With The Sims dead in the water for the time being (except for an endless stream of Sims 4 DLC), the sharks are seemingly beginning to circle. The venerable series' hold over the life-sim genre for which it's named is beginning to loosen — Nintendo has brought the obscure Tomodachi Life series back from the dead, for instance, with more competitors emerging from the woodwork all the time.
It's indie project Paralives that looks the most interesting to me, though. This game has been cooking for years with a relatively tiny team at its helm, putting a much more in-depth focus on character emotion and relationships than The Sims ever did. Any life sim where I can cry in the bathroom gets points for realism!
It might be more Sims than The Sims, at least for fans of the social simulation aspect of those games. Fans of the $30 asset packs may have to look elsewhere.
