We last covered Paralives in October last year, when the devs confirmed an early access release in 2025. That early access launch date, 8th December, is fast approaching, so it's high time we treated this would-be Maxis-feller to some fresh scrutiny. Alice Bee (RPS in peace) compared Paralives favourably to what we then knew of The Sims 5 in 2022. This being an article about life sims, I will spare a thought for the cancelled Life By You and its shuttered creators, Paradox Tectonic. The game's former publishers Paradox Interactive are still interested in making a Sims competitor, but have said they need to "start smaller" next time.