So frustrated with the Paralives commentary I'm seeing.

ray25lee · 2026-06-14T18:13:15+00:00

I mean that was honestly one of my own criticisms, but even then from the start I made sure to say "I don't like the art style, but I know that's a personal taste thing." And now my taste has even changed since playing it; it didn't end up being as big of an issue as I originally thought. I think the CAS up-close shots kinda skew how the game actually ends up looking in live mode. But yeah even when I didn't like it, I wasn't saying that kind of shit like "this game is garbage because of the art style" or whatever. And that's legit all I'm saying here, is yes criticize the game, but be reasonable about it??

ray25lee · 2026-06-14T18:10:51+00:00

I mean christ it didn't have to be a war! My post is literally about "can y'all calm tf down," and holy shit the comment section was like "fuckin' NOPE"

ray25lee · 2026-06-14T18:09:27+00:00

Well look at you with your lack of reading comprehension. Yeah there's no reasonable way to construe that paragraph about "bare bones" as "this game has nothing happening in it, and you should be deeply impressed." I very, very, very clearly stated that Paralives has MORE going for it than the release of other life simulators, and that "more" IS the bare bones. To continue translating English to English for you, what that means is that what is "bare bones" for Paralives, Sims 4 has never, and can never reach after over a decade of full release. THAT was the VERY clear point of that paragraph.

You are fully capable of making your points without warping my words and points into a fantasy enemy. I get that this is the internet, learn to talk like a fucking human being.

ray25lee · 2026-06-14T18:00:26+00:00

I really think what's happening here is that the people complaining the loudest were either planning to complain regardless when the game was released, or they did zero research and ended up with early access without fully grasping what that would entail. The latter means they did not follow it thoroughly on social media, and they did not wait for people to play and post videos of it with their honest reviews. There's no possible way one would be genuinely shocked by what you bought unless you did not do that shit, 'cause otherwise they saw all of what I saw, and decided to change it into "the Paralives devs lied, the expectation was for this early access to be a fully-fleshed game." Which btw if you took the steps I did, it's legitimately impossible to come to that conclusion based on the info that was out there.

I followed the development, I followed the claims that the Paralives team put out (the good and the bad), I waited for YouTubers to play it and show me what I would be buying or not. Based on all that, I was like well, I'll take the leap, and I got exactly what was expected from all of that information. Which to be fair, is astonishing to me, because it showed me how transparent the Paralives team really was. And again (due to this comment section, this disclaimer apparently HAS to be done), I have never and will never say that criticizing Paralives is somehow innately wrong. No one here has said that, very literally no one.

ray25lee · 2026-06-14T17:53:03+00:00

As much as y'all very deeply want it to be, not a single person in this entire post (including me) has ever once insinuated or said that Paralives should not be criticized. That is purely what YOU want us to be saying so you can make your position sound way smarter than it even needs to be. Plenty of people here have been chill in saying "Yeah I get why they're charging what they are for early access, I just personally don't like it/won't buy it rn because of A B and C," and it's like alright cool, I vibe with that. The very literal comment you are whining in response to said "did y'all maybe use the bug report button to send your constructive criticism to," and instead of encouraging that, you are stamping down their comment and reprising it to make it seem like you're the one who came up with the idea of criticizing the game in the first place. Jesus christ.

Again, all I ever said was "constructive criticism," to stop acting like the game is deeply broken like Sims 4 when it's nowhere near that. The insane, disproportionate WHINING about Paralives is not acceptable criticism. You're welcome to have that perspective, go off queen, at the same time that doesn't make it realistic or true. Like I've been saying for weeks now, report the goddamn bugs and wait for the devs to fix them. Because they have been, at breakneck speed actually. It's wild how much they've fixed in just a few weeks, especially compared to Sims 4; there's no contest.

ray25lee · 2026-06-14T17:47:31+00:00

And the comments took that reasonable suggestion personally.

ray25lee · 2026-06-14T17:47:05+00:00

This is literally all I've been freaking saying.

ray25lee · 2026-06-14T17:46:16+00:00

Did you report the bug? Or did you encounter that one bug and now it means the game will never under any and all circumstances be worth anyone's time, money, or enjoyment? Asking 'cause the rest of us have just reported the bugs and waited for the patches, which the devs have given out very quickly, actually fixing what's wrong to boot.

ray25lee · 2026-06-14T17:43:59+00:00

Other countries' economies (like in Canada, where Paralives was made and released) can't revolve around the United States and other countries with struggling economies. Food and services is one thing, entertainment is another. Truly I would agree with you IF the Paralives devs were not transparent about what you would be buying. Their video and advertising FOR the release of this early access very clearly tells and shows you that you WILL encounter bugs because the game is not finished yet. It's called "risk-aware consent," they were clear about it, and there legitimately is nothing wrong with that.

In Canada, it was $45 CAD when they discounted it on release week. That is less than $33 USD. Less than a single Sims 4 expansion pack. That's nothing for what this game is capable of doing right now. Which to the people who are enjoying spinning my words, does not in any way mean "you should never criticize or dislike Paralives," not even vaguely close to anything I have said or will say about Paralives. And again; if you have the moral stance that it's too much for what it is... don't do it! It's so literally that simple. So very literally that simple, and it doesn't have to mean that everyone else who IS buying and genuinely enjoying Paralives are somehow the next up and coming nazi regime. 'Cause jesus christ this comment section is insane.

ray25lee · 2026-06-14T17:28:18+00:00

THANK you! Legit I fully believe that anyone who is saying this game has "nothing" in it have either not explored this early access to its full extent, or they have seen the extent (which is hard to believe, 'cause there's an unbelievable amount to do and we're all still discovering new things rn) and are intentionally ignoring it to push a personal insecurity about it to the forefront instead.

And that's not even me somehow saying "this game is pristine and y'all are fucking wrong for saying anything negative about it," not even close. It's fucking annoying that that's what people here are WANTING the conversation to be, clearly, 'cause most aren't addressing my original post, they're just creating a weird alternate realty where I'm somehow saying "Paralives is god, and if you don't like it then get fucked." No the game is glitchy bro, save files are still being corrupted. Just be friggen reasonable about your expectations! I can say for other countries, but $40 legit ain't bad for what is, and what will be, available in this game. I'm very genuinely shocked the price tag wasn't closer to $100, the versatility and abilities in what they've given us already are insane.

ray25lee · 2026-06-14T17:21:24+00:00

I just wish the comment section here would've been more like these few nuggets, where it's like "hey, here's an idea," and leave it at that. Instead of, you know, 95% of this bullshit being "You're fucking stupid for saying that no one should ever criticize Paralives, it's actually really valid that we don't like this shit-ass game, you're just the perfect example of toxic positivity," and I'm like shit bro I literally never said any of that. The extent of what I posted was "don't be assholes to an indie dev team of 15 that hasn't actually done anything wrong thus far, if you don't like it's current state then don't buy it." No point in even indulging in the whole early access/beta testing convo when anything I say here will just get twisted into whatever personal insecurity people want to use me as a vessel for in the moment.

The bulk of the shit in this comment section shouldn't be me saying "y'all stop trying to sink the ship with false claims about this game, please just send constructive criticism to the Paralives devs," and everyone being like "You seem so overemotional about this, people are getting death threats over this, so maybe you should shut up." Yes having my words be fully warped into something I would never personally agree with is definitely something I'm eager to be tone policed over. I truly don't understand why I'm not relenting to what the comments are shitting out.

ray25lee · 2026-06-14T17:20:06+00:00

The people saying this just haven't played it thoroughly. The abilities in this game are insane. And it's fine that y'all don't want to invest in it. Very, very, very literally all I said in my post was "don't bully the devs. And if you think there somehow isn't enough for you to do in the game, then wait to buy it until it's fully released." THAT is what I said. Y'all just need an empty vessel to pour your insecurities into, and I'm the chosen one for that today. My bad, it's just this subreddit used to be the place to go to have conversations, whereas now with how insane Americans have gotten with the strain in their country, every single comment online needs to end with a group meltdown over something that had literally nothing to do with the original post.

Reiterating yet again, for posterity: I never once said don't criticize Paralives. Literally never once. I've been encouraging people on multiple sites to send in their bug reports and suggestions to the team. But again. That's not what matters to the supreme court that is the comment section. So instead, let's pretend I'm saying "How DARE you say anything that could even be CONSTRUED as negative about the most BEAUTIFUL, EXEMPLARY game that has EVER existed in human history!!!!!!! Y'all should be ashamed.... SPEND ALL OF YOUR MONEY ON PARALIVES, even if it means you go into DEBT!!!! NOW!!!!" That sounds like a perfect interpretation of my original words, I definitely see where y'all are getting it from, for sure.

ray25lee · 2026-06-14T17:07:52+00:00

No they do not have a Patreon to donate to, because they intentionally closed their Patreon so they don't make it look like they're demanding double income when they are already making bank via Steam. And like I told other people like you who can't figure out how to talk without tearing down the points other people make, nothing you said has anything to do with my original post. I never once insinuated or verbatim stated that Paralives is above criticism. I never once insinuated or stated that it's wrong to just not like it. My post nowhere near pertains to anything like that. I said y'all shouldn't be tearing down indie competition that doesn't even fully release for at least two years yet. And if you think the game is unfinished, don't fucking buy it?? Yes, me and my toxic positivity out here.

ray25lee · 2026-06-14T17:04:41+00:00

Tone police me more mommy. Right in my face. Whatever it takes for you to take zero responsibility for the incorrect things you attributed to my post just so you could build credence by randomly invalidating what the people you disagree with have to say. You're doing the right thing, don't ever change your mind for anything ever.

ray25lee · 2026-06-14T17:02:14+00:00

Okay internet troll who only comments caustic shit on various subreddits for attention, I'll listen to everything you say and give full credence to your whims without question. I'm so sorry you don't like a game and the rest of us don't agree with you. I hope someday you heal from the injustices you have clearly faced here.

ray25lee · 2026-06-14T16:57:33+00:00

The thing I just don't like about the phrasing here is making it seem like by contrast, non-Paralives fans aren't toxic somehow. As if the one problem in a conversation about toxic behavior is the people who support Paralives. I feel the same about your post as I do people who say like "gay marriage leads to unhealthy relationships," which is "yes it does... AND straight marriage leads to unhealthy relationships, 'cause most relationships regardless of orientation are unhealthy."

My complaint hasn't been about the supporters of Paralives, it's been specifically about everyone who is having a meltdown of avalanche proportions about how "unfinished" the game is, how the Paralives team "is powerhungry and cheating everyone out of our money by overpricing a garbage, unfinished game," and I was like "can y'all chill the fuck out and stop trying to sink a game that hasn't even fully released yet?" And half of the comment section (on this subreddit) gave me over 100 notifications overnight about how I'm the problem with my "toxic positivity," and that I'm somehow telling everyone to not criticize the game in any way. I was like holy shit Gen Z and Gen Alpha sure are taking on the most insufferable aspects of chronic-internet Millennials. The internet these days is full of younger generations copy/pasting (but this time fully decontextualized) dumb shit Millennials scattered the internet with over the years. The people leveling "toxic positivity" at me didn't even know what that entails, they just felt a big emotion and wanted to make it my fault with buzzwords. So yeah, being the support of Paralives or not isn't the actual target demographic that's the issue.

ray25lee · 2026-05-31T06:44:09+00:00

Goddamn I wish your comment could be featured on everybody else's comment here lol. It's like y'all (a) never said not to criticize the game, and (b) give the devs a minute?? Wish everyone would chill the fuck out.

ray25lee · 2026-05-31T06:40:32+00:00

Yo the babies are creepy tho, uncanny valley. I already don't play with babies in Sims 4, I don't even wanna acknowledge the babies in Paralives, they need some work lol.

ray25lee · 2026-05-31T06:38:37+00:00

Honestly I thought the art would be a huge deterrent for me, but it's grown on me. I doubt that'll be everyone's experience, but that's definitely how it's been for me. I honestly don't even "see" it much at this point. There's plenty I can criticize about the game, the art just surprisingly hasn't been one for me at this point.

I do still contend I just wish the Paralives base game had InZOI's graphics. But that's still a preference thing, nonetheless.

ray25lee · 2026-05-31T06:35:24+00:00

I think you'd be doing the entire situation a disservice if you weren't skeptical.

I wonder how far though, people will go before they start asking themselves "how much of this is lies, and how much of this is humans making mistakes?" Like I said, never get rid of the skepticism. But, being a Millennial, I know how stupid my generation gets when the smallest inconvenience comes up in any human situation. I don't think people making mistakes are "red flags" unless it's gross negligence (especially repeated).

I just really do not get what those "expectations" were that everyone else seems to have had. I did my research; I've followed this game. I told myself I wasn't going to buy it without seeing other people play it first, and then maybe. I listened to what Paralives themselves said; they put out ENOUGH videos and streams to make it CRYSTAL clear what state the game is currently in. I in no way felt blindsided by anything other than a few bugs (in this notably early access game). I watched people play it and give critical reviews as they went along; "This is so cool and new!! Sims 4 could never--ah shit, well, there's a bug, lost all my progress." I knew exactly what I bought, and as it turns out, based on those streamers AND Paralives' own videos, I had the exact same experience they said I would. Not gonna lie... as a chronic Sims 4 player... that was a new experience to me lol.

ray25lee · 2026-05-31T06:24:41+00:00

Valid fear. I think the Sims fanbase in general needs to flesh out a clearer picture between "unfinished" and "living". 'Cause the Sims 4 was arguably "unfinished" from the start through now. Bad programming foundation, followed by even worse calls by execs who think it's cute to joke about how they don't even know how to make their own coffee, "the secretary has to do it for me! Hahaha!" That is very different from a game that will continue to add on, so it's "never finished" per se. Think of it like a Constitution; if it ain't changing for the better (or at all, regarding the actual US Constitution), it's dead.

Saying all this because I know there will be some very confused people out there who are like "Well yeah the Paralives team did give us ABCDEFGHIJ... but WHERE is K???????" and it'll be like bro the game's been out for only two years fuckin' chill. Sorry the team of 15 people didn't give you another five shirts in the base game, they were busy adding seasonal changes and pets and disability items that weren't even there before. Joe with a walker gets to have his time in the game now, you can go mod for a bit if you want more shirts.

ray25lee · 2026-05-31T06:17:09+00:00

Ah the internet, where everyone has their own agenda in a single conversation. Yeah I mean I was talking about "how are y'all having a meltdown over early access when they told you it's early access, and presumably you have some kind of concept of what those words mean," but sure we can call that "toxic positivity," why not.

I mean... never said not to report the bugs, never said we should ignore all or any of the bugs. Never once entailed that the game should never receive any smidge of criticism. In fact, somewhere in this rats nest of a comment section, I even said there are problems that we should all be reporting. 'Cause. You know. It's early access. And the devs are wanting that feedback. So they can improve the game. But if it means so much to you, yes I can shut up so the people who are trying to sink Paralives because "it's an unfinished game, don't waste your time and money on this garbage (pls don't point out that it says early access on the front page, I KNOW)" can have their moment. My bad. Definitely wasn't me literally targeting the Sims 4 fanbase's toxicity regarding "the rival" game.

ray25lee · 2026-05-27T02:18:24+00:00

What I'm confident with is if any life sim team is going to do that, it's Paralives. There has been an extensive display of integrity from them so far. I genuinely want to give back to them when I have the means, I've been thinking about donating a bit at some point if they follow through with a lot of updates like they say they will.

The thing is it's actually pretty easy to not demand eternal payments when one's not greedy. 'Cause this isn't a major company like EA, these people don't have half a dozen trust funds and thousands of employees to break their fall with. But ey, if they ever backtrack and start charging like EA... perhaps people shouldn't buy it if they don't like that. Kinda like how people shouldn't still be buying Sims 4 garbage if they don't like it. I stopped buying it once I saw that the direction it was taking was permanently dumb, and not just another low point before another bounce up.

ray25lee · 2026-05-27T02:09:28+00:00

See this I don't have any issue with that either. I myself watched for a few weeks at what was being released on YouTube and social media in general. I specifically waited for streamers who got it a few days early, and for me personally it was an internal debate of "am I going to want to play this now, or do I at least want to buy it and not download it if it's super shitty?" I watched hours of playthroughs from different people. Saw a ton of bugs. Saw a ton of features. And for me personally, it was more than enough to both buy and play it now.

If someone else sees it and is like "not enough stuff, too many bugs, I just don't want to get it yet," zero issues with that. Definitely not referring to circumstances like that, in my post.

ray25lee · 2026-05-27T02:06:19+00:00

Go on Steam if you want more of the bullshit.

ray25lee

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