The Sims 4 had better watch out! New life simulation games have been announced for several years and are finally coming out in 2025. After inZOI, Paralives had an early access release date of December 8, 2025, which was ultimately pushed back to May 25, 2026, after inconclusive feedback, the studio announced.
Developed by Alex Massé and his Quebec-based team, this open-world game will launch exclusively on PC and Mac, at an initial price of 39.99 euros before the price rises later. Note that there will be no paid add-ons, it’s a one-time purchase, unlike The Sims.
Paralives is a single-player game that lets you create your character using an editor, as well as animals (dogs, cats, horses), vehicles (cars, bikes, boats) and, of course, various constructions. Your character will evolve in a small open-world town, before a world-creation tool becomes available in the future, influenced by weather and seasons.
At launch, it won't be possible to join your characters in their jobs or at school, nor will there be any occults. On the other hand, you'll be able to change the size of your Parafolks (the character's name), dress them up with no gender limits, get tattoos, choose their physique realistically and customize certain items of clothing.
Players can also tweak the size of our furniture, head to the bakery for a coffee, drop by the hair salon, or head out for a bike ride with friends—and a host of other activities that should keep fans of this game genre entertained for a long time!
Our Review
Calling all longtime Sims fans wondering if their beloved game finally has a worthy challenger! We spent nearly six hours with Paralives so far, enough to share a first impression. And the verdict is largely positive, especially since this is only an early access release and improvements will keep coming over the months ahead!
Among the standout positives is the Paramaker, the tool for creating and tweaking characters on the fly. You can play with their height to extremes, sculpt bodies, textures, and colors, and even push for more inclusivity with prosthetics or gender options. On the down side, haircuts and clothing options still feel a bit sparse.
After a first hands-on, the construction mode proves to be a genuine mini-revolution. You can build houses and walls without a grid, letting you do diagonal or curved walls and end up with quirky, playful layouts. Our personal favorite feature is resizing objects as you wish—save money by enlarging a bed or a piece of furniture instead of replacing it!
Every aspect has been designed to make building more enjoyable and accessible. For now, many items are decorative rather than usable (for example, the washing machine), but that should evolve over time. A note: use a mouse for navigation, as some camera movements can be clunky with just a keyboard.
When it comes to needs, some will appear or disappear depending on the quirks you attach to your Parafolk—whether they’re nocturnal, energetic, and so on—and some meters gray out based on the situation. During a fire, our character got so stressed they simply wouldn’t sleep!
A notable current drawback is the conversation system. There are no multiple-choice options for conversations between characters, and you can’t pick topics directly. You must wait for a bar to max out to choose among three responses and push relationships forward, but this approach has drawbacks. Some actions take ages to appear, making interactions feel a bit more hollow and less polished than in The Sims, and the same few options tend to come up repeatedly.
Similarly, if you’re the kind of player who seeks guidance and support, you may find yourself bored or unsure what to do with your Parafolk’s life—they’re not fully autonomous yet. Info boards unlock side quests, and you can hunt for mushrooms, crystals, and other treasures to complete collections or donate to the museum, but life for your characters could use a bit more action.
Credit where it’s due: you can add mods directly via Steam, download them, and drop them into the game with remarkable ease—a stark contrast to The Sims where updates routinely break things. This helps offset gaps like missing careers. A major edge over The Sims: you won’t have to shell out endlessly for packs—a one-time purchase will keep you up to date with all future updates.
The art style isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s fairly realistic and quickly grows on you with its slightly comic-book vibe. Don’t be surprised if you encounter a few bugs at the start; they should diminish quickly thanks to community feedback. Remember, the team is smaller than the big studios, and that’s part of the appeal of early access: the game should only improve from here!
Dates and Opening Time
Starts May 25, 2026
Prices
€40
Official website
www.paralives.com
