If it wasn’t enough for Nintendo to re-release Animal Crossing this year, they’ve got another life-sim for us.

But instead of the cute, fun-loving animals that have their own distinct personalities, in Tomodachi Life, everything is centered around Miis that you build and create.

From their very look – eyes, nose, freckles, to their demeanour, the personalities they’re drawn to, their fashion sense and even favourite foods. You can even change the pitch of their voice, often to great humour and effect.

Tomodachi Life Living the Dream is a followup to the beloved 3DS game where you build an island, gradually welcome more and more Miis onto it, and even see them get married, have children and live a life.

It’s a simple premise, as all the Miis look up to you as some sort of God and with that comes some humorous moments like needing to poke them in the ribs when they get the hiccups or rummaging in their brains to find hidden secrets. It blurs into the fourth wall often and does so in hilarious ways.

Even with the wild ways the Miis interact with one another like chasing each other around rooms, playing hide and seek and how they eventually confess their love for one another. Or even deal with a grudge.

You’ll get silly little sub-sections of them chasing each other on the beach or sometimes see them dream about winning races. The game has a really engaging sense of humour that makes it feel a bit seperate to the usual Nintendo fare while still maintaining the charm you come to expect.

It’s a simple, easy-going, fun game that is simple to play, is playable with friends over local, and there’s a fair amount of customisation and cosmetics to unlock. As you earn the favour of your Mii characters, you’ll earn a form of currency which can be spent in the town wishing well and this can unlock new items for your Miis like guitars and yoga videos and footballs.

As each Mii levels, you can then give them one of these treats or even adjust their typical traits, like a distinct pose or saying. I love this level of flexibility and creativity the game offers and it can really carve out an identity for your island folk.

But at the same time I love that this game isn’t trying to be the most extreme example on the market of a life sim. It does have drawbacks and limitations but it pokes fun at them with satire and silliness, with characters doing news bulletins whenver there’s something new to reveal on the island or they’ll do something completely out of the box and unnecessary that’ll tickle the funny bone.

It’s mad and chaotic, but also surprisingly relaxing and easy-going, so much that you just find yourself breezing along with it. Though the game is prone to some repetition and you’ll find certain scenarios replay a lot more frequently that you might hope or expect.

But I still found myself signing in to check back – just as I did in Animal Crossing and so many others. I want to see what these personalities get up to, what they want to talk to me about, what I can do next to grow on my island, and see how romances might turn out. Or don’t.

It’s a game many thought may never see more iterations and especially in a year where Nintendo are clearly showing deep support for Animal Crossing, but Tomodachi Life does manage to offer something a bit different, more anchored in the real world, while also feeling very much like a surreal sitcom or one of those off-the-wall reality shows.

While the lack of online sharing is a bit disappointing – especially since it can be found in other games – there’s a wealth of things to see and do here, and you’ll find yourself completely under the spell of these little minions. Even if they aren’t half as cute as  Tom Nook and co.

It’s a game which will give you as much fun as you put into it. It’s shocking in some of the things you can achieve and can be a little frustrating in some of the things it can’t. But what it ultimately is is a game that just breaks the fourth wall, jabs at pop culture every chance it gets and makes you laugh in a way few other Nintendo games can.

It’s not perfect and that is exactly part of its charm.

Verdict

Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream is one of the most bizarre, unusual games from the Nintendo library but also one of the funniest, soulful and entertaining. With a treasure trove of things to see and do, laugh out loud moments, jabs at pop culture, and a sandbox where love can thrive and other unusual moments can happen. The game’s repetition can sometimes be its undoing and a lack of online featuring does limit it compared to others in the genre, but few others feel quite as distinct and memorable as this one. I’m so glad Nintendo took a chance to make a sequel – it’s chaotic brilliance and I adore it.

Pros

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Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream is out now on Nintendo Switch

Reviewed on Nintendo Switch 2

Code Kindly Provided by Nintendo for review purposes