Life by You intends to be the most "open-ended and moddable life sim" according to developer Amanda Heaton, and a first look at live gameplay has shown great potential for it to achieve that goal. The title comes from Paradox Tectonic, a subsidiary of Paradox Interactive which has published titles like the Europa Universalis and Crusader Kings franchises. Rod Humble - a former EA executive who spent many years working on The Sims franchise - is the director of Life by You, and his influence clearly shines through in what Screen Rant was shown during the Gamescom demo for the game.
The Life by You demo began with an introduction to the controlled character Ronnie, with specific traits like Athletic and Troublemaker being pointed to as things that will affect gameplay. She then began her work day as a yoga instructor, which she was able to get to on foot within the game's entirely open world - which notably contains no rabbit holes. Her day functioned similarly to the active careers in The Sims 4, with a list of work-related tasks to complete in the corner. The specific work done can be chosen by the player, with optional tasks denoted when clicking on different interactive objects.
After teaching a yoga class, Ronnie struck up a conversation with her coworker, which demonstrated the amazingly detailed relationship mechanics present in the game. The first thing that sticks out is that characters speak in English rather than a fictional in-game language like Simlish, and options are deeply situational depending upon the relationship the two have with one another. For example, because Ronnie had a slightly romantic relationship with her coworker, even a speech option under the Antagonistic category was simultaneously flirty. NPCs have their own conversations as well, and can be eavesdropped on with amusing results.
Ronnie proceeded to leave work early - for which she received an angry email from her boss - and headed home to do some gardening. This is one of several areas where Life by You utilizes its detailed crafting system - in this instance Ronnie harvested flowers then entered the bouquet crafting menu. Here specific flowers could be selected, and set recipes can have substitutions that will be reflected in the final product. The system is present in cooking as well, as each recipe requires certain ingredients, and Heaton stated that each food has its own animations, which is a stark contrast from The Sims 4's generic mixing and chopping.
Once inside, Ronnie opted to change her outfit, which left her previous clothing on the floor. Heaton noted that the clothes will stay there until she cleans them up, and that this similar element of mess also applies to objects like the bookshelf, which was shown in disarray. Small details like this are intended to make the world feel lived-in and dynamic, and mess will affect characters with different traits in various ways. Naturally messy characters will be less bothered by stinky clothes piles, for example.
There wasn't time to show off all the features of build mode in the limited time available, but Heaton stated there are comprehensive mechanics for both building lots from scratch or redecorating existing ones. Heaton showed off a few ways players can customize furnishings for their lots, like scaling windows to be different sizes and changing item pallettes with a color wheel, a beloved Sims 3 feature missed by many in the current generation. Certain items also have their own traits, with the example of a high-tech television with the Stylish trait given that will please trendy characters.
Life by You has a freeplay mode that automatically makes cheats easily accessible. During the demo, the player character's needs were easily raised by the drag of a mouse, and this also applies to things like raising the amount of household funds. This is designed for those whose primary goal is the tell stories rather than opt for a challenge, but there's also a mode for more achievement-oriented players. The game can further be customized through an extensive built-in modding tool, with which players can make things like custom careers.
In of future plans for the game, there are several features planned to be implemented and improved as the game nears early access. One major element is the in-universe social media system where characters can post and interact with one another; current posts appear on the right corner of the screen and can be somewhat obtrusive, and will be tweaked to be more seamless. Mechanics surrounding children and infants are also still in the works, as are additions related to characters owning their own businesses.
Life by You is clearly still a work in progress, with things like the aforementioned features and the game's graphics leaving some room for improvement. However, the baseline level of detailed and thoughtful mechanics presented in the Gamescom demo is incredibly promising - this project is clearly being made by a team ionate about the simulation genre. With many months before early access begins, it's exciting to think about where Life by You will be once players are able to get their hands on it.
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Source: Life by You/YouTube
Life by You is planned to release in early access for PC in March 2024. Screen Rant attended a special preview presentation for the purpose of this preview.
