Verdict
Kick back, relax, and get completely stupid, wacky, and weird, because the best game of 2026 is here. I can’t put this game down, and if you’re a fan of life simulators, I just know the same will be true for you, too.
Seeing people get excited for Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream hits different when you already know how good it is. The long-awaited sequel of Nintendo's life simulator games is about to be here, and I think it's going to be one of, if not the biggest, game of the year. It's certainly one of the best. Even though it isn't a Switch 2 exclusive, I have a feeling that Nintendo has landed on, not just a money-maker, but another console-seller, too, right in the wake of Pokopia.
There isn't a single thing I dislike about this game. Sure, do I wish that my Miis could have customizable accents instead of dooming them all to be posh with my Received Pronunciation English accent? Yes, yes, I do. And do I kind of wish the Miis hadn't started off in houses with near-identical designs? Maybe. But any minor complaint I have has been made up for with endless fun, with near-infinite customization, cut scenes I'm still seeing for the first time ten hours after rolling the credits, and a healthy dose of quirky charm.
Everything, from the island and its buildings, to the silly news stories that play every day, adds to make this feel like a real world - one that I not only created, but that feels alive. Your Miis do, too - because you can select their clothes, choose food for them to eat, design their homes, decide what friends they have, send them on holiday, give them little treasures, and of course, give them little perks, these Miis feel like fully fleshed out characters with inner worlds, unlike some of the more recent cozy games (and yes, I'm directly calling out Animal Crossing: New Horizons, by the way).
At first struck by a lack of creative juices, I decided to make my first island Biblically Accurate Life Simulator, creating my friends, family, and other loved ones on the island, and pushing them to interact with each other in ways that felt true to life. I'm completely aware of how insane that sounds, but I really wanted to test the limits of the player's control over the actions of their Miis. The verdict is in: if you wanted to, you could almost completely guarantee who dates whom, which Miis become good friends, and even how they talk to each other.
The only thing that was left to chance really was their individual likes and dislikes. I think even these are broadly determined by their personality types, but when the incredible moment came when my Mii adored a piece of food I gave them (you're in for a treat with this, by the way), I was surprised by the item that triggered the response. That's what this game feels like to play: just like in real life, every time you think you've figured out the rules, you discover something else that shakes your understanding of the game.
There's one elephant in the room to address - yes, people, the maximum number of Miis you can have is in fact 70. It's okay. You're going to be fine. Relax. There's plenty to do in Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream with the Miis you do have, as some of them require pretty hefty amounts of attention, what with hobbies, hanging out with friends at the restaurant or ferris wheel, love lives, gifts, and minigames to keep them busy. You can also, as in the previous iterations, send Miis away forever, so I guess if you get really desperate, you can trade your version of One Piece's Luffy for Mii Manon from Katseye. Whatever floats your boat.
Now that I'm mentioning the minigames, I feel like they're pretty well-balanced. I don't always have time or inclination to play Shadow Quiz or Guess What's Missing, but you're never forced into it, and many of the minigames are much more fun - perfecting my Bowling technique has been a lot of fun, and I'm starting to nail Red Light Green Light now. The marriage proposal minigame is definitely a highlight, and caused hilarity when one of my Miis ended up thinking about fried chicken instead of their potential fiancée.
Aside from the Miis and the activities they offer, Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream adds charm with its distinctive sights and sounds. The soundtrack is as whimsical as it needs to be, and even though I'm already a little sick of hearing the character creation menu music, all the songs on it will be instant classics. The vibrant color scheme is also a huge part of the game, especially the personalized colors for each personality type, which makes me very happy as someone who loves organizing people. It looked and ran great on my Switch 2, and I'm pretty sure it'll be beautiful on the Switch, too.
I also enjoy the island decoration elements, even though I know that my piddly island won't hold a candle to some of the amazing creations that the community will come up with. The fact that I moved anything around on my island at all, or made any attempt to create a coherent society, is a testament to how easy and fun this aspect of the game is - I'm famously not someone who enjoys spending hours with fiddly controls to perfect my surroundings in games. By this, I mean that I've rage-quit at The Sims' building mode more times than I have at FPS games, and not once did I feel even a little annoyed at Living the Dream's way of handling it.
The Studio Workshop also operates in good faith - given my disdain for doing art, I was super pleased by both the option to work on pre-set designs, and the controls inside the workshop itself. Designing interiors and exteriors for my Mii's houses was a little tricky, due to the sheer scale of the projects, but I enjoyed working on pets, new Switch games, clothes, and more for them, and the little shop you can buy your creations from is very cute.
It took me about 40 hours to roll credits, but by all means, the credits are simply a way to honor the geniuses who made this game, not to end it. I also wasn't trying particularly hard to play quickly, because progression is very relaxed, and as long as you're hanging out with your Miis a bit, there's no grind at all. This is true even though the rewards you do get are very fulfilling, and flesh out your island a ton. Also, I'm grateful that there's no crafting. Guys, not every game needs crafting.
By every account, this game is a masterpiece of relaxing, cozy gaming. It blends nostalgia from the original games - and for Miis themselves - with a modern take on the life simulator genre, as now that open world games are the big money makers, it makes total sense to have Miis walking around on your island. I'm fully expecting players to rack up thousands of hours, as they share in the triumph that this game is.