13 Games Like The Sims 4 That Let You Shape Entire Lives

Few games capture everyday life’s quiet joys and chaos like The Sims 4. Whether you’re building dream homes, nurturing generations, or watching your Sims’ lives spiral in delightfully unpredictable ways, it’s a sandbox of human stories.

If you love shaping lives, building communities, or seeing characters grow through your choices, these games offer that same creative freedom — each one inviting you to play, experiment, and imagine entire worlds of your own making.

Life by You

From ex-Sims developers, Life by You takes the open-life formula to a new level, letting you control or directly live as any character. Conversations, routines, and relationships feel fluid, giving you control over an entire living town.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Shape an island community from scratch, decorating homes and building friendships at your own pace. Its gentle rhythm of daily life captures the same cozy magic as The Sims, but with a breezier, nature-first charm.

My Time at Sandrock

Rebuild a desert town by crafting, farming, and connecting with quirky locals. Like The Sims, it’s about building relationships and creating a life — only with a dustier, more hands-on twist.

Hokko Life

Customize furniture, paint designs, and decorate your dream town. It’s a relaxing, community-driven take on the creative freedom The Sims is known for, just wrapped in softer colors and small-town charm.

Cities: Skylines II

If The Sims 4 is about shaping individuals, Cities: Skylines is about shaping the world they live in. Manage neighborhoods, traffic, and happiness across sprawling urban landscapes — life at a larger, more strategic scale.

Two Point Campus

Run your own whimsical university, complete with eccentric classes and chaotic student life. It turns management into comedy, letting you shape lives through education, environment, and a dose of absurd humor.

Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life

Tend your farm, fall in love, and raise a family as years gently pass by. It’s a slower, more emotional take on shaping life’s milestones — cozy, cyclical, and deeply human.

BitLife

A text-based life simulator that lets you live thousands of digital lives, from wholesome to utterly ridiculous. Every decision shapes a unique story, offering The Sims-style freedom in bite-sized form.

Stardew Valley

Farming, friendship, and family — this classic cozy sim lets you build a full, meaningful life in a sleepy valley. It shares The Sims’ charm for connection and growth but replaces city bustle with country calm.

Spirittea

Manage a bathhouse for spirits in a sleepy town, helping lost souls reconnect with themselves. It’s a tender blend of management and life simulation that mirrors The Sims’ emotional depth — just with more ghosts.

Dreamlight Valley

Move into a world where Disney and Pixar characters become your neighbors. Decorate, cook, and build friendships in a bright, magical version of life-sim bliss that feels like a fairytale Sims neighborhood.

House Flipper 2

Buy, repair, and redecorate homes however you please. It strips away social mechanics and focuses on The Sims’ most relaxing part — turning chaos into comfort, one renovation at a time.

Harvest Days

Create a peaceful life in the countryside, managing crops, animals, and relationships. It’s slower-paced than The Sims but scratches that same “build your dream life” itch.