When I heard that a demo for the new iteration of Tomodachi Life, Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream had dropped, I’d never run for my Nintendo Switch so fast. After brushing off the layer of dust and waiting through the download, I’m happy to report that the demo proves a promising delivery to both long-time fans and those who are new to the series.
A brief history lesson:
To those who don’t know, Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream is a sort of sequel to the original Tomodachi Life, which released to the Nintendo 3DS in 2013. That game was built off of a Japanese exclusive, Tomodachi Collection for the DS.
Within this game, the player will manage an island full of Nintendo Mii characters, as they get into many wacky scenarios. For years, the game has been a fan-favorite of many, including myself. I still remember all of the joy I found in my original Tomodachi Life Island. For as long as the Nintendo Switch has been in the picture, Tomodachi Life fans have been begging for a second game.
Entering the demo – What I like:
There’s so much to love about this demo. You start by naming your island, and creating your first Mii. What blew me away the most was the sheer amount of customizations available. There’s even a face-paint option that allows you to go in depth on your customizations. I used mine to add extra details and markings to my Mii’s faces.
The world is truly your oyster with the Living the Dream Mii creator, while the original game was definitely lacking in customization. An important thing to note is that this game is most definitely a step in the right direction when it comes to inclusivity, even down to the ability to choose your Mii’s pronouns regardless of body type or outfit style.
Even more exciting, you can choose your Mii’s dating preferences. In the original games, nearly none of these options existed.
The new lighting and shading style used within the game, along with the bright and colorful visuals make for a really pleasing-to-the-eye experience.
Overall, I found all of the Mii characters I created to be completely adorable, and watching them interact and do things around the island, even while still within the demo, was super fun. I can only wonder how many hours I’ll be losing when the game drops in April.
Entering the Demo – What I didn’t love:
There were a few features to the demo that I didn’t quite love as much, though no game is perfect. I found that there were some constraints to the face-painting. There was no option for symmetry, but that could be avoided by duplicating the layer you were painting on and flipping it. There was also no option to paint overtop of certain aspects of the face, which was confusing.
I found it a little disappointing, admittedly, that the demo ended so early. Most importantly I found it disappointing that after you complete the demo, your Miis will refuse to leave their houses and seem trapped in a state of forever-limbo. I understand that this is a demo, but I felt a little bad for my Miis, who will be trapped in their homes until the game comes out.
There’s also a strict rule on all Nintendo Switch consoles that prevents the game from sharing screenshots, and even sharing Mii characters to other people, which used to be a huge staple of the Tomodachi Life space. The game is seemingly lacking in any sort of filters to stop profanity, but it comes at the cost of being prevented from sharing screenshots and clips with others, which feels very limiting.
Lastly, I try to keep my reviews under what I call a ‘college-friendly’ budget. Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream upon release will cost 59.99, which I do not consider college-friendly. This is actually a drop in price compared to Nintendo’s latest pricing of new games being around 70-80 dollars. Any thoughts of a student discount, Nintendo?
The Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream demo was extremely promising. It did exactly what a demo should do, made me really, really want to purchase and play the game immediately. Unfortunately for me and everyone else, Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream doesn’t release until April 16 and I’ll be counting down the days.
