The Sims is one of the most successful video games of all time. The franchise developed by Maxis over numerous instalments and expansions has established itself as the undisputed leader of the life simulation genre. Following the success of the Electronic Arts studio, many companies have tried to emulate its success, although none have reached the player numbers achieved by The Sims, especially in its fourth instalment. However, in recent years, the door has opened to competition.

The American company has ruled out the possibility of The Sims 5 ever existing, so it will continue to offer support for The Sims 4, while developing multiplayer experiences with the so-called Project Rene, which is currently being developed by the studio responsible for the brand. This decision has generated some discontent among the gaming community, who are looking for alternatives to enjoy a totally different dimension in a genre that seems to have stagnated. This is where other contenders ready to do battle come in.

One of the most interesting is Paralives, which, after several delays to better refine the game, is finally ready to launch in early access and allow players around the world to discover what it has to offer in its firm intention to compete with The Sims. In early 2026, the title will finally have its first features available to offer a simulation experience like never before. The game aims to get ahead of other projects such as inZOI, which also hope to take over from The Sims.

Detailed design and building freedom for players

Paralives' main selling point, and its direct strategy to attract users disenchanted with The Sims 4, lies in the unprecedented creative freedom it offers, especially in its construction mode. While The Sims forces players to work with grids and predefined sizes, limiting the placement of objects to a fixed space, Paralives breaks with this rigidity. The game has made its building system its star feature, allowing players to manually and precisely adjust almost any element.

This includes fundamental aspects such as wall height, which allows for much more varied architectural designs, and total freedom in the placement of objects. Gone are the days of having to rely on cheats to move a piece of furniture half a centimetre or rotate it freely; Paralives offers this functionality as standard, allowing for more realistic and organic decorating.

The game introduces advanced tools for creating unique homes. You will be able to design houses with curved walls, not just straight ones, opening up a much wider range of design possibilities than usual. The furniture is modular; objects such as sofas, beds, and wardrobes are not static elements, but can be changed in size, length, and shape by the player to fit perfectly into any corner. Complementing this, the title will include an advanced colour tool. Beyond predefined textures, a colour picker and an advanced texture tool will allow players to replicate almost any shade and pattern on clothing, floors and walls, encouraging extreme customisation.

This attention to architectural detail and customisation is directly designed to appeal to the community of builders and content creators who often felt limited by the restrictions of The Sims 4 engine. Paralives sells the promise that the only limit to design is the player's imagination.

Social dynamics and total immersion in the characters' daily lives

Beyond construction, Paralives focuses on making the small details of daily life more immersive and less dependent on rigid need bars. The life simulation feels more organic. Character creation (Parafolks) is deep, albeit with a distinctive cartoon art style, and unique personality parameters that go beyond basic traits have been confirmed. These will directly affect social and work interactions; for example, a Parafolk with 'crowd aversion' will react differently at a festival than one with 'extreme extroversion.'

The implementation of pets and animals is another strong point, as they will have their own realistic needs and behaviours. In addition, open-world exploration, a key feature, will reveal wild animals and the possibility of adopting exotic pets. Unlike The Sims 4 and its small play 'zones,' Paralives will offer an open-world map with no loading screens between the player's house and the city. This not only facilitates exploration and outings in the community, but also makes life feel more fluid and connected, allowing you to use bicycles or vehicles to move around the map without interruption.

In the job and relationship system, jobs will not be simple black holes where Parafolk disappear, but rather the game will integrate a more visible career progression system. As for relationships, the game promises more complex interactions than simply 'friend' or 'partner,' with family and friendship dynamics that evolve organically over time and through decisions. The possibility of establishing polyamorous relationships and broad LGBTIQ+ representation is a point that has been very well received by the community. All this with the intention of taking advantage of the gap left by Electronic Arts to let new competitors into the life simulation genre.