Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream is a charming and endlessly replayable new social simulation game from Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch family. It tasks players with creating and managing a vibrant island community of Miis — the cartoonish avatars that debuted on the Nintendo Wii back in 2006. They live out their autonomous lives while you play benevolent overseer, problem-solver and, if you want, matchmaker. The series originated in Japan (tomodachi being the Japanese word for ‘friend’) with Tomodachi Collection on the Nintendo DS in
2009, but gained popularity here in the U.S. with Tomodachi Life on the 3DS over a decade ago. That game became a cult hit for its hilarious simulations of everyday life, complete with Miis singing off-key, forming odd relationships and generating endless memes. So far, this sequel has been well received. It was released in mid-April, and by the end of the month, managed to sell more than 3.8 million copies, making it the bestselling game in the U.S. that month. Gameplay revolves around managing
a beautiful island where time advances in real-time. You start by naming your island and populating it with up to 70 Miis. These residents wander freely, interact with one another and the environment, form friendships, spark rivalries, confess love, marry and even have children. There’s no traditional “win” condition or heavy story. The Tomodachi Life experience is more like having an ant farm. Your goal is simply to keep your Miis happy and watch the chaos unfold (and to sometimes poke a resident and see
what happens). The intended way to play is to check in every once in a while for 30 minutes to an hour to see what shenanigans your Miis have been up to while you were away. It’s not really a game that needs to be binged for hours on end, which I always appreciate. Miis occasionally have problems they need you to help fix: hunger, boredom, relationship drama or silly accidents. Solving these involves quick minigames, gift-giving, advice or creative interventions. Success earns in-game currency
(Tomodollars) for new clothes, furniture, food and island upgrades. A standout feature is the Palette House, where you can draw custom clothing, food, interiors and more using the Switch’s touchscreen or controls. You can also tweak the island layout as it expands and tune a “lingo” database with custom phrases that Miis weave into conversations for personalized humor. News broadcasts recap island events, adding an interesting soap-opera layer. The broadcasts are also great because it means you get to see what happened while you weren’t
around. I love games that respect your time. The experience is relaxing yet addictive. You can eavesdrop on dreams (definitely a bit weird if you think about it too long), move Miis for forced interactions or grant wishes at a fountain for unlocks. It runs parallel to real-world time, encouraging regular check-ins without feeling like a chore. Character creation is where Living the Dream shines brightest. The revamped Mii Maker offers vastly expanded options: mix-and-match hairstyles with secondary colors, detailed facial features, new mouth/eyebrow/ear choices
(including “none” for wild looks), unnatural skin tones, and face paint for manual drawing. You assign gender, pronouns, romantic preferences, personality sliders (leading to 16 types), voice tones and quirky traits. Miis can be imported from the Switch system, created quickly using prompts, or based on existing residents. The result is deep, if cartoonish, personalization — you can re-create friends, family, celebrities, fictional characters or original weirdos. Living the Dream excels at emergent storytelling and humor. It’s a great “comfort game” that rewards creativity without
demanding constant attention. And since your Miis can be anything you want, you could re-create your favorite characters from TV shows, movies and more. There are also customizable family designator settings so that your Miis don’t fall in love with someone that they should not. Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream stays true to the series’ whimsical heart. It’s not a high-octane experience, and some repetition can creep in after dozens of hours, and the lack of robust online sharing tools (a notable downgrade) has frustrated
those wanting to exchange Miis or screenshots easily. That’s something that might be fixed in time, however. Its closest comparison might be The Sims series, but there are significant differences. The Sims is much more hands-on, requiring a lot of micromanaging of activities and needs. Living the Dream is far more relaxed. Also, and this is a big one for me, Living the Dream is, so far, a one-time purchase with no microtransactions, unlike The Sims and its near limitless appetite for paid downloadable content.
If you’re looking for a low-stress sim game set in an island paradise, this will be a great pick. After more than a decade as a reviewer, Jason Bennett has an unhealthy love for rogue-like survival games and terrible puns. Questions or suggestions? Reach out to him at JBsOnGames@gmail.com
Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream, Nintendo Switch, Miis, simulation game, news broadcasts, Mii Maker, Palette House, Tomodollars, sales figures