Publication date December 7, 2021
5 Sneaky Games that copied SIMS like its life depended on it
After its release in 2000, The SIMS took the gaming industry by storm with its revolutionary new features and experiences like creating avatars, building a customized house, and making bizarre life choices (or game choices) left and right with zero consequences. It was liberating in so many ways – you could create a cute boy of your whims and fancies and flirt with him, create all six iconic characters of F.R.I.E.N.D.S and be their seventh friend, or even clone your loved ones and create a tiny version of your life in the computer.
While SIMS will always remain the OG on the gaming hall of fame, over the years, multiple other games have tried their shot at real-life simulation… some that didn’t make the mark and some of which that are worth giving a try. We have made a list of the latter for you to explore – these five games are believed to have retained the core of the classic with a perfectly modern touch. So, let’s get snarky and judge The SIMS wannabes.
Tomodachi Life
Recommended articles
Nintendo’s bizarre and outlandish creation, Tomodachi Life, is a crazy rendition of The SIMS fan franchise, but it’s strangely engrossing as well. It’s not known if the player gets weirder as they play, or the game gradually turns normal… but it’s got a hook, and we’re hooked to Tomodachi Life. The name translates to “friend life” in a literal sense and is filled with simulation scenarios that are more like illusions than real-life situations. For example: What are the odds of you going on a walk by the beach with Christina Aguilera? Apparently, it’s possible in this game.
You can edit the avatars and bring them on board on your island, but you got to take care of the ones you bring. The best part is that you can edit the avatars to look like whichever pop-culture character you want. Fancy GOT characters as your neighbors? You got it, bruh!
Two Point Hospital
How would you like to run your own medical facility? Don’t fret, you don’t have to slog in a medical college, nor do you have to deal with real blood. A game based on the hospital, illnesses, and treatments can be a sensitive subject, and rightfully so. But this game has managed it very skillfully by coming up with sickness anomalies. Some walk in with a condition called Cubism, which is where the patients appear like oil paintings (with surreal textures like cubes), and then there is Light-headedness, which is when the patients’ heads turn into light bulbs… see what they did there? You got to build your hospital from scratch and earn credibility by treating these hilarious conditions. This game may not be about an all-rounded life of a person, rather just a part of it which is healthcare – but it’s quite entertaining with its playful nature.
Animal Crossing – New Leaf
Fed up with two-legged friends? Enough of human interaction for one life? Enter on cue: Animal Crossing – New Leaf. You move to a scenic new village populated mostly by cute little animals who gradually become best friends with you. They knock on your door bearing gifts, write sweet letters to you, and even share some secrets that they’d otherwise guard with their life. Meanwhile, you basically have the time of your life fishing, interacting with some friendly village folks, and living in an adorable little cottage in the middle of nowhere.
Just like The SIMS, this game goes on and on with new interactions and a pretty good life simulation formula. It’s also rising in popularity, and I’m sure this is not the first time you’re hearing about this.
My Time at Portia
This game is like a typical feel-good flick on Netflix, but a really really long one at that. You take over your father’s workshop with a plummeting business, you fix it and bring it back to its former glory. There’s a whole new town waiting for you to settle in and help you with materials, some to form a rivalry with, and some to fall in head over heels for. It’s like a second life. Has anyone watched the sitcom Schitt’s Creek? This is the game version of that beautiful show. The townspeople have a full-fledged voice acting and unique personalities of their own.
My Time at Portia is a lot more elaborate, interacting, and consequentially more complicated than SIMS, but so is the satisfaction when you operate your father’s workshop better than it ever was.
Stardew Valley
This game is a dream of a farmer come true, virtually of course… real farmers have it a lot harder, trust me. As a new player, you are handed over a new piece of land for which you are fully responsible. So basically – cleaning, making the soil habitable and fertile, planting seeds, harvesting, and everything you do on a farm – ‘you reap what you sow’ should be its tagline. But that is not it, you get to interact with the townspeople, get yourself a pet, fall in love, get heartbroken, make friends, and a lot more. It’s set against a scenic backdrop of what appears to be countryside, but really pixelated for some reason… you know when you forget your glasses and step out to see shapes but not faces? Something like that. Nevertheless, it’s good, I promise.
So, that’s a wrap on the top 5 games that are a lot like SIMS. Let’s know if you got any other recommendations for all of us simmers out here.
Disclaimer: Some of these could be too engrossing, and we refuse to take the fall for you if you get addicted. Don’t report us!
Recommended articles
Follow on Facebook 
Follow on Instagram 