10 Features We Want to See Added to Paralives

As an Early Access game, Paralives is actively being developed and updated through patches. You go into the game knowing that it's not finished, and that means there are features that aren't fully functional yet or aren't included at all. Some missing features have already been discussed by the devs and confirmed to be coming in the future, such as pets and seasons.

While I'm sure that the devs have plans for more features beyond what they've talked about and included in their roadmap, there are a number of additions and adjustments that I'd love to see based on my experience playing Paralives so far.

10 Interactions

Particularly More Options to Improve Relationships Outside RNG

Right now, the main way to develop any type of relationship in Paralives is through conversations. However, the process is time-consuming, and you can have a conversation lasting for hours of in-game time without the relationship between the Paras talking moving in the direction you want purely because of the RNG that's part of the conversation system.

Paralives needs a way to adjust conversations or a way to direct relationships outside conversations. I would love to see the option to choose your intent for a conversation—such as developing a friendship, family bond, or romantic relationship—and have that impact on what the RNG is likely to throw your way.

9 Service Options

Paralives Only Has Two Services

Right now, you can hire a cleaner or someone to repair broken objects. That's the extent of service options, and beyond that, you can order flowers or call firefighters for help. Overall, there aren't a lot of options for services and deliveries.

The addition of a nanny or au pair choice would be my baseline for services we still need, but there are a number of other options I'd love to see. Food delivery would be great for Paras who can't cook without starting fires, but I also want to see unusual options, like a tutoring service that can help improve kids’ grades.

8 Pools

The Leading Cause of Sim Death

Pools have become iconic in life sims thanks to The Sims, as it was the best way to kill unwanted Sims in each main game until The Sims 4. Now, Paralives must take up the torch and add pools so that we can remove their ladders and trap Paras. There's no point in pretending that this has become the primary purpose of pools in life sims.

I admit that pools also have other uses in games like Paralives. They can be a quick way to improve hygiene if you don't have the option to shower or bathe, and they usually increase your fitness skill. Aside from that, pools have an aesthetic that's great for custom house builds. They have a lot to offer.

7 Gardening

A Functional Hobby

Gardening is more than just a hobby in life sims, as it often provides a way for you to lower your household's food costs. You're generally able to sell extra items you grow as well, which can be a nice income boost if you aren't using cheats, or you're challenging yourself by restricting income.

Gardening also goes well with seasons and weather as features, as it gives more definition to each season regarding what you can grow at that time, if anything. Since Paralives in general lacks this kind of outdoor activity, it'd be great to see it added beyond the few planters available.

6 More Hobbies

They Naturally Aren't the Priority in Early Access

Hobbies and non-essential activities don't have a lot to offer in Paralives right now. I'm not surprised by this, but I will admit that the options for hobbies when I was looking in build mode felt sad. Life has so many hobbies to offer, but barely any of them have made it into Paralives.

At the same time, I understand that hobbies are not a priority when you're making a life sim, especially when it's in such an early state. However, this is definitely a feature that needs expanding in future updates.

5 Active Jobs

Paras Need Guidance at Work

This is another feature that I don't expect to see soon, but I hope that it'll be added in the future. The job system lets you have some control over the rewards you get for good performance, and you get to decide if you want to go to a higher position in that field or keep gaining ranks in your current one.

My problem is that my Paras will be in a decent enough mood, and then keep getting strikes at work without explanation. If you get three strikes, then your Para loses their job, so I've had to keep clearing them with cheats. Since I can't trust my Paras to do a good job, it would be great to control them during their work days.

4 Active School

Paras Also Need Guidance at School

Similar to active jobs, Paralives could add the choice for you to follow your Paras to school and control them during the day. As with jobs, Paras can go to school in a decent mood, but still have their grades drop. From there, you basically have to hope that they'll get a homework assignment in that subject—which is also RNG—so you can bring the grade back up.

An active school option would hopefully come with the ability to impact your Paras' grades. That way, if there's a DLC that adds university as an option, my Paras would actually be accepted into one.

3 University

Higher Education Usually Impacts In-Game Jobs

Having universities in a life sim gives you the chance to let your characters experience a period of time between high school and adulthood where they have more responsibility and freedom, but not always the full weight of responsibility that comes with being an adult. It also tends to have an impact on in-game careers.

I would love to be able to start with extra ranks on a career path due to university. Alternatively, I think it could be interesting to have career perks that are unique to Paras who went to university.

2 Supernatural Elements

The Para Should Stand for Paranormal

If it doesn't, then the "Para" in "Paralives" should stand for "paranormal." We need more spooky elements added to the game, even if that means beginning with just ghosts and building on those features later. Going beyond ghosts and letting Paras be something other than human tends to add unique gameplay elements that mix up the monotony of human life.

I have a household that lives next to a cemetery, and it's actually disappointing that I don't have ghosts roaming around the lot at night. As somebody who loves horror in general, I need the supernatural world added to the life sims I play.

1 Fame

Everybody Wants to Be a Star

Every Para has a smartphone, and the age of the smartphone is also the age of everybody wanting to be an influencer on their platform of choice. While being an influencer can be a real source of income for some, fame isn't limited to social media, and adding a fame feature could change careers in general.

A fame system opens career paths in entertainment, but could be applied to other professions that work with people. Doctors can be famous for their medical expertise, and business people can be famous for their innovation, or infamous for creating disasters. There's so much potential here.

This might make it seem like Paralives doesn't have a lot to offer, but the game has only recently been released into Early Access. As a result, it's more focused on being functional with basic features instead of adding more right now. However, Paralives has an active player community and so much potential moving forward that I can't wait to see what it adds for features in future updates.