Tomodachi Life Living The Dream Review

Tomodachi Life Living The Dream Review
Version Reviewed: Nintendo Switch 

I have a confession to make. I had no idea what Tomodachi Life Living The Dream was when it first appeared in a Nintendo Direct. It looked like an odd, soap opera-style life sim featuring your friends and family, and it seemed a little too wacky for my tastes. So much so, I almost skipped right over it. But curiosity got the best of me, and I’ve been glued to my screen, watching everything unfold with more drama than an average episode of Home and Away. What’s it like? Create your Miis, grab some popcorn, and prepare for some surprising twists and turns as we spill the tea on Tomodachi Life Living The Dream for Nintendo Switch.

Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream doesn’t have a larger set narrative, because the entire concept is shaping the story yourself. You act as an overseer of Miis on a tropical island, and while you can influence events, your Miis will largely exist with or without you. It’s your job to tend to their needs, whether that’s giving them food, offering advice on relationships, or gently encouraging friendships on the island. The core gameplay loop revolves around granting wishes through the fountain at the centre of your island, which uses your Miis’ happiness as currency. Helping a Mii with a problem, or even just giving them food, rewards you with happiness to top up the fountain. This levels up your island and gives you a wish to grant. These can be things like a yoga DVD to give your Miis when they level up, or personality traits that help shape their character. This character development is what makes Tomodachi Life so entertaining. It often leads to completely bonkers dialogue and events. While reviewing, I was constantly sending screenshots to my mates of their Miis in ridiculous situations. One of my friends is a musical performer, so I gave him a guitar as a reward, and he kept interrupting interactions by playing music to other Miis. I have another fairly nonchalant friend, so his catchphrase became “not that I care.”

If developing your characters wasn’t enough, you can also develop the island itself with new structures and social spaces that create even crazier scenarios for your Miis to take part in. I added a restaurant, which quickly became a social hub for many of them, except for one of my Miis, who was perfectly happy just using the soda dispenser. You can also style your Miis’ homes and fashion choices, and they will let you know if it suits their perceived style or not. They won’t change outfits unless you do it for them, so even if they don’t like what they’re wearing, they will stick with it. You can also decorate their homes, giving each one a unique look and feel, and even when Miis move in together, their individual furnishings remain to keep their personalities intact. Miis will develop friendships, relationships, marriages, and even divorces, often in a very dramatic fashion. My Mii and the Mii I made of my wife still had to get to know each other and fall in love on the island before tying the knot, and even getting that relationship to blossom led to plenty of laugh-out-loud ridiculous moments.

The more I played and levelled up my island, the more it became an exaggerated caricature of my friends and family, with hilarious results. These moments happened so frequently that I was laughing out loud and had to stop spamming the group chat with updates. The game is completely ridiculous, and that level of absurdity is what makes it so entertaining. That’s why it’s such a shame that the average player can’t easily share screenshots or clips. Tomodachi Life has fairly strict sharing restrictions in place. I get why they did it, as I’ve seen some wild scenes of politicians and celebrities on social media, but since those sharing restrictions can be easily circumvented, I think Todomachi Life could have had a much larger social media impact without these restrictions in place.

Despite playing for weeks now, there are still things I haven’t seen or experienced, and that’s perfectly okay. Tomodachi Life can be played entirely at your own pace. I found gradually introducing Miis to be a much more manageable way to experience the game, dipping in for short 20 to 30 minute bursts throughout the day. In theory, you could create all 32 Miis right away (up to 70 total) and have the largest island with most of its features opened up in one long session, but much like Animal Crossing, Tomodachi Life became part of my daily routine. I’d check in on my characters, observe the weirdness unfolding around them, and make a few small improvements before moving on with my day. This is where mileage will differ for a lot of players. The repetition can set in fairly quickly during longer sessions, whereas a more measured approach keeps things entertaining for much longer. I set small goals for myself, like getting my Mii to marry my wife in-game, and chipped away at that before moving on to my next project, which was overhauling the island.

The world of Tomodachi Life is painted with Nintendo’s signature bright and colourful brush. My island currently feels like a tropical paradise, further brought to life by the overly expressive animations of the Mii characters that reside there and the themed buildings that add even more charm to the island. The UI is clean and easy to navigate, making interactions with your Miis simple, and there’s even a handy chart in the top left corner that illustrates connections between Miis in the area. The exaggerated humour really sells the absurdity of these interactions, and as I’ve mentioned before, there were so many laugh-out-loud moments because of it. It’s a genuinely funny and amusing game. While it may not have the same visual impact as something like The Sims, Tomodachi Life carves out its own identity by somehow turning the Miis, a relic of the Wii era, into expressive and wildly animated characters full of personality.

For my Miis looking into accessibility options, there are no specific settings to speak of, so as always, I recommend doing further research to find out whether Tomodachi Life suits your needs. Thankfully, there is a demo available, so you can try before you buy.

At just under $80 AUD, Tomodachi Life provides plenty of value if you’re looking for a game to enjoy in short sessions while gradually building up a bustling paradise. There’s plenty to do, from building relationships and developing your island to unlocking items and granting wishes. It’s a game full of laughs, and I think that’s something I really needed right now. It’s a reminder that sometimes life can be silly, fun, and a little random. Tomodachi Life is a zany, wacky, and hilarious life sim that won’t be for everyone, but for players who enjoy a bit of randomised chaos, Tomodachi Life on Nintendo Switch delivers plenty of absolutely bonkers joy.

So, What’s it Like? Tomodachi Life is like The Sims and Animal Crossing, but set in Rick and Morty’s interdimensional cable episode.

In the interest of full disclosure, a review copy was provided by Nintendo Australia, but this doesn’t influence my score.

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