I have a feeling that the best thing about Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream will be hearing the stories other players tell about the bizarre and wonderful little adventures their Miis get up to. Reviews make it sound like in the right hands, the uniquely chill life sim can have all the drama and unexpected surprises of a soap opera on acid. But it might not be making the kinds of big leaps some players would have hoped for after a decade-long wait.
The Switch 1 sequel arrives roughly 12 years after the social sim became a cult favorite on the 3DS. Out April 16, early reviews suggest it’s a respectable continuation of the franchise’s legacy that doesn’t necessarily evolve it any major ways. Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream currently sits at at 77 on Metacritic, up from the prior game’s aggregated rating of 71. One of the big drawbacks appears to be the lack of effortless online connectivity.
“I was also forced to get good at making Miis, because sharing them with others is extremely limited,” reports IGN‘s Logan Plant. “It’s restricted to local wireless, meaning you can only send a character you’ve made to someone in the same room. This is an enormous downgrade: In the 3DS version, you could save any Mii to a QR code and post it online, and other people around the world could scan it to instantly add that Mii to their own game.”
On the flipside, Giant Bomb‘s Dan Ryckert was impressed with the deep level of customization and the fun vignettes that can arise for those willing to put in the time. “Life on Kayfabe Island is simple but never boring. My father has failed at his quest to court Monica Bellucci, who has opted to move in with Sarah Connor and Dracula,” he writes in his review. “My sister recently married Stone Cold Steve Austin and they’re playfully splashing each other on the beach. Heihachi and the thunder god Raiden live happily together in the Kombat Kasa. James Brown just finished construction on his new house, a pyramid made of cocaine. Geoff Keighley’s new pet – a sentient piece of pizza – has been biting people, which greatly concerns Morpheus.”
Here’s the rest of what the early reviews are saying:
If you’re not good at designing complex characters or just get bored of it after a while, Living the Dream can feel frustrating and isolating, especially when you see an amazing design online that there’s just no way to easily bring into your game. Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream hands you the keys to a unique, quirky paradise that rewards your creativity and directly reflects your personality – I just wish I could enjoy it with my friends. – Logan Plant
Even as a Tomodachi Life veteran, I at times found myself wishing for more variety in mini-games and generally more things for my Miis to interact with. On one hand, that may feel greedy considering how Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream‘s Miis have never felt more alive or entertaining as they do here. I could spend hours filling up my island dictionary with strange topics and watch Miis chat and wander for hours. However, it’s the little aspects that stop it from being a truly perfect sequel and instead [make it] just a great follow-up. – Emma-Jane Betts
The real meat of the experience is setting up situations and watching how things unfold. You can make characters become friends or romantic partners by literally picking them up and putting them next to each other. The game will even frequently ask you for topics that they might want to talk about, Mad Libs style. It’s an acquired taste, but for the right kind of person it can also be hilarious. – Andrew Webster
This is a game that is built on its oddball moments, and not having an official way to share those is massively shortsighted. I understand that, since Nintendo doesn’t censor your custom field inputs, the company might be worried about inappropriate or explicit screenshots and videos making the rounds (which they will no matter what is done to try and prevent it), but there has to be a better solution when this feels like a game designed to be shared on modern social media platforms. – Brian Shea
It may fall short if you’re looking for a deep city builder or life sim, but as a piece of absurdist Dada comedy I absolutely love Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream. Every day I look forward to booting it up, making a Mii or two, seeing what unlikely friendships are forming, and watching ludicrous vignettes play out. I’ll boot up Stardew Valley or Pokopia if I’m looking for something mechanically deeper, but I know I can count on a good laugh whenever I check in on Kayfabe Island. – Dan Ryckert
I can’t help but feel like, even in short bursts, Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream does feel a little less imaginative than its predecessor. That, despite the creativity and lighthearted silliness it does possess, a bit of what [made] its predecessor great has been sacrificed to give the players tools to make their own fun. It’s not an effort in vain, I can assure you, but I just hope that some post-game patches help flesh this out a little more. – Jordan Biordi