9 Paralives Features The Sims 4 Still Doesn't Have

Key Takeaways

• Paralives lets players resize nearly every object in the game, eliminating the need to design spaces around fixed furniture sizes
• The game includes a full color wheel for clothes, hair, and furniture, plus the ability to save custom swatches
• All future content updates will be free after the base game purchase, with no paid DLC planned

Paralives entered early access on May 25, 2026, and it's already giving Sims players reasons to pay attention. The indie life simulation game, built by a team of just 12 developers, tackles long-standing frustrations with The Sims 4 by offering deep customization tools that EA's franchise has never delivered.

As PCGamer's Mollie Taylor put it after spending time with the game: the Venn diagram between Simmers and Paralivers is basically a circle. Both audiences want the same things. Paralives is betting it can deliver them better.

Resizable Objects Change Everything

The standout feature for builders is object scaling. Nearly every item in Paralives can be pulled and resized to fit your space. Couch too short for your family room? Stretch it. Window too small for that wall? Make it bigger. Plant overwhelming the corner? Shrink it down.

This flips the building philosophy. Instead of designing rooms around fixed furniture dimensions, you design the space you want and adjust the objects to match. For players who spend more time in build mode than live mode, this is the feature they've been asking EA for since The Sims 4 launched in 2014.

Snap-Free Decorating Without Cheats

Placing clutter in The Sims 4 is a known pain point. To get items exactly where you want them, you need to enter cheat codes, move surfaces away, float objects in mid-air, then reposition everything. It's fiddly and time-consuming.

Paralives skips the workaround entirely. Place clutter anywhere you want. No cheats required. The system just works the way players expect it to.

The Color Wheel Returns

The Sims 3 had a color wheel. The Sims 4 removed it, limiting players to preset swatches. Paralives brings it back.

Make clothes, hair, and furniture any color you want. Save custom swatches so you can finally have matching wood tones across an entire room. Some furniture items also include texture options, adding another layer of customization that Sims 4 players have been modding in for years.

Height Sliders Add Variety

Every adult Sim in The Sims 4 is the same height. It's a limitation players have accepted for a decade. Paralives includes height sliders, letting you create short characters, tall characters, and everything in between.

It sounds minor until you start building a household. Height differences between characters introduce visual variety and make relationships feel more distinct. A parent towering over a teenage child. Two friends with a noticeable height gap. Small details that make characters feel like individuals rather than reskinned mannequins.

Vegetarian Toggle Without Sacrificing Traits

In The Sims 4, making a character vegetarian costs you a trait slot. You get three traits to define your Sim's personality, and dietary preference burns one of them. Want a vegetarian who's also creative and family-oriented? Pick two.

Paralives treats vegetarianism as a lifestyle choice, not a personality trait. It's a checkbox, separate from the trait system. A small quality-of-life change that lets players tell more complete character stories without artificial trade-offs.

No Paid DLC. Ever.

This is where Paralives makes its biggest bet. The studio has committed to zero paid DLC. All future content updates come free after the initial purchase.

“We believe that the game should be a complete experience for the price you pay, without being nickel-and-dimed for extra furniture or gameplay features later.”

— Alex Massé, Founder and Lead Developer of Paralives

For context, The Sims 4's complete collection of expansion packs, game packs, stuff packs, and kits costs well over $1,000 at full price. The community reaction to Paralives' pricing model has been overwhelmingly positive, with players on Reddit and gaming forums frequently citing it as the primary reason they're willing to try an early access life sim.

Early Access Means Work in Progress

Paralives is not a finished game. The early access label is accurate. Features are missing. Bugs exist. The 12-person development team is building in public, relying heavily on community feedback and Patreon support to fund continued development.

But what's there already demonstrates a different design philosophy than The Sims 4. Where EA's game often feels like it's protecting players from too much freedom, Paralives assumes players know what they want and gives them tools to execute it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Paralives available now?

Yes, Paralives entered early access on May 25, 2026. It's playable but still in development with features being added regularly.

Will Paralives have paid DLC?

No. The studio has committed to making all future content updates free after the initial base game purchase.

How does Paralives compare to The Sims 4?

Paralives offers deeper customization tools including resizable objects, a color wheel, height sliders, and snap-free decorating. However, it's still in early access and lacks some gameplay features The Sims 4 has built up over 10 years.

How big is the Paralives development team?

The game is being developed by a team of 12 people, funded primarily through Patreon and community support.

Source: PCGamer latest