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Inventor
Original Poster
#1 Old 7th Mar 2018 at 3:20 AM
Default Sim-ilar games
I found Tomodachi Life has a good bit of Sims-like fun. They have much higher autonomy and will continue to live their lives if you're not playing, but you can interact with your Miis and dress them up and design their apartments and give them stuff to play with and send them on trips and even hook them up (though they may not go along with your suggestions). Even though all the item options are preprogrammed, there's enough of them to support a wide variety of tastes. The voice generator is good for a consistent chuckle as well.

I've heard people call Animal Crossing similar but it doesn't seem that way to me. I like Animal Crossing a lot but it isn't something I would compare to The Sims. If you disagree, tell me why!
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Top Secret Researcher
#2 Old 7th Mar 2018 at 4:23 AM
The list is not long, and most are not that close.

Unfortunately.
Space Pony
#3 Old 7th Mar 2018 at 11:01 AM
The SIMs (main series, all games) and Second Life are the only ones I know of.
Instructor
#4 Old 7th Mar 2018 at 11:57 AM Last edited by cutsocks : 7th Mar 2018 at 12:22 PM.
I've found RimWorld to be surprisingly Sims-like. Okay, it does not remotely look or play like the Sims, but I develop the same kind of attachment to the little RimWorldians as I do for Sims. The gameplay is far more automatic and once you set a roles the autonomy takes over, with really only taking direct control when defending/combat. The RimWorld colonists have traits and improvable skills and they form relationships (good and bad) with each other, so you definitely see personalities emerge. They wear clothes and you have to plan/build their shelters (the colonists do the building obviously). You have to try and keep them happy with comfort (temperature, decoration/environment, recreation, food, drugs, etc.)--the only things that's not quite taken in account is personal hygiene and bathroom needs (though you can mod in toilets). I totally wish that EA would make a colony survival game with Sims type assets.

The stories that play out--just as good as any Sims drama...

For example, I had this colony that was going really well, growing nicely, well defended, holding off raiders without too much trouble. I had about a dozen colonists (up from the starting 3), and my first death was with a gal hunting muffalo (a buffalo/sheep like creature). She wasn't the best shot (not one of my primary hunters) but the whole herd turned on her. I was able to rescue her and bring her back to base, but she was in real bad shape. A previous raid and rabid animal attack had left my colony with very little medicine left (and the new crop of healroot had just been planted...) Sadly, I was unable give her the medical care she needed and she died. Being the first death, I hadn't built a proper cemetery for colonists, so I buried her in a temporary grave. (Dead raiders were disposed of at a dumping ground away from the base.) I went about planning and elaborate crypt--marble and carpeted floor, marble sarcophagi, gold statues--the works. Eventually it got built, mostly thanks to another lady colonist who was an amazing builder and hauler. Builder gal had the psychopath trait, totally lacking empathy. She was a bit of a loner as a result, and I made her do a lot of the dirty work as well, like dumping raider bodies at the spot away from the base, which never phased her. So without really thinking, I had her disinter the hunter and move her to the new crypt. I watched as builder dug up hunter and then vomit. She vomited approximately every two steps all the way hauling hunter to the crypt. Wow, I thought, little RimWorldians really don't like to dig up bodies. But, builder's psychopath trait should have made her unaffected by such an action; she was, by far, the best (only) person for the job. So I took a look at builder's thoughts to investigate the matter further. Okay, looking good, fine. Okay. Then there, to my horror, -20 (mood)... My daughter died. Hunter was builder's daughter. I didn't realize, I didn't know, I never knew... I'm so sorry, builder, I made you dig up your daughter's decomposing corpse, schlepping her rotting body over your shoulder past the wind turbines and fields of healroot that should have saved her, with her putrescence dripping in a trail behind you, punctuated by pools of your own sick... I later noticed that builder would always, during the scheduled joy time hours, autonomously go to the crypt to visit her daughter. I'm not sure I've ever had a video game make me feel like such a terrible person.
Site Helper
#5 Old 7th Mar 2018 at 2:21 PM
It's been a while since I was in Second Life, but that's not really a game. It's a chat room with scenery.

I am Ghost. My husband is sidneydoj. I post, he downloads, and I wanted to keep my post count.
Group for Avatar Makers* Funny Stories *2017 Yearbook
Space Pony
#6 Old 7th Mar 2018 at 2:39 PM
Taking my cue from cutsocks's post, I'd say I'd taken a similar attachment to my XCOM 2 Character Pool soldiers as I've made all of em based off of friends and family members. So naturally when one of 'em gets seriously injured or get outright rekt, I get seriously pissed off about it.
Mad Poster
#7 Old 7th Mar 2018 at 3:04 PM
The closest thing you'll find, really, is any game with creative freedom over your character and features that allow for character development. If you're not stuck up on the theme I'd say Fallout 4 might be a good, recent example.

insert signature here
( Join my dumb Discord server if you're into the whole procrastination thing. But like, maybe tomorrow. )
Theorist
#8 Old 7th Mar 2018 at 3:46 PM
The primary thing about Sims (1-4) is that people may like to talk about it on forums, share content, and so on, but it's essentially a solitary game. I don't feel like there is anything else like it because you create the world totally based on what is important to you. Game play varies so much based on what you install or how you like to play. I think the customization and way you can individualize it to your own personal style is why no other game will ever be the same.
Scholar
#9 Old 7th Mar 2018 at 3:54 PM
I love Stardew Valley. It's a farming sim where you take a piece of land and try to make it profitable. There's some romance, monster slaying, fishing, and quests if you're into that, but it's mostly you and the land.
Scholar
#10 Old 7th Mar 2018 at 3:58 PM
Quote: Originally posted by cutsocks
I've found RimWorld to be surprisingly Sims-like. Okay, it does not remotely look or play like the Sims, but I develop the same kind of attachment to the little RimWorldians as I do for Sims. The gameplay is far more automatic and once you set a roles the autonomy takes over, with really only taking direct control when defending/combat. The RimWorld colonists have traits and improvable skills and they form relationships (good and bad) with each other, so you definitely see personalities emerge. They wear clothes and you have to plan/build their shelters (the colonists do the building obviously). You have to try and keep them happy with comfort (temperature, decoration/environment, recreation, food, drugs, etc.)--the only things that's not quite taken in account is personal hygiene and bathroom needs (though you can mod in toilets). I totally wish that EA would make a colony survival game with Sims type assets.

The stories that play out--just as good as any Sims drama...


Thanks, I think I just found my husband's anniversary present. He loves Dwarf Fortress and scifi and good storytelling! He's not a sims player, though.
Top Secret Researcher
#11 Old 7th Mar 2018 at 5:59 PM
Crusader Kings 2 has a lot of the character development, but then instead of "dress your character" and "here's where they live," you get "now let's invade all the neighbors!"
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