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Welcome to another purchase reflection, where I walk you through my personal thought process when deciding whether to buy a game or not. Today’s subject is Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream on Nintendo Switch and Switch 2.
Again, I’m just like you, a Nintendo Switch gamer that doesn’t have the privilege of playing games early, meaning I need to rely on the same factors as you when deciding whether a game is worth my time and money or not.
That means my buying decisions are based on pricing, physical edition availability, marketing, available demos, and my experience with the franchise or genre.
And based on all of this, I already concluded that yes, I will purchase Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream once it hits the Switch on April 16th.
Now, let’s go over why I think the demo is worth your time and why the full game should be on your radar.
What Can You Do in the Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream Demo?
The demo is completely free and available right now on the Nintendo eShop for both Switch and Switch 2. You get to create up to three Mii characters and settle them onto your island.
And, if you decide to continue your journey on the full game, the data will carry over. Complete the demo, and you’ll even receive the Hamster Costume for your Miis to wear.
The demo takes roughly one hour to beat, which is unfortunate because I was craving so much more! Which I found surprising.
Is Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream for You?
I’ll be honest, I never played the original Tomodachi Life on 3DS. A life sim where you watch Miis go about their day didn’t sound too appealing to me back then. And that’s true for almost the entire life-sim genre, at least until Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
It taught me that living a double life doing mundane chores is actually quite relaxing. Since then I’ve also played and enjoyed games like Ooblets and even Stardew Valley.
As a grown adult, I’ve opened myself to this genre entirely, and that’s why I’ve been keeping a close eye on Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream.
Today the demo dropped on the eShop and I immediately downloaded it. And it successfully did what it had to do. It convinced me to buy the game.
So What Do You Actually Do?
Create Your Miis
You’re presented with a rather deserted island first, and your job as the Overseer is to bring life to it by adding Miis and making them interact with each other.
You can add existing ones from your system or create new ones from scratch.
I decided to create the Miis of my girlfriend (Mags) and me (Mike), and later on, when I unlocked the possibility to create a third one, I had to bring my daughter into the game as well.
There’s a ton of customization when creating the Miis, but the one that surprised me the most was the Relationship Options. Right from the get-go I could choose my girlfriend’s Mii as my partner in the game and choose our child.
Although I’m not sure if this feature is entirely functional on the demo, since every Mii I created started as a stranger and lived in a separate house. I mean, my daughter is only 3, why isn’t she living with her parents!?
Build Interactions in Tomodachi Life
So, since my happy family didn’t exist from the get-go, I had to put in some work.
These Miis will always have something on their mind, they want food, they want clothes, they want to play coin toss with you, and they want friends.
You can pick up your Miis and place them next to each other to interact so they can grow their relationship. And that’s precisely what I did.
Soon enough, after a good conversation about Beyblades, Mike and Mags became good friends. And unfortunately the demo ended after that.
You can keep playing afterward, but you will not be able to raise their happiness or their friendship, which was a letdown!
Make Your Miis Happy in Tomodachi Life
As your Miis get happier with gifts and pleasant conversations, you collect wishes for the Wishing Fountain at the center of the island. Fill it up, and you level up your island, unlocking new buildings and features. It’s a simple loop, but it’s genuinely rewarding.
You won’t be able to unlock much in the demo, but the maracas I gave Mike really brought out his quirky personality. I really wanted the guitar, though. Guess I’ll just wait for the full game!
Tomodachi Life’s Humor Is Ridiculous
Tomodachi Life is the type of game that will have you grinning, laughing, and thinking “WTF” every few minutes. Everything is so unpredictable, and you never know what weird thing will be thrown at your screen.
But this is just the demo, and in just one hour they can manipulate things to show only fresh interactions. So, the gameplay elements always felt fresh, and I’m unsure if after 10, 20, or 30 hours, the unpredictable will still be in play.
Despite this, I genuinely had a good time with Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream Demo, and I’m eager to try the full game.
And while I’m more than sold on the gameplay, there’s just one more thing that helped my decision.
Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream Is Not a Game Key Card
I was surprised to find out this game will not even have a Switch 2 edition. I do have some concerns over this, because I don’t know how the game will behave once the island is full of Miis.
But apart from this, having a standard Switch 1 release means that the game will be all on the cartridge, which is always a win for game preservation and my wallet since it will be a tad cheaper.
Should You Buy Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream?
If you’re into life-sim games, the best I can say is, try the demo for yourself.
I know that everything in the game was for me, but I can understand not all people will enjoy or relate to its humor and quirkiness.
However, I know I will be actively building my island on Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream and sharing my journey online.
Thanks for reading, and if everything goes well, I’ll be seeing you again next time with brand-new content!
