Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream Review

Tomodachi Life on the Nintendo 3DS is fondly remembered as one of the handheld’s cult classic games. 13 years later, the long-awaited follow-up Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream is now available on the Nintendo Switch, bringing the bizarre life sim/cozy God Game to modern audiences. But while there is certainly fun to be had in Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream, it’s unlikely to keep most players entertained for the long run.

Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream gives players an island paradise that they must populate with Miis of their own creation. Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream‘s Mii creation tools are robust and make it possible to create all kinds of characters. Since the days of the Wii, it’s been relatively easy to make a Mii that has at least a somewhat passing resemblance to yourself, and making recreations of celebrities and fictional characters is also a breeze. You might need to follow tutorials in games with more complicated character creation tools, but Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream keeps things simple, and that is to its benefit.

Tomodachi Life is Basically a Mii Ant Farm

Miis have their own personalities that influence how they react to their surroundings. Certain Miis are more likely to get along with each other, while others may be more prone to disagreements. Miis have their own likes and dislikes, and players are encouraged to figure this out by experimenting.

Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream players can grab Miis by the head and force them into close proximity with their neighbors to trigger interactions. They can also gift their Miis objects and food to suss out what they prefer. Discovering a Mii’s likes makes it easier to level them up, which in turn gives players the juice they need to power the island’s wishing fountain. Leveling up the wishing fountain unlocks even more items and decorations to play with in the game.

Unlike many other Nintendo games, Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream does not have a profanity filter. That, combined with the game’s hilarious text-to-voice functionality, makes it clear that Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream wants players to create whatever kind of zany island they desire, with zero restrictions. The result is plenty of laugh-til-you-cry interactions between Miis, and seeing the absurdity play out is Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream‘s biggest draw.

The problem is that’s really all there is to Living the Dream, and once the jokes get old, it’s hard to stay engaged. Players are encouraged to push Miis toward romantic relationships and watch their chaotic lives unfold, but it is something that gets repetitive a little too quickly. Beyond simply watching the Miis live their lives, the main progression is largely about unlocking the island’s various buildings, but that doesn’t take terribly long and is not the exciting carrot on a stick that you might think.

Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream has a variety of buildings that give players more options for their Miis, like a clothing store to purchase new outfits and a news station that recaps the island’s wild events. What’s here is good, but the unlocks weren’t appealing enough to keep me hooked for hours on end like other cozy games. I oftentimes felt like I had my fill of Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream for a day after short 15-20 minute sessions of logging on and quickly checking in on my Miis. Compare that to something like Nintendo’s own Pokopia, where there is constantly something worthwhile to do, and it’s hard not to be disappointed with Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream.

You Have to Make Your Own Fun in Tomodachi Life

Living the Dream is the kind of game where players have to make their own fun. This approach isn’t going to be appealing to everybody, especially those that enjoy the structure present in other cozy games, but creatively-minded folks will likely get a lot more out of Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream. The game offers the tools for players to create an absolutely ridiculous paradise for their Miis, and they’re all easy to use. Players can freely edit their island, design their own objects, and make Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream truly their own.

Creating and decorating in Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream is a delight thanks to the game’s cutesy art style. The Miis are simplistic but fit the game’s vibes perfectly, and the island is vibrant and colorful. The relaxing music and funny sound effects only add to the charm, with an all-around presentation that is perfect for what the developers were going for.

Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream‘s gameplay isn’t meaty enough, and it’s disappointing that there are some features missing that were present in the 3DS version, like the Concert Hall. But the game is undeniably bursting with charm and is a decent distraction for a little while. Playing it in short bursts is the ideal experience, and while I don’t feel the same kind of pull to never stop playing like I do with more well-rounded cozy games, I still plan on checking in on my Miis from time to time. $60 is too steep of an asking price for what’s on offer, though.