In 2006, Nintendo revolutionised the gaming community by releasing its Wii. With this, Wii Sports was launched, which included Miis, customisable characters that users could play as. In 2011, Nintendo released its 3DS, an upgraded version of the beloved DS, a compact, easy-to-play console. For many, the DS and 3DS were integral parts of their childhoods. In 2014, Nintendo released Tomodachi Life, known in Japan as Tomodachi Collection. This game used Miis to simulate the game. Although it was a simple, wacky idea, it blew up, selling millions of copies globally. After the rise of other cozy games, like Pokémon and Animal Crossing, Tomodachi Life became outdated. Users got bored, Miis got abandoned, and children grew up.
Nintendo released the Nintendo Switch in 2017, their next console after the 3DS (XL). The Nintendo Switch quickly became popular, with the release of classic Nintendo games that gamers had left behind on their 3DS. Fast-forward to 2026, Nintendo released their new and improved version of Tomodachi Life, Tomodachi Life: Living The Dream. The game quickly gained traction and had Gen-Z gamers in a chokehold. Living the Dream had sold over 3.8 million copies globally in the first two weeks of the release, and over 8 million as of August 2026.
The game premise itself is so weird, I love it. Essentially, it’s like most sandbox sim games; you, as the user, can create characters or Sims to live in a world that you design. The main ideas of this game include creating Miis for your island, creating relationships between Miis, resolving silly problems by engaging to keep your Miis happy, and simply watching these interactions between Miis unfold.
Although seemingly normal, the part most users love the most is the absurd and out-of-the-ordinary humour involved in the game. The game includes weird and quick cutscenes and dialogue, like a Mii doing a funny dance, screaming into the ocean, or a Mii having a bizarre dream. As a ‘god’ like figure, you are able to control your Mii in whom they talk to, what they do, what they wear and their personality. Users can manually drag their Mii to a location or to another Mii to interact with, though the Mii may disagree with your opinions.
One of the standout features of this simulation is that Miis will interact with one another on their own, without the user’s instruction. Miis can fall in love, hate another Mii, go on a rollercoaster of emotions, and we, as that ‘god’, are able to witness it all. There is no specific ‘goal’ in this game; usually, the user sets one themselves, whether it’s to get two specific sims married or to create an over-the-top island layout.
With a new release of any media, there will be opinions from social media users. On TikTok in particular, users would post their islands, funny interactions or absurd-looking Miis that they created.
Some criticisms of the game include the playtime and the fact that there simply aren’t enough features to keep it going.
“its okay. I’d give it a 6/10 overall. For the first few days, it’s fun, but after playing for a while, it becomes so monotonous and boring because there’s literally nothing left to do. now I just log in, buy the everyday outfits and food, check if there’s any new friendship or love interactions available and leave.” – r/tomodachilife: Inevitable_Okra509
From my perspective, some users are too eager to finish the game, rather than enjoying it. Living the Dream is not a game that should be speed-run; it shouldn’t be a game that users play for hours on end, repetitively. If this is how it is played, then yes, of course, you’ll get bored quickly; there’s no adventure left. Its cozy design is built that way for a reason: it should be a game played in increments. When you log on, you’ll usually find some Miis needing attention; afterwards, you can revisit them the next day.
“I think some people have Mandela effect from either not playing Tomodachi Life for a long time or from playing it as a kid, and now that they’re older, this type of game doesn’t seem as whimsical anymore, but genuinely Tomodachi Life for the DS was such a simple, limited game.” – r/tomodachilife: CurrentSandwich541
I believe that with any game, there will be criticism, especially in this era of digital social media presence. Living the Dream is a fun, interactive, easy-to-play game that certainly did not let me down.
Tilly Bunnage 
Josh 
Idea Phochaiya