Nintendo’s delightfully quirky Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream has been given the full reveal treatment ahead of its Switch and Switch 2 release on 14th April. And amid the fresh deluge of information, Nintendo has confirmed same-sex relationships and non-binary options, fulfilling it’s promise to be “more inclusive” following controversy around the game’s 3DS predecessor.
When Tomodachi Life released for 3DS back in 2013, players disappointed at the absence of same-sex romances launched a social media campaign to encourage Nintendo to add them in a post-launch update. The company’s initial response was dismissive, insisting Tomodachi Life was not a “real-life simulation” nor “trying to provide social commentary.” Later, however, it took a more conciliatory tone, apologising and saying that while it was unable to make such a “significant development change” to the 3DS version of Tomodachi Life, it pledged to “more inclusive” if another instalment ever came.
Over a decade later, Nintendo has made good on that promise. As revealed in today’s 30-minute-long Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream Direct, players can choose from three gender identities when creating their Miis in the new game – male, female, or Non-binary – plus any combination of relationship preferences from the same list, effectively making it possible to create characters who’re gay, lesbian, bisexual, pansexual, asexual, or heterosexual. And because this is Tomodachi Life, you also get to pick facial features, body shape, personality, even the silly computer-synthesised voices they’ll use.
And once your Miis are ready to descend on their new island home, it largely looks like business as usual. Rather than controlling Miis directly, you’ll encourage their growth by feeding them, giving them gifts, and creating new neighbours for them to interact with and befriend. And you can help introduce those friends to other friends, acting as a sort of omnipotent matchmaker to create a network of not always blissful social bonds.
Some encounters might happen while you’re away from the game – perhaps your Mii will meet someone they take a fancy to – and you can keep abreast of events via the island’s News Channel. Elsewhere, you can buy your Miis outfits from the clothing store, food from the supermarket, apartment decor from the Renovation Centre, and more exotic items – a lion?? – from the market stall. There’s also a photo studio if you want to take some daft snaps.
Tomodachi Life residents might also make requests for island improvements from time to take, and you can decorate its outdoor spaces with everything from fences and picnic benches to new houses and additional terrain, all purchased from the Island Design Centre. And if you want to have a little more impact on your Miis, you can bestow them with quirks and traits, or drop them down at points of interest, so they can, say, jiggle in a sprinkler. It all looks as delightfully ridiculous as its predecessor, and that’s before we get to the Studio Workshop where you can doodle your residents a 2D pet, or customise food, clothing, the TV channels they watch, and more. And yes there’s romance, awkward love triangles, and marriage. Even shared housing for up to nine Miis.
Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream launches for Switch and Switch 2 on 14th April, but there’s currently no word on any Switch 2-specific enhancements.
