by theygamesWhen is the Paralives release date? This upcoming life sim has been likened to The Sims, and it’s easy to see why. With cute outfits, tons of items, an extensive character creator, build mode, and extra features we wish were in The Sims, there’s a lot to look forward to.
Paralives is an ambitious project, but we already know a fair bit about what’s heading to this simulation game. What first started as a Patreon project by lone developer Alex Massé in 2019 has developed into a life sim game set to rival the genre. Though the studio relies on community pledges to keep the game in development, the official website is great at keeping the community updated with progress and what to expect next.
Paralives release date estimate
Paralives will enter early access in 2025, as confirmed by the developer in a live stream in February 2024. While there wasn’t a narrow release window confirmed, Paralives has been in development for more than five years, so we’re holding out hope for a springtime release.
Though Paralives doesn’t have an official release date, we do know that it will be released in Steam Early Access. The game has been in development for five years but has made a lot of progress in that time. The latest update from the developer as of December 2024 states that it is working on the live mode core systems, such as relationships and interactions, as well as the game’s soundtrack.
More specifically, we’ve recently seen the introduction of more baby animations, disability-related items, and even underwear.
If you want to see the roadmap for features, check out the extensive Paralives roadmap.
Paralives gameplay and modes
Character creator
A detailed look at how the character creator – or called in-game, Paramaker – works was shown off two years ago, with more outfits added since then. In the Paramaker, you can customize your Parafolk’s clothing, body, and identity, which includes everything from mole placement to tattoos. You can choose skin color, hair, makeup, and facial hair, using sliders to adjust the proportions of your body.
The current development stage of the Paramaker is that almost all features are available, but clothing items, hairstyles, babies, and pets are all expected to be added.
Build mode
Of course, with any life sim game, we want to plan, design, and create our character’s house from scratch, and it looks like Paralives is set to deliver. The devs have already shown us 11 minutes of house building, but they also continue to release tweets and clips of furniture, from cosy loft buildings to stunning gardens.
It looks like you can purchase lots and jump into the build mode to start building walls and rooms, selecting floors, and raising the different levels of the house.
Live mode
This is where our Parafolk will interact with objects and each other, living out their daily lives exactly how we design it. The developer has said the basic system is working, such as interactions with objects, but they are continuing to work on animation systems and then skills, needs, relationships, schools, and more.
We have seen a few basic interactions between Parafolk, with the option to hug, shake hands, kiss, or chat with them in the Paralives language, Parli. The devs also showed a clip of a Parafolk playing the piano and practicing the guitar, with different skill levels, and how Parafolk can engage with their home and themselves by using the phone, talking to themselves, dancing, sitting, exercising, running, walking, and even daydreaming.
Autonomy system
Yes, our Parafolk can think for themselves! The developer has even confirmed “your characters will be able to decide to perform some interactions on their own.” So, they can go about their business (literally), by using the toilet, eating, or going to work. We’ve even seen instances of Parafolk doing repairs and cleaning their homes in a short animation clip.
Still, if your character can’t fulfill some needs, they will perish – but as long as they have access to all they need, they can be fully autonomous, though the option to turn this off is available if you prefer to monitor your Parafolk’s needs closely.
Paralives modding
Much like The Sims mods, we couldn’t imagine Paralives without some modding function, and fortunately, modding has been confirmed. The latest on modding tools is that the core systems are working, and Paralives will have in-game modding. It will be available upon release so that you can create and share your creations with the community.
That’s all we have on Paralives and its release date. If you can’t wait, check out all the best games like The Sims, and other of the best life games on PC.