Life Sims Are Still Alive And Well On Nintendo Switch With The Next Console On The Way
A healthy crop of life sims showed up at the recent Nintendo Direct.
It’s been five years since Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and with the Switch 2 launching later this year, it’s possible that a sequel could be coming soon. Whether or not that happens right away, we do know that a fresh crop of life sims will be available around the release of Nintendo’s next console, and we got a look at a few surprising additions to that list during the most recent Nintendo Direct.
The biggest cozy game reveal came right at the end of the show, with the announcement of Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream. A sequel to the Nintendo 3DS game Tomodachi LIfe, the upcoming title looks something like Animal Crossing’s even stranger cousin. The original game allows players to create a Mii avatar, which Nintendo first introduced for the Wii, and use them to explore an island, making friends and completing requests for other Miis. Living the Dream has the same premise, and all signs point it to being just as quirky and inscrutable as the original, if the breakdancing grandpa, trash-flinging neighbors, and uh… giant dream woman in the trailer are any indication. Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream won’t hit the Switch until 2026.
Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream already looks like one of the strangest life sims ever.
Another classic Nintendo life sim series returning to the Switch soon is Story of Seasons, formerly known as Harvest Moon. This time, it’s not a sequel but a remake. Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar follows the same structure as the Nintendo DS version of Grand Bazaar, where players grow crops to sell at a local bazaar while exploring the lively Zephyr Town. The Switch re-release adds new characters and story beats along with much-improved graphics. It launches on August 27, which likely puts it near the Switch 2 release date.
The considerably less well-known Tamagotchi Connection life sim series also gets a followup in Tamagotchi Plaza. This life sim is more focused on minigames, like dress-making, throwing tea parties, and for some unfathomable reason, dentistry. It certainly looks like a more niche take on cozy games, and not one that scratches quite the same itch as Animal Crossing, but its June 27 release date also puts it squarely in the expected Switch 2 launch window.
On top of all those returning series, the Switch and Switch 2 will also be getting a brand-new, highly anticipated life sim in Witchbrook. Developed by Chucklefish, publisher of Stardew Valley, Witchbrook looks like it could stand a chance at achieving the same level of success of even that wildly popular life sim. The game’s Nintendo Direct trailer shows players attending a magic school and exploring the extensive town around it either on flying brooms or by nearly causing traffic accidents on a scooter. Even years after its release, Stardew Valley remains an incredibly beloved Switch title, and with Witchbrook confirmed to launch on Switch this winter, it could have a similar life on the Switch 2.
The Switch 2 will have a library of life sims from the original Switch to fall back on at launch.
That’s four life sims highlighted today alone, not even counting Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time, a sequel that life sim sickos like myself have been looking forward to since its predecessor hit the 3DS in 2012. Which is to say, the end of the original Switch life cycle is absolutely packed with life sims, and with the Switch 2 on the way, players will have no shortage of choices for the increasingly popular subgenre. The Switch is notable for how well it's sold outside of the core gaming audience, to people who might not own any other console and may have even considered buying one before Nintendo’s hybrid. That’s always made life sims a good fit for the console, since their audiences also tend to extend well beyond those for other types of games.
Before Nintendo’s Switch 2-focused Direct has even aired, there’s been talk from some analysts that it could have trouble selling as well as the original. With all these new life sims hitting the original Switch around the launch of its successor (none of which should have much trouble running on the old hardware), those concerns make a lot of sense. Plenty of players will certainly be eager to sign up for the Switch 2 as soon as possible, but as the last Nintendo Direct focused on the original console shows, there’s still plenty to look forward to in one of the Switch’s most popular genres even this late in its life cycle. The real question now is whether Nintendo’s top-tier life sim, Animal Crossing, will cross generations or be an exclusive that gives cozy game fans a good reason to make the jump to the Switch 2 when it launches.
