More than 6 years after its Nintendo 3DS release, Tomodachi Life is still going strong in terms of popularity. It is mostly due to players who haven’t made the jump to Nintendo Switch. But some of it is also because of the different Tomodachi Life personalities that you can create and enjoy through the game.
If you have never played Tomodachi Life before, you can easily compare it to the currently popular Animal Crossing: New Horizons. If you are big on simulation games, you can also think of The Sims series as a direct point of reference.
But even as Tomodachi Life contains certain elements of these immensely popular series, it is something different in its entirety – in a positive way.
Simulate Life in an Endearing Way
As a life simulation game, Tomodachi Life allows you to create a virtual representation of yourself. The visual tools help the character look like you, while the personality tools let you make them in line with your real-life traits. Dubbed as Mii, this main character can then live in its own home and interact with other Miis through regular life situations.
With tons of activities to do and various Tomodachi Life personalities to interact with, the game is all about escaping into another world. The more you play, the more word-building opportunities you can unlock.
With an expanded world, your Mii also gets introduced to aspects such as shopping, falling in love, forging friendships, and even creating families. This lets your Mii live a happy and fulfilled life all within your Nintendo 3DS.
Virtualize Yourself, Your Family, and Your Neighbors
Since its official debut in 2014, Tomodachi Life has become popular just as much due to its customization features as it does for its overall gameplay.
The game not only allows you to create your Mii scratch, but also lets you download additional Miis from others’ libraries. Apart from using gameplay features to tweak your Mii, you can also virtualize anyone in real life by taking their picture and letting the gameplay engine generate their Mii.
This means that in Tomodachi Life, you can essentially make your Mii look like anyone you want, including your favorite celebrities. This gives you the ability to create a town full of Tomodachi Life personalities that are a representation of your real life or a fantasy you always harbored.
Polarizing Gameplay Makes Tomodachi Life an Interesting Experience
Where Animal Crossing: New Horizons gives you more control over your character’s actions and The Sims series essentially gives you God-like abilities to play with your Sims, Tomodachi Life doesn’t give you a hands-on approach.
You can still witness your Mii talking to other Miis, you can resolve situations that could hinder their happiness, and you can even play mini-games to make it all happen. But you can’t decide how your Mii interacts with other Miis or the world around them.
This is why one of the biggest aspects that work against Tomodachi Life is how its gameplay can get tiresome for those who want complete control at every other step.
With that being said, if you like playing the silent observer role more than micromanaging everything through the gameplay, you might just love what Tomodachi Life has to offer.
