Over the past few days, I've found myself completely absorbed in playing the newest game, Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream, on my Nintendo Switch. I've been really enjoying it, especially since I hadn't played my Switch in quite a while; poor thing was actually starting to collect dust. So who would've guessed that this cozy little Nintendo game would help pull me out of my gaming hiatus?

This game allows the player to create Miis that resemble themselves, but also their friends and family, or even their favorite characters. Plus, you get to watch these digital people you create go about their simple lives while helping to guide them through basic decisions like what they want to eat, wear, where they live, and even whom they want to develop friendships and relationships with. They can even experience emotions like irritation or jealousy towards one another, and depending on the strength of their bonds, those connections can help them manage their feelings. Another key thing to note is that even after you close the game application, the Miis continue to interact with their environment in the background.

It's been about a week since I started playing, and I've already created at least 20 Miis on my little island, which I named Curio. Of the three married couples I put together, I'm currently working on getting two to “soulmate” status. One of the first couples I put together already had a child. So I figured, the more happy marriages I create, the more Miis that will be added to the island. So, while I do enjoy seeing the Miis make friends and fall in love, I think the game's main appeal lies in the possible drama that can arise from these relationships. I’ve seen numerous others post short videos capturing their Miis in love triangles or fights, and their added commentary often makes these scenarios even more entertaining.

Many of my Miis have been experiencing their own drama. They each have their own little crushes, experienced heartbreak, and other ups and downs in either their friendship groups or romantic connections. In fact, one morning I woke up to find a couple of my Miis fighting! I'm not entirely sure what initiated the scuffle, but I may have an idea. But those little computer people were straight up scrapping, it was pretty funny!

I've decided to model a significant number of my Miis after a few IPs (intellectual properties)that I like. For instance, several of the first few sets of Miis that I created are based on characters from Capcom's Darkstalkers series, two are from the Alien vs. Predator movie, and a few more are from Castlevania, Street Fighter, and Predator: Badlands. And of course, naturally, I created one Mii based on myself, but the rest of the game's population is inspired by original characters (OCs) from a story idea (and potential comic) that I haven’t fully developed yet. Ironically, playing this game has actually helped to spark additional ideas on how to shape these characters' personalities and interests.

It's pretty funny that a couple of my OCs ended up developing crushes on some of my Darkstalkers Miis, and the different instances in which this occurred were hilarious. Plus, my little Mii clone ended up in a relationship with a Mii version of Alucard from Castlevania. Which was...unexpected, but okay. They've been married for the past 8 days, so they seem to really love each other, I mean, about as much as their programming will allow.

Overall, I've been enjoying my experience playing this game; in many ways, it reminded me of a Tamagotchi or a Giga Pet, digital pet companions that doubled as keychains and that you could take care of, which were really popular back in the 90s. But I've also heard people compare this game to The Sims, too, which is probably a more accurate comparison. But I have to admit, though, the downside is that this game can get pretty repetitive, so because of that, I put my Switch down for a couple of hours and usually check in now and then to see what they need or to continue to encourage stronger bonds among their chosen friends or romantic partners.