-watercolour artstyle that&#8217;s just inherently chilled; it&#8217;s in the laidback soundtrack, and in the design of the relatively expansive open(ish)-world map too.<\/p>\n<p>Melino, as this sole early access map is known, is a picturesque, pleasingly vertiginous thing. At its heart lies the old town, where characterful buildings cluster around cramped cobblestone alleyways, all leading to a central plaza of string lights and market stalls. Quaint cafes, boutique shops, tumbledown ruins, even a palatial museum, crowd the surrounding border. Further afield, hills sweep down toward a sandy beach with postcard-perfect ocean views and, in the other direction, up into rugged hills. Trainlines crisscross over tarmac, cutting through more urban quarters. And further out still lies forest, farmland, and more. The world is big enough, and the pace slow enough, that getting around on foot requires a decent chunk of time. And while there&#8217;s talk of bikes to come, bus stops currently provide a nicely themed bit of fast-travel.<\/p>\n<div class=\"gallery\">\n<div class=\"image_wrapper\">\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/paralives_13.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1.7777777777777777\" width=\"3840\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"bounds_lossy\" data-uri=\"paralives_13.jpg\" height=\"2160\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1.7777777777777777\" width=\"3840\"><br \/>\n<span class=\"loading spinner large\"><\/span><\/p>\n<nav class=\"pagination--hoverable\">\n<div class=\"previous\">\n<button class=\"button pagination-button\"><br \/>\n<span aria-label=\"Previous\" class=\"icon\" role=\"img\" style=\")\"><\/span><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"next\">\n<button class=\"button pagination-button\"><br \/>\n<span aria-label=\"Next\" 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width=\"3840\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"paralives_15.jpg\" height=\"2160\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Paralives Studio\" data-uri=\"paralives_16.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/paralives_16.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"paralives_16.jpg\" height=\"2160\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Paralives Studio\" data-uri=\"paralives_17.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"2160\" 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data-uri=\"paralives_35.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/paralives_35.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"paralives_35.jpg\" height=\"2160\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Paralives Studio\" data-uri=\"paralives_34.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/paralives_34.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"paralives_34.jpg\" height=\"2160\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Paralives Studio\" data-uri=\"paralives_33.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/paralives_33.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"paralives_33.jpg\" height=\"2160\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Paralives Studio\" data-uri=\"paralives_32.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/paralives_32.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"paralives_32.jpg\" height=\"2160\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Paralives Studio\" data-uri=\"paralives_31.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/paralives_31.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"paralives_31.jpg\" height=\"2160\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Paralives Studio\" data-uri=\"paralives_30.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/paralives_30.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"paralives_30.jpg\" height=\"2160\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fullscreen_info\">\n<div class=\"caption\">\n<span class=\"label\"><br \/>\nCaption          <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"text\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"attribution\">\n<span class=\"label\"><br \/>\nAttribution          <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"text\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"inline-gallery-caption\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"advert_container\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>It&#8217;s a lovely bit of design, full of lived-in character. And even the interiors have personalities of their own. Over in the museum, you&#8217;ll find an enormous gift shop, tables piled teeteringly high with local mementoes you can browse and buy. You might while away the hours in a fancy restaurant with a huge basement bar or, downtown, watch the world go by in cosy coffee shops with comfy couches in the window. Elsewhere, you&#8217;ll find boutique stores selling vintage clothes, a sleek gym, and more. And the pre-build homes all feel unique too. My Paraguy lives in a cramped split-level apartment overlooking the plaza; its rustic balcony offering distant beach views (currently, only one lot interior and household residence interior load in at the same time, so it&#8217;s not an entirely seamless world &#8211; but they at least populate in situ, rather than whisking you away to a loading screen). All this makes for an Instagram-ready rendition of life that feels about as far removed from the chaos of the Sims as you can get.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"3\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Which isn&#8217;t to say it&#8217;s devoid of momentum. Locals take to the streets and go about their daily routines, and their character designs &#8211; while perhaps leaning a little too consistently toward model-perfect beautiful &#8211; are distinctive enough that you&#8217;ll soon recognise passing faces, lending the world a cosy neighbourhood vibe. And there&#8217;s a rotating calendar of events that make spaces feel functional. The plaza holds treasure hunts and market days, and if you hang around long enough at the weekend, up goes an open-air movie screen. Parafolk assemble high in the mountains for evening yoga retreats, or participate in regularly scheduled activities on the hiking trails. And there are optional daily neighbourhood requests pinned to noticeboards too.<\/p>\n<p>Paralives&#8217; languid pace also carries across to its familiar life sim beats. That&#8217;s perhaps most notable in its more measured relationship system. Unlike The Sims, you can&#8217;t just, say, speedrun a bed-and-wedding by furious spamming the flirt option. Instead, relationship development is built around conversation opportunities that only arise intermittently during character interactions. And only a few possible dialogue options &#8211; sometimes requiring the equivalent of a skillcheck &#8211; are presented at a time. These are determined by a complex interplay of character perks, boons, and bonuses stemming from things like skills, mood, needs, recent experiences, and personality (the latter shaped early on by assigning points across physique, mind, creativity, and charisma, as well as by picking a social perk, talent, and &#8220;vibe&#8221;). Some personality types even have their own unique needs bars, so energetic Parafolk, say, can exploit their surplus energy. And these elements only grow more complex as you start levelling up different aspects of a Parafolk&#8217;s life, unlocking yet more perks and modifiers along the way.<\/p>\n<div class=\"gallery\">\n<div class=\"image_wrapper\">\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/paralives_19.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1.7777777777777777\" width=\"3840\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"bounds_lossy\" data-uri=\"paralives_19.jpg\" height=\"2160\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1.7777777777777777\" width=\"3840\"><br \/>\n<span class=\"loading spinner large\"><\/span><\/p>\n<nav class=\"pagination--hoverable\">\n<div class=\"previous\">\n<button class=\"button pagination-button\"><br \/>\n<span aria-label=\"Previous\" class=\"icon\" role=\"img\" style=\")\"><\/span><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"next\">\n<button class=\"button pagination-button\"><br \/>\n<span aria-label=\"Next\" class=\"icon\" role=\"img\" style=\")\"><\/span><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<\/nav>\n<div class=\"details_overlay\">\n<div class=\"counter\">\n<span class=\"current\">1<\/span> <span class=\"of\">of<\/span> <span class=\"max\">11<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"details\">\n<div class=\"button-wrapper\">\n<button aria-label=\"Toggle information\" class=\"toggle button outline\"><\/button><br \/>\n<button aria-label=\"Close fullscreen gallery\" class=\"close button\"><\/button>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"thumbnails-wrapper overflow-shadow-x\">\n<div class=\"thumbnails\">\n<button class=\"thumbnail active\" data-attribution=\"Paralives Studio\" data-uri=\"paralives_19.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/paralives_19.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"paralives_19.jpg\" height=\"2160\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Paralives Studio\" data-uri=\"paralives_29.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/paralives_29.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"paralives_29.jpg\" height=\"2160\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Paralives Studio\" data-uri=\"paralives_28.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/paralives_28.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"paralives_28.jpg\" height=\"2160\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Paralives Studio\" data-uri=\"paralives_27.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/paralives_27.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"paralives_27.jpg\" height=\"2160\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Paralives Studio\" data-uri=\"paralives_26.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/paralives_26.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"paralives_26.jpg\" height=\"2160\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Paralives Studio\" data-uri=\"paralives_25.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/paralives_25.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"paralives_25.jpg\" height=\"2160\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Paralives Studio\" data-uri=\"paralives_24.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/paralives_24.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"paralives_24.jpg\" height=\"2160\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Paralives Studio\" data-uri=\"paralives_23.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/paralives_23.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"paralives_23.jpg\" height=\"2160\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Paralives Studio\" data-uri=\"paralives_22.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/paralives_22.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"paralives_22.jpg\" height=\"2160\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Paralives Studio\" data-uri=\"paralives_21.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/paralives_21.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"paralives_21.jpg\" height=\"2160\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Paralives Studio\" data-uri=\"paralives_20.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/paralives_20.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"paralives_20.jpg\" height=\"2160\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fullscreen_info\">\n<div class=\"caption\">\n<span class=\"label\"><br \/>\nCaption          <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"text\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"attribution\">\n<span class=\"label\"><br \/>\nAttribution          <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"text\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"inline-gallery-caption\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"advert_container\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>It feels like there&#8217;s a lot going on under the hood in Paralives, which then manifests somewhat messily in the UI. And it&#8217;s enough that I&#8217;ve sometimes found it a little hard to wrap my head around, and to keep track of it all. But even so, choices feel like they have more weight and impact when so many small decisions can influence whether your characters evolve into the people you want them to be. Will this slower, more deliberate pace be to everyone&#8217;s taste? Probably not, but it makes for a game with texture, where situations and decisions can percolate, and that, in turns, is more involving.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"4\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>I should, however, probably reiterate my earlier warning: Paralives &#8211; by its developer&#8217;s own admission &#8211; still has a long road ahead as it enters early access. And you should absolutely expect bugs and glitches. The camera is often wonky; pop-up windows routinely get stuck over the action; Parafolk can easily become caught in an infinite loop and cease to function. There&#8217;s animation weirdness too: Parafolk often don&#8217;t look at each during conversations, usually preferring to either stand so close their face is embedded in their acquaintance&#8217;s bosom or so far apart it barely constitutes a social interaction. And on one memorable occasion, I watched my character set fire to his apartment while making a jam sandwich, then slowly burn to death while the fire brigade furiously spammed endless &#8216;We&#8217;re on our ways&#8217; across the screen.<\/p>\n<p>But rough edges are to be expected, and Paralives remains an incredibly promising start: a characterful (certainly more so than <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/after-25-years-of-the-sims-could-inzoi-be-about-to-steal-its-crown\">Krafton&#8217;s bland, AI-riddled early access effort, InZoi<\/a>) take on the Sims-like formula with fresh ideas, and a mood and pace all of its own. It&#8217;s a different beast to The Sims then &#8211; a counterpoint to the chaos I still very much adore &#8211; so perhaps best to think of it less as a replacement and more as a complementary addition to the genre&#8217;s pantheon. Admittedly, I&#8217;ve not really played enough Paralives to get a clear sense of how much there actually is to <em>do<\/em> right now, and how long the early access novelty might last. But there&#8217;s a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.paralives.com\/development\">robust development roadmap<\/a> in place already, and I&#8217;m excited to see where we go from here.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"poll_wrapper\" data-fixed=\"true\" data-hashid data-init=\"false\" data-poll-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>Paralives gets off to a lovely start. We fade up to see the camera tracking a moving train as it winds serenely across a bucolic landscape. Slowly it moves in for an aerial view and the roof pops off, revealing the guard inside. And this is your movement tutorial; you&#8217;ll guide the little fella into the next carriage, where a cluster of passengers leisurely watch the world go by. One handsome man slumps blissfully against his girlfriend; a group of friends laugh together across the aisle. Another man gazes dreamily into space, nodding along to something on his headphones, while a dad nearby keeps a watchful eye on his son. This household selection screen &#8211; which tells you so much about each group&#8217;s dynamic just by looking at them &#8211; feels emblematic of a Sims-like full of warm little touches and distinctive ideas.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"aside right\">\n<h2>Paralives (early access)<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Developer:<\/strong> Alex Mass\u00e9 and team<\/li>\n<li><strong>Publisher:<\/strong> Paralives Studio<\/li>\n<li><strong>Platform:<\/strong> Played on PC<\/li>\n<li><strong>Availability:<\/strong> Out 25th May on <a href=\"https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/app\/1118520\/Paralives\/\">Steam<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Paralives, of course, is highly anticipated and then some. It first popped onto my radar years ago, when someone shared an animated gif of some extremely impressive building tools. And since then, equally dazzled life sim fans have contributed over $2.5m toward its development. All of which brings us to the present, and Paralives&#8217; long-awaited early access release. And while it arrives in a state that feels <em>very<\/em> early access &#8211; just last night I watched my character successfully level up 2,911 times during a single work shift &#8211; it&#8217;s an enormously encouraging start all the same.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div class=\"video_wrapper youtube\">\n<a aria-label=\"Paralives - Official Early Access Gameplay Trailer\" class=\"video-facade full-size\" data-platform=\"youtube\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/6btLZMca_Bk?autoplay=1\" title=\"Click to play video from YouTube\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Cover image for YouTube video\" class=\"video-facade__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/6btLZMca_Bk\/hqdefault.jpg\"><span class=\"video-facade__title\">Paralives &#8211; Official Early Access Gameplay Trailer<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/a>\n<\/div><figcaption>Paralives early access gameplay trailer.<a class=\"video\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=6btLZMca_Bk\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Watch on YouTube<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>I might be getting ahead of myself, though. At its core, Paralives is unmistakably riffing on The Sims. You start by creating a household &#8211; unsuspecting slaves to your omniscient storytelling whims &#8211; either selecting from one of those pre-made offering, or diving right into its robust character creator. It&#8217;s not <em>quite<\/em> as intuitive as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/the-sims-4\">The Sims 4<\/a>&#8216;s Create-a-Sim, but it&#8217;s close &#8211; you manipulate a <em>representation<\/em> of your character&#8217;s body parts rather than their body parts directly (I assume there&#8217;s some EA patent at work here). And it&#8217;s capable of producing a wide variety of Parafolk as you tweak height, shape, musculature, facial features, hair, and so on &#8211; before styling them up with accessories, layered clothing, to create different outfits for different occasions.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>From there, it&#8217;s time to choose a house, again either starting from scratch or purchasing one of the many pre-built homes on Paralives&#8217; map. I should say I&#8217;ve only dabbled a bit with Paralives&#8217; building tools so far but I&#8217;m already impressed; its gridless system is enormously flexible, and it includes other welcome tricks like curved walls. Furthermore, many objects features bespoke, and often surprising, customisation options. Grain can be adjusted independently of colour on wood floors, for instance, and you can even tweak the mount thickness in picture frames. Furniture, meanwhile, can often be resized on an individual axis while all the trimmings adjust to fit, turning a single bed into a double one or a seat into a sofa.<\/p>\n<div class=\"gallery\">\n<div class=\"image_wrapper\">\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/paralives_1.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1.7777777777777777\" width=\"3840\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"bounds_lossy\" data-uri=\"paralives_1.jpg\" height=\"2160\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1.7777777777777777\" width=\"3840\"><br \/>\n<span class=\"loading spinner large\"><\/span><\/p>\n<nav class=\"pagination--hoverable\">\n<div class=\"previous\">\n<button class=\"button pagination-button\"><br \/>\n<span aria-label=\"Previous\" class=\"icon\" role=\"img\" style=\")\"><\/span><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"next\">\n<button class=\"button pagination-button\"><br \/>\n<span aria-label=\"Next\" class=\"icon\" role=\"img\" style=\")\"><\/span><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<\/nav>\n<div class=\"details_overlay\">\n<div class=\"counter\">\n<span class=\"current\">1<\/span> <span class=\"of\">of<\/span> <span class=\"max\">12<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"details\">\n<div class=\"button-wrapper\">\n<button aria-label=\"Toggle information\" class=\"toggle button outline\"><\/button><br \/>\n<button aria-label=\"Close fullscreen gallery\" class=\"close button\"><\/button>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"thumbnails-wrapper overflow-shadow-x\">\n<div class=\"thumbnails\">\n<button class=\"thumbnail active\" data-attribution=\"Paralives Studio\" data-uri=\"paralives_1.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/paralives_1.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"paralives_1.jpg\" height=\"2160\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Paralives Studio\" data-uri=\"paralives_2.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/paralives_2.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"paralives_2.jpg\" height=\"2160\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Paralives Studio\" data-uri=\"paralives_3.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/paralives_3.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"paralives_3.jpg\" height=\"2160\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Paralives Studio\" data-uri=\"paralives_4.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/paralives_4.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"paralives_4.jpg\" height=\"2160\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Paralives Studio\" data-uri=\"paralives_5.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/paralives_5.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"paralives_5.jpg\" height=\"2160\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Paralives Studio\" data-uri=\"paralives_6.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/paralives_6.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"paralives_6.jpg\" height=\"2160\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Paralives Studio\" data-uri=\"paralives_7.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/paralives_7.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"paralives_7.jpg\" height=\"2160\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Paralives Studio\" data-uri=\"paralives_8.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/paralives_8.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"paralives_8.jpg\" height=\"2160\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Paralives Studio\" data-uri=\"paralives_9.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/paralives_9.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"paralives_9.jpg\" height=\"2160\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Paralives Studio\" data-uri=\"paralives_10.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/paralives_10.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"paralives_10.jpg\" height=\"2160\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Paralives Studio\" data-uri=\"paralives_11.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/paralives_11.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"paralives_11.jpg\" height=\"2160\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Paralives Studio\" data-uri=\"paralives_12.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/paralives_12.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"paralives_12.jpg\" height=\"2160\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fullscreen_info\">\n<div class=\"caption\">\n<span class=\"label\"><br \/>\nCaption          <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"text\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"attribution\">\n<span class=\"label\"><br \/>\nAttribution          <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"text\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"inline-gallery-caption\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"advert_container\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>And once your semi-autonomous creations finally have a place to call home, Paralives quickly shifts toward the kind of social storytelling sandbox that Sims fans have been exerting their ruthless fancies in for over a quarter of a century. You&#8217;ll shape your digital charges&#8217; relationships, make money through rabbit-hole jobs, mold their personalities by expanding their skills, and, of course, look after their everyday needs. But it&#8217;s the way developer Paralives Studio builds on these familiar foundations that makes the game, even in early access, feel worthy of further investigation. And that (as unhelpfully vague as this is) starts with a <em>vibe<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"2\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Even in its quieter moments, The Sims feels like it&#8217;s perpetually teetering on the brink of chaos; its systems, its exaggerated speed, and even its cartoonishly expressive animations, maximising the sense of soap-opera-style dramatics. It&#8217;s breakneck, it&#8217;s slapstick, and I wouldn&#8217;t have it any other way. But Paralives takes a different tack; opting for a sort of cosy-game-adjacent level of lower-stress, lower-stakes tranquility. It&#8217;s an ambience reflected in its aesthetic, as Paralives Studio adopts a muted, sketchbook-watercolour artstyle that&#8217;s just inherently chilled; it&#8217;s in the laidback soundtrack, and in the design of the relatively expansive open(ish)-world map too.<\/p>\n<p>Melino, as this sole early access map is known, is a picturesque, pleasingly vertiginous thing. At its heart lies the old town, where characterful buildings cluster around cramped cobblestone alleyways, all leading to a central plaza of string lights and market stalls. Quaint cafes, boutique shops, tumbledown ruins, even a palatial museum, crowd the surrounding border. Further afield, hills sweep down toward a sandy beach with postcard-perfect ocean views and, in the other direction, up into rugged hills. Trainlines crisscross over tarmac, cutting through more urban quarters. And further out still lies forest, farmland, and more. The world is big enough, and the pace slow enough, that getting around on foot requires a decent chunk of time. And while there&#8217;s talk of bikes to come, bus stops currently provide a nicely themed bit of fast-travel.<\/p>\n<div class=\"gallery\">\n<div class=\"image_wrapper\">\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/paralives_13.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1.7777777777777777\" width=\"3840\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"bounds_lossy\" data-uri=\"paralives_13.jpg\" height=\"2160\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1.7777777777777777\" width=\"3840\"><br \/>\n<span class=\"loading spinner large\"><\/span><\/p>\n<nav class=\"pagination--hoverable\">\n<div class=\"previous\">\n<button class=\"button pagination-button\"><br \/>\n<span aria-label=\"Previous\" class=\"icon\" role=\"img\" style=\")\"><\/span><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"next\">\n<button class=\"button pagination-button\"><br \/>\n<span aria-label=\"Next\" class=\"icon\" role=\"img\" style=\")\"><\/span><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<\/nav>\n<div class=\"details_overlay\">\n<div class=\"counter\">\n<span class=\"current\">1<\/span> <span class=\"of\">of<\/span> <span class=\"max\">12<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"details\">\n<div class=\"button-wrapper\">\n<button aria-label=\"Toggle information\" class=\"toggle button outline\"><\/button><br \/>\n<button aria-label=\"Close fullscreen gallery\" class=\"close button\"><\/button>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"thumbnails-wrapper overflow-shadow-x\">\n<div class=\"thumbnails\">\n<button class=\"thumbnail active\" data-attribution=\"Paralives Studio\" data-uri=\"paralives_13.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/paralives_13.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"paralives_13.jpg\" height=\"2160\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Paralives Studio\" data-uri=\"paralives_14.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/paralives_14.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"paralives_14.jpg\" height=\"2160\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Paralives Studio\" data-uri=\"paralives_15.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/paralives_15.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"paralives_15.jpg\" height=\"2160\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Paralives Studio\" data-uri=\"paralives_16.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/paralives_16.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"paralives_16.jpg\" height=\"2160\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Paralives Studio\" data-uri=\"paralives_17.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"2160\" 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data-uri=\"paralives_35.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/paralives_35.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"paralives_35.jpg\" height=\"2160\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Paralives Studio\" data-uri=\"paralives_34.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/paralives_34.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"paralives_34.jpg\" height=\"2160\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Paralives Studio\" data-uri=\"paralives_33.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/paralives_33.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"paralives_33.jpg\" height=\"2160\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Paralives Studio\" data-uri=\"paralives_32.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/paralives_32.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"paralives_32.jpg\" height=\"2160\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Paralives Studio\" data-uri=\"paralives_31.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/paralives_31.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"paralives_31.jpg\" height=\"2160\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Paralives Studio\" data-uri=\"paralives_30.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/paralives_30.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"paralives_30.jpg\" height=\"2160\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fullscreen_info\">\n<div class=\"caption\">\n<span class=\"label\"><br \/>\nCaption          <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"text\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"attribution\">\n<span class=\"label\"><br \/>\nAttribution          <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"text\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"inline-gallery-caption\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"advert_container\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>It&#8217;s a lovely bit of design, full of lived-in character. And even the interiors have personalities of their own. Over in the museum, you&#8217;ll find an enormous gift shop, tables piled teeteringly high with local mementoes you can browse and buy. You might while away the hours in a fancy restaurant with a huge basement bar or, downtown, watch the world go by in cosy coffee shops with comfy couches in the window. Elsewhere, you&#8217;ll find boutique stores selling vintage clothes, a sleek gym, and more. And the pre-build homes all feel unique too. My Paraguy lives in a cramped split-level apartment overlooking the plaza; its rustic balcony offering distant beach views (currently, only one lot interior and household residence interior load in at the same time, so it&#8217;s not an entirely seamless world &#8211; but they at least populate in situ, rather than whisking you away to a loading screen). All this makes for an Instagram-ready rendition of life that feels about as far removed from the chaos of the Sims as you can get.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"3\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Which isn&#8217;t to say it&#8217;s devoid of momentum. Locals take to the streets and go about their daily routines, and their character designs &#8211; while perhaps leaning a little too consistently toward model-perfect beautiful &#8211; are distinctive enough that you&#8217;ll soon recognise passing faces, lending the world a cosy neighbourhood vibe. And there&#8217;s a rotating calendar of events that make spaces feel functional. The plaza holds treasure hunts and market days, and if you hang around long enough at the weekend, up goes an open-air movie screen. Parafolk assemble high in the mountains for evening yoga retreats, or participate in regularly scheduled activities on the hiking trails. And there are optional daily neighbourhood requests pinned to noticeboards too.<\/p>\n<p>Paralives&#8217; languid pace also carries across to its familiar life sim beats. That&#8217;s perhaps most notable in its more measured relationship system. Unlike The Sims, you can&#8217;t just, say, speedrun a bed-and-wedding by furious spamming the flirt option. Instead, relationship development is built around conversation opportunities that only arise intermittently during character interactions. And only a few possible dialogue options &#8211; sometimes requiring the equivalent of a skillcheck &#8211; are presented at a time. These are determined by a complex interplay of character perks, boons, and bonuses stemming from things like skills, mood, needs, recent experiences, and personality (the latter shaped early on by assigning points across physique, mind, creativity, and charisma, as well as by picking a social perk, talent, and &#8220;vibe&#8221;). Some personality types even have their own unique needs bars, so energetic Parafolk, say, can exploit their surplus energy. And these elements only grow more complex as you start levelling up different aspects of a Parafolk&#8217;s life, unlocking yet more perks and modifiers along the way.<\/p>\n<div class=\"gallery\">\n<div class=\"image_wrapper\">\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/paralives_19.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1.7777777777777777\" width=\"3840\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"bounds_lossy\" data-uri=\"paralives_19.jpg\" height=\"2160\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1.7777777777777777\" width=\"3840\"><br \/>\n<span class=\"loading spinner large\"><\/span><\/p>\n<nav class=\"pagination--hoverable\">\n<div class=\"previous\">\n<button class=\"button pagination-button\"><br \/>\n<span aria-label=\"Previous\" class=\"icon\" role=\"img\" style=\")\"><\/span><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"next\">\n<button class=\"button pagination-button\"><br \/>\n<span aria-label=\"Next\" class=\"icon\" role=\"img\" style=\")\"><\/span><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<\/nav>\n<div class=\"details_overlay\">\n<div class=\"counter\">\n<span class=\"current\">1<\/span> <span class=\"of\">of<\/span> <span class=\"max\">11<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"details\">\n<div class=\"button-wrapper\">\n<button aria-label=\"Toggle information\" class=\"toggle button outline\"><\/button><br \/>\n<button aria-label=\"Close fullscreen gallery\" class=\"close button\"><\/button>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"thumbnails-wrapper overflow-shadow-x\">\n<div class=\"thumbnails\">\n<button class=\"thumbnail active\" data-attribution=\"Paralives Studio\" data-uri=\"paralives_19.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/paralives_19.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" 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style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Paralives Studio\" data-uri=\"paralives_22.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/paralives_22.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"paralives_22.jpg\" height=\"2160\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Paralives Studio\" data-uri=\"paralives_21.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/paralives_21.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"paralives_21.jpg\" height=\"2160\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Paralives Studio\" data-uri=\"paralives_20.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/paralives_20.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"paralives_20.jpg\" height=\"2160\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"3840\"><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fullscreen_info\">\n<div class=\"caption\">\n<span class=\"label\"><br \/>\nCaption          <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"text\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"attribution\">\n<span class=\"label\"><br \/>\nAttribution          <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"text\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"inline-gallery-caption\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"advert_container\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>It feels like there&#8217;s a lot going on under the hood in Paralives, which then manifests somewhat messily in the UI. And it&#8217;s enough that I&#8217;ve sometimes found it a little hard to wrap my head around, and to keep track of it all. But even so, choices feel like they have more weight and impact when so many small decisions can influence whether your characters evolve into the people you want them to be. Will this slower, more deliberate pace be to everyone&#8217;s taste? Probably not, but it makes for a game with texture, where situations and decisions can percolate, and that, in turns, is more involving.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"4\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>I should, however, probably reiterate my earlier warning: Paralives &#8211; by its developer&#8217;s own admission &#8211; still has a long road ahead as it enters early access. And you should absolutely expect bugs and glitches. The camera is often wonky; pop-up windows routinely get stuck over the action; Parafolk can easily become caught in an infinite loop and cease to function. There&#8217;s animation weirdness too: Parafolk often don&#8217;t look at each during conversations, usually preferring to either stand so close their face is embedded in their acquaintance&#8217;s bosom or so far apart it barely constitutes a social interaction. And on one memorable occasion, I watched my character set fire to his apartment while making a jam sandwich, then slowly burn to death while the fire brigade furiously spammed endless &#8216;We&#8217;re on our ways&#8217; across the screen.<\/p>\n<p>But rough edges are to be expected, and Paralives remains an incredibly promising start: a characterful (certainly more so than <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/after-25-years-of-the-sims-could-inzoi-be-about-to-steal-its-crown\">Krafton&#8217;s bland, AI-riddled early access effort, InZoi<\/a>) take on the Sims-like formula with fresh ideas, and a mood and pace all of its own. It&#8217;s a different beast to The Sims then &#8211; a counterpoint to the chaos I still very much adore &#8211; so perhaps best to think of it less as a replacement and more as a complementary addition to the genre&#8217;s pantheon. Admittedly, I&#8217;ve not really played enough Paralives to get a clear sense of how much there actually is to <em>do<\/em> right now, and how long the early access novelty might last. But there&#8217;s a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.paralives.com\/development\">robust development roadmap<\/a> in place already, and I&#8217;m excited to see where we go from here.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"poll_wrapper\" data-fixed=\"true\" data-hashid data-init=\"false\" data-poll-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Home Features Paralives Paralives feels like the perfect tranquil tonic to the chaos of The Sims Little computer people. Image credit: Eurogamer\/Paralives Studio Feature by Matt Wales News Reporter Published on May 25, 2026 Follow Paralives Paralives gets off to a lovely start. We fade up to see the camera tracking a moving train as [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,253],"class_list":["post-1954126","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-eurogamer-net"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1954126","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1954126"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1954126\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1954126"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1954126"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1954126"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}