Paralives on Steam - User reviews, Price & Information
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Paralives is a life simulation game about building homes, lives and bonds. Through both hardship and success, where will your story take you?
Paralives is a life sim, simulation and character customization game
developed by Alex Massé and team
and published by Paralives Studio.
Released on May 25th 2026 is available on Windows and MacOS
in 8 languages: English, French, Italian, German, Polish, Portuguese - Brazil, Spanish - Latin America and Simplified Chinese.
It has received 6,430 reviews of which 5,719 were positive and 711 were negative resulting in a rating of 8.6 out of 10. 😎
The game is currently priced at 35.09€ on Steam with a 10% discount.
The Steam community has classified Paralives into these genres:
Media & Screenshots
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System requirements
These are the minimum specifications needed to play the game. For the best experience, we recommend that you verify them.
Windows
- OS: Windows 10
- Processor: Intel Core i5 or AMD Ryzen 5 @ 2.5 GHz
- Memory: 12 GB RAM
- Graphics: GTX 1060 or RX 6600 XT
- DirectX: Version 11
- Storage: 8 GB available space
- Additional Notes: If your framerate is low, lower the display resolution and other graphic settings
MacOS
- Requires an Apple processor
- OS: macOS Big Sur 11 (or newer)
- Processor: Apple M2
- Memory: 12 GB RAM
- Graphics: Apple M2
- Additional Notes: If your framerate is low, lower the display resolution and other graphic settings
User reviews & Ratings
Explore reviews from Steam users sharing their experiences and what they love about the game.
I wanted to give people a fair idea of what to expect while also acknowledging the elephant in the room of the situation around this game and this genre. First off, to temper expectations: yes, this is very much early access. Bugs exist, and certain features are still limited or incomplete. A basic idea for a bug I encountered quickly is I accidentally ordered the wrong Para to go upstairs to apply for a job, canceled midway up the stairs, and this led to the Para being stuck on the stairs and unable to navigate off of them. They eventually sunk below the staircase, meaning they were stuck in the wall, effectively. The devs seem aware of such problems though, so the menu includes an unstuck button. Features are a mix of innovative, improved, and lackluster vs. the obvious competition: the Sims. For example, a nice touch here is that things like sleeping habits, vegetarian status, and social preferences (loner or extrovert or romantic, etc) are treated as universal trais you can set for every Para. This is nice and acknowledges that some traits are small in impact and do not deserve full trait slots, while still acknowledging the interesting flavor and impact they have. Conversations unfold via basic speaking interactions for a moment, then you get to choose what kind of interaction is used to make the conversation unfold, frequently based on their personality traits. I'd call it a sidegrade that's interesting, but I could see it being limited if you happen to want specific results and aren't getting them. I could also see it being a problem if you have multiple paras tied up in multiple conversations, as this means more micromanagement on your behalf. There is a "quest" style of gameplay to this that is also a sidegrade, as you might get goals handed to you based on town events or the like. It gives you something to do, but also simultaneously might be the first feature ignored by people who want a pure sandbox. The game even has different storytellers like Rimworld, varying from relaxed, challenging and balanced in terms of the challenges and tasks the game throws at you. Those "quests" add to EXP, which you also get via the wishes system. The Wish system does feel VERY barebones, as they are infrequent and basic, so that goes into the solid critique category for me. I did not get meaningful wishes and instead got things like "eat a snack," "talk to someone" or the like. However, what you DO with those wishes did feel more meaningful. Where Sims gives you some basic things like being able to flirt better as possible aspiration rewards, this game felt more expansive, with things like choosing ways to reduce stress (listening to music, reading, dancing) that helped flesh out your individuality more. Your options may also be "locked" based on previous personality traits chosen, so an inactive Para will not get an option to choose working out as a means of reducing stress. A notable lackluster feature for me was that autonomous actions feels limited. My Paras were very slow to queue up new actions and always seemed to go for entertainment ones. Perhaps this is something that will be improved with time, but for the moment, consider autonomous actions to be bare bones. By far the biggest strength of the game is the customization, on all fronts. Whether it be customizing your Paras or your house, both are extremely well done. You can make all kinds of things. I honestly felt overwhelmed with the options when making Paras, but I think that's more unfamiliarity rather than a flaw of the system. The ONLY issue I ran into was not finding how to remove nasal creases on a preset, which I alleviated by simply picking another preset to work with. The option is almost certainly in there, but the customization options - while excellent - may initially feel overwhelming. The last nitpick is not a nitpick but more of a warning: I'm sure some of you bought a Sims game when it first released and with the loss of expansion packs, it felt limited. Yes, of course you will feel that here too. This IS early access, and it IS still barebones. The basic features and functions you've come to expect are all there with a couple more bugs, which given the early access status and this being their first game, I think deserves patience. And now for the elephant in the room: I am stuck between warning you that this is very much an Early Access game, while also reminding everyone what we're all thinking: the Sims 4 sucks, and EA needs competition. Based on the description I just gave, no, I might not recommend the game to someone in this current state because bugs are still common and you will feel that "disappointment" you felt when first buying Sims 3 after having Sims 2 with all expansions. It's not that the game is bad, it's just that it's in it's awkward growing phase. HOWEVER... I'm going to do something I rarely ever do, and that's asking people to think a bit deeper on this: if you read my review and came to the conclusion "it's too early, I won't play this right now," does it still sound interesting ENOUGH that you want to come back to it at a later date? If so, consider buying anyways. The reason I say this is again: screw EA. We need the competition. If I am to ask myself that critical question of "has Paralives done ENOUGH to showcase they might be able to become that competition?" then the answer is YES. This isn't an early-access release I look at with disappointment or feel "it doesn't accomplish as much as I expected." The negatives are what you'd expect from early-access, but the positives is that Paralives did NOT disappoint expectations and basically met the standards of a Sims game release. Given that, I think it's important to recognize the market as it stands now, and I'd hesitate to tell everyone to "wait until it's more developed" because if we do that, we may unintentionally starve out this up-and-coming competitor. For that reason, if you read my review and thought "ah okay, it sounds interesting, but I think I'll wait a while," please rethink that. You have already internally admitted you plan on checking it out, and due to market circumstances, this may be an exception where the "pre-order" is finally justified. The developers need the support, they need to see the interest is there, and this game absolutely showcased it deserves a chance. Even if you plan on waiting to PLAY it, consider not holding off on your purchase if the game has piqued your interest. That's what I did and I do not regret the purchase, as I think they've showcased what they can do and that this game is capable of becoming something big.
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After 5 house moves, then two kids, and 7 looooong years of waiting… Paralives was absolutely worth it. This game feels like it was made by people who genuinely love life sims. The amount of detail, personality, freedom, and charm packed into it is honestly incredible. From building cosy homes to the little everyday moments that somehow feel real, you can tell the devs poured their hearts into this!!! As someone who has waited since the early teasers, watched updates through different chapters of life, and somehow carried the hype through chaos, stress, moving boxes, children, and adulthood… sitting down and finally playing it feels weirdly emotional. Massive congratulations to the team behind Paralives, genuinely one of the most exciting and lovingly crafted life sims in years. You should all be unbelievably proud.
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For the price of one Sims 4 expansion, you'll get this lovely indie game with ALL future updates being free. There is a catch though. It's releasing in early access for a reason. Paralives started as a solo project and slowly grew to a team of 15 people. More than 1,078 people contributed to the Sims 4 basegame alone. These games have a completely different scope. Set your expectations accordingly. Paralives is a game that has its heart in the right place. It's a joy to play. The open world, artstyle, customization, modding tools, and RPG mechanics are absolutely amazing. You should expect some animation hiccups, stutters, and other bugs though. I'm incredibly excited for the future of Paralives. Let's see what the team will cook up with those free updates. I can't wait!
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I'd been worried about whether Paralives was really going to become a reality, but after many years, the team has pulled through and actually delivered on their ambitious promises. As someone who also develops a life simulation game, I think Paralives is one of the most impressive indie projects that have been released in a good while. While the game is still very buggy, it's an absolute blast to play. The build tools feel smooth and fun to use and are incredibly versatile. Live mode already feels pretty complex even with the limited amount of overall features, largely since the townie quests, life goals and nightly stories enrich gameplay and (optionally) guide players into a gameplay direction. The price tag isn't something to scoff at for an indie game in Early Access, but I absolutely recommend the game to any life sim lovers who are okay with helping shape development and encountering the occasional bugs.
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Steam Deck users the game runs perfectly fine, youll just need to tweak some keybinds. So far really enjoying the feel of the game
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Frequently Asked Questions
Paralives is currently priced at 35.09€ on Steam.
Paralives is currently available at a 10% discount. You can purchase it for 35.09€ on Steam.
Paralives received 5,719 positive votes out of a total of 6,430 achieving a rating of 8.62.
😎
Paralives was developed by Alex Massé and team and published by Paralives Studio.
Paralives is playable and fully supported on Windows.
Paralives is playable and fully supported on MacOS.
Paralives is not playable on Linux.
Paralives is a single-player game.
Paralives does not currently offer any DLC.
Paralives is fully integrated with Steam Workshop. Visit Steam Workshop.
Paralives does not support Steam Remote Play.
Paralives is enabled for Steam Family Sharing. This means you can share the game with authorized users from your Steam Library, allowing them to play it on their own accounts. For more details on how the feature works, you can read the original Steam Family Sharing announcement or visit the Steam Family Sharing user guide and FAQ page.
You can find solutions or submit a support ticket by visiting the Steam Support page for Paralives.
Data sources
The information presented on this page is sourced from reliable APIs to ensure accuracy and relevance. We utilize the Steam API to gather data on game details, including titles, descriptions, prices, and user reviews. This allows us to provide you with the most up-to-date information directly from the Steam platform.
Additionally, we incorporate data from the SteamSpy API, which offers insights into game sales and player statistics. This helps us present a comprehensive view of each game's popularity and performance within the gaming community.
Last Updates| Steam data | 27 May 2026 16:38 |
|---|---|
| SteamSpy data | 27 May 2026 13:21 |
| Steam price | 27 May 2026 20:28 |
| Steam reviews | 27 May 2026 15:45 |
If you'd like to dive deeper into the details about Paralives, we invite you to check out a few dedicated websites that offer extensive information and insights. These platforms provide valuable data, analysis, and user-generated reports to enhance your understanding of the game and its performance.
- SteamDB - A comprehensive database of everything on Steam about Paralives
- SteamCharts - Analysis of Paralives concurrent players on Steam
- ProtonDB - Crowdsourced reports on Linux and Steam Deck Paralives compatibility
Game modes
Features
Developer
Alex Massé and team
Publisher
Paralives Studio
Release
25 May 2026
Platforms