The much-anticipated life simulation game Life By You won't have characters dying by illness. Developer Paradox Tectonic said the game will simulate every second of every character's life, which many players have been raring to experience.
First revealed in March, Life By You has been dubbed a worthy competitor to The Sims as both games feature character and home customization, and give players the power to build their characters' families and story. Life By You will enter early access on September 12, so Paradox could receive direct feedback and suggestions from players to improve on the game's features.
Based on the initial teasers for Life By You, players are expecting to have an almost realistic experience with their in-game characters. However, Paradox head Rod Humble revealed that they scrapped a feature that lets characters die due to sickness or "unfortunate means." In an interview with GLHF, Humble said that COVID-19 pandemic played a big role into their decision to remove the aforementioned death feature, noting that the game "doesn't come with any violence in it." Characters can still die naturally in Life By You, but Humble emphasized that they didn't want players to see the horrible things that might happen, especially to the older characters. He added that players will ultimately decide when their characters will pass away in the game. Unlike in The Sims where the Reaper would visit an elderly Sim once their time was up.
Despite the removal of the death feature, Life By You will still have mature themes. Humble explained that the game will feature nudity and romantic relationships, citing that, along with other features like building friendships and skills, they're important storytelling components in a life simulation game.
Since Life By You will have no violence, players might not be able to torment characters for fun just like in The Sims, but it can also be a good thing. Humble made it clear that they wanted to create an in-depth life sim where players had full control over how their virtual stories will go, and probably won't need to use cheats to stop their characters from aging and dying. The decision to remove the death by unfortunate means feature was also a great call considering that millions of people worldwide lost their lives to COVID, and Paradox likely wanted to respect players who might still be grieving.
That being said, many players are expecting a lot from Life By You once its early access comes out in September. Whether it can compete with The Sims, which has been the leader in the genre for decades, will be totally up to players' first impressions.
Life By You is in development for PC and enters Early Access on September 12.
Source: GLHF