Ranking of the best life simulation games on PC for 2022

Life simulators (from the English "life simulator games") are a genre of computer games in which the player must control and manage the life of one or a group of virtual creatures. Traditionally, it is considered a subgenre of strategy games, economic simulations, or “god” simulations. In such games, there is often no specific end goal.

The type of simulation under consideration can focus on the social or biological direction of life. The former are based on the interaction between virtual beings in a certain social group, i.e. the player is engaged in communication and work of participants in the socialized process. The latter allow the player to experiment with the evolutionary procedures and genetics of living beings while simultaneously modeling entire ecological systems as they progress through the stages of evolution. Among the named genre, a separate place is occupied by pet life simulators.

IMPORTANT! The largest number of the most popular life simulators was produced and released by Maxis - the name of the vast majority of its games begins with the prefix "Sim" (for example, "SimCity"). In the late 90s, the company was bought by a major game publisher, Electronic Arts.

Modern types of life simulators

The most common life sims today include:

1. Biological sims - they emulate the creation and management of groups of fictional living creatures. The base of the game is to create an emphasis on the evolutionary process.
2. Social sims - in them the player must simulate the everyday behavior of human characters. In such games, the main emphasis is placed on the strategy of social interaction between virtual people.
3. Urban sim - in such programs, the main direction for imitation becomes the management, development and construction of a settlement. These games are traditionally referred to the genre of economic strategy. In them, too, there is often no ultimate goal, because the goal is the immediate process of urban development.
4. Survival simulators - in such virtual simulations, the main goal is to maintain the viability of the game character in the midst of many threatening dangers.

Reasons for the popularity of life simulator

Experts note that the vast majority of fans of life simulations play such things in order to try on some new role. Such a desire arises in conditional attempts to escape the everyday and unchanging reality that the constant repetition of the same actions leads to. As an example, one can cite the desire to be in extreme conditions without endangering one's life in reality. Moreover, almost all life simulators differ from the same shooters in greater non-linearity and a variety of opportunities that are provided to solve a particular problem. Also, the negative effects used by the Sims in question have their 100% life counterparts, such as natural disasters hitting a city under construction.

Another factor of popularity is that when playing a "simulator" it is possible to get almost the same emotions that would arise in a real situation, but this does not require any excessive moral and physical means. For example, to simulate the life of a "survivor" you do not have to buy a ticket to a distant desert island - everything can be done on your home computer.

IMPORTANT! It is worth noting that most of the professions emulated in life sims (from urban planner to biologist) receive an indelible stamp of romanticization, which makes these areas of work more attractive in real life. Which, in principle, is not a bad outcome from a simulation game.

However, practice shows that life emulators very often work according to the same algorithm, forcing the player to perform the same actions at regular intervals. In some cases, this approach can give the player a false sense of security, especially when the most frequent executable processes can generally be automated by transferring them under computer control.

For the sake of truth, it should be noted that some variants of life sims have completely abandoned most of the monotonous actions. First of all, this applies to online simulators, in which, in a vast world, live people interact, controlling their own virtual characters. For example, the online version of The Great Car Thief 5 (GTA 5 RP) will force the player to pass several tests to get a job:

• Create resume;
• Send it to the employer;
• Pass an interview;
• Get an answer.

Moreover, the verification of all these steps will also be carried out by a living person who is a player.

The best life simulation games on PC for 2022

Programs for children

5th place: "The Sims"

In this Sim, it is possible to live the life of a created character (almost from school age), build his home, try to reach heights in his career, set up his own entrepreneurial business, start a family, raise children, take care of pets, go on business trips, go to discos , become an outstanding artist. However, you will have to make a lot of efforts to "life is a success." Each new addition to this series provides the player with more options and a variety of gaming tools. The game has a wide variety of furniture and building materials that allow you to turn your home into a "cozy nest".Also, a thorough customization of your character is available, up to creating a real “second self” in the game environment and inserting an exact copy of your pet there.

• Possibility of precise character customization;
• Variation of life lines;
• Availability of parameters for recreation and social activity.

• Lots of paid downloadable content.

4th place: "Stardew Valley"

This program is an intuitive imitation of the life of a farmer, the graphics in it are very pleasant for children's perception. There is also a plot of history: it all starts from the moment when his relative leaves a farm as a legacy to an ordinary office worker. It may seem that growing crops and caring for livestock, i.e. the overall development of the farm is the main game task. But not everything is so simple - you will have to build relationships with non-player characters. Most of the newly acquired acquaintances (which are the owners of neighboring farms) can teach the player new and useful skills, give him the opportunity to increase his financial well-being, and also make warm friendships that can later move to a new (love) stage.

• Pretty accurate farm simulator;
• Intuitive for little players;
• Opportunity to understand everyday issues of rural life.

• Not detected.

3rd place: "Spore"

This simulator is rightfully considered a masterpiece of evolution simulation, which is a pleasure to play for both children and adults. The first will like it for its amusing depiction of developing organisms, and the second will be interested in actually observing the ascent of creatures along an evolutionary chain that obeys certain laws.In the game, it is required to grow not a single character, but entire detachments of organisms, whose development starts from a single-celled stage. Instead of currency, DNA points are used, on the accumulation of which the development of the organism depends, its competitiveness in the worlds of varying degrees of development. The appearance of your wards allows you to change the multifunctional internal editor (adding horns, limb wings, which will be of practical importance for survival). Thus, a simple primitive tribe may initially be under the control of the player, with strict guidance capable of developing into a high-tech civilization, with claims to conquer the universe.

• Availability of the full evolutionary path;
• Extended features of the creature editor;
• Relatively low technical requirements.

• The graphics engine used is somewhat outdated.

2nd Place: The Sims Medieval

This simulation program, by and large, is the same "Sims", dressed in a "caftan" of the dark Middle Ages, which means the absence of some modern objects of interaction. However, along with the exclusion of certain functionality, the features inherent in that time were introduced into the game. It all starts with building your own state, which needs to be populated with key characters. They should be selected in accordance with the current realities, ranging from naturally applied, such as a blacksmith, and ending with completely fantastic, like a magician. Of course, the management of the feudal unit should be based on the principles of absolute power, for which the player is assigned the role of the supreme overlord (king or queen). It is worth mentioning.That the editor of the main character is not very detailed here, but it is possible to set up his main abilities in such a way that the overlord turns out to be quite colorful. The essence of the game will depend on the proper development chain: when the player reaches a certain stage, he will be allowed to get a useful NPC as an ally:

• Spy;
• Bard;
• merchant;
• Blacksmith;
• Doctor;
• Knight Palladin.

Having developed your virtual assistant to the right extent, you can solve in-game tasks more successfully in collaboration with him.

• An interesting game path on the theme of the Middle Ages;
• Good artificial intelligence for newly created vassals;
• Interesting game tasks.

• Weak graphic design.

1st place: "Virtual Villagers"

A good god emulator that both adults and children can enjoy. The goal of the game will be the development and prosperity of the island village. The game engine is made in a playful cartoon style. In addition to getting food, you will have to complete the tasks of building housing for settlers, educating the younger generation (me guidelines and directions for development), dealing with the consequences of various natural disasters (rain, impenetrable fog and hurricanes with tornadoes). It should be noted that user-controlled NPCs are far from simple units that require only sleep and food. Many of them will be subject to, for example, a variety of phobias - from the fear of water and heights (these cannot be sent fishing) to the fear of the dark (such Persians cannot be sent to mining work). All existing add-ons qualitatively increase the variability of possible in-game situations, which provide an interesting development for the game.

• Supervision of a certain part of the game world, which does not allow "spread" over large spaces;
• The presence of phobias in non-player Persians is a special feature;
• The cartoonish version of the game “picture” is a special joy for little players.

• Not detected.

Adult Programs

5th place: "Virtual Families"

Despite the cartoonish graphics of this simulator, it is hardly intended for use by "comrades" of a young age. The whole point is that first you need to get yourself a partner with whom you need to start a family. Moreover, depending on the behavior of the player, adultery will be possible. However, if the “companion” or “life partner” is chosen correctly, then it is possible to have children, to raise them properly (giving them the character traits of your character), and subsequently to inherit household ownership. In addition to these tasks, you also have to solve all sorts of puzzles, monitor the health of your Sims. Moreover, the gameplay continues even without your participation - while you are at work, sleeping or hanging out with friends, the virtual family also lives its own life.

• Ability to continue playing participation in the simulation;
• Precise predisposition to adult play;
• Non-committal cartoon graphics that promote simple perception.

• Not detected.

4th place: "Youtubers Life"

This application is designed for players who are trying to prove themselves in the field of "U-Tube" channels. It will allow you to feel like a beginner "u-tuber", inviting him to face many problems that fill the days of a professional figure in this segment of the Internet. Here you will have to:

• Look for topics for the everyday life of "youtube";
• Carry out shooting;
• Bring "to mind" the installation of videos.

However, a profile created by the user may be present at various online conferences organized within this platform. Integration compatibility with Sims applications is possible.

• Imitation of objectionable content blocking;
• Ability to integrate with the latest version of Sims;
• Nice development tool.

• Special - not found

3rd place: "Second Life"

This sim almost naturally repeats the character's life in the literal sense. Therefore, this game is not entirely possible to call a game - it is a full-fledged virtual space. A feature of this game can be called the rebirth of a simple human character into a fantastic creature. His participation (the “extended Persian”) in virtual duels in the Wild West environment (which is a separate offshoot) will allow the player to get as close as possible to the sensations of that time, where the “shooters” played a big role. However, when playing, one should not forget the non-player characters who are able to make a “hand” in the development of the main one. In the provided world, rather frivolous conventions reign, which small players should not see.

• Excellent image of the Wild level\;
• Sufficient realism;
• Good age control.

• Better "+" - there is no possibility of playing for minors.

2nd place: "There"

This project is slightly identical to the previous one, which is reflected in its very weak graphics engine. However, it allows you to simulate life in a fairly large area, having a good number of players online in its Internet version.A separate qualitative opportunity is communication with other "live" players, which does not necessarily turn into a fight. Here you can communicate with other "live" characters - you need to complete side tasks with them, for example, raising pets. In the provided virtual world, it is possible to model many objects - from entire buildings to clothing items. However, additional content is available only for money.

• The game is aimed at an adult audience;
• Sufficient number of online servers;
• Nice simulation of life.

• The graphics leave much to be desired.

1st place: "Love City 3D"

This absolutely adult life simulator on the Internet. It would be more accurate to say things that emulate certain stages of social advancement. In addition to creating an attractive avatar and arranging a cozy home, here you can also engage in socially useful activities and receive in-game currency for this. For example, if you have organizational skills, you can arrange some kind of event. There is also the opportunity to earn some money as a volunteer who helps new players get comfortable, and if you don’t mind being someone’s vest, go to psychologists. By the way, Love City 3D also turned out to be a good platform for dating - some people really manage to find love here.

• The best option for adult interaction in terms of social culture;
• Possibility of leading a fully adult life;
• Good character customization.

• Weak graphics.

Summarizing

The considered genre of video games for personal computers helps a person to increase his real self-esteem when he reaches certain heights in the game, which in real life will never be available to him. Psychologists note that the player receives the deepest moral satisfaction when he achieves a certain game goal, even more so if he did not even think that he could achieve it. Thus, the development of life simulators has great prospects, especially if we take into account the “leaping” development of immersive virtual reality technologies.