Debuted in 2018, the mobile app BitLife – Life Simulator has a rating of at least 4 out of 5 stars in both the iOS App Store and the Google Play Store. Though it doesn’t seem like much on the surface, BitLife supplies its players with hours of gameplay, along with frequently updated challenges for players to complete if they so choose. BitLife is purely text-based, so its players aren’t able to see their person digitally rendered or customize a house like in The Sims, but the possibilities that BitLife gives its players more than makes up for the missing “graphic” component of the game.
Referred to as BitLifeApp on social media, many of its players will screenshot and share the random occurrences that plague their BitLife character. Some of these events can positively affect the character’s life, but other times they can cause a lot of chaos. Unlike The Sims franchise, especially The Sims 4, children need to play this mobile game with caution. While both games never show anything graphically explicit, BitLife can get a bit more adult with its themes, while players who want to add that kind of content to The Sims must use mods.
Players can only control one character at a time, but by the time BitLife randomly generates the character, it’s really not an issue because there’s so much to do with this one character. BitLife will provide the player with a randomly generated country, name, and backstory (if the character is the child of a single-parent or in a dual-parent household, possibly in a divorced situation, or even an orphan) so the player gets a sense of who the character is right off the bat.
There are four bars that appear toward the bottom of the screen that tracks the character’s happiness, health, smarts, and looks. These will all fluctuate throughout the game, especially if the character starts to suffer from high blood pressure from stress, or maybe they get into an accident that causes their “Smarts” to go down. Unlike The Sims 4, being a child in BitLife does not mean that the character is safe from death. Freak accidents can kill a character and result in a “Game Over” very quickly.
When BitLife characters are of age, they’ll begin attending school, which could be a public or private institution. They can make friends, join after-school activities, or even get a part-time job (once they’re of age) to make some extra money. If they’ve done well enough in their studies, they can move on to a university or jump straight into the workforce—or choose not to work at all. It’s all up to the player and how they want their character’s life to go.
However, as mentioned before, sometimes BitLife will throw curveballs that players don’t prepare for. Some of them can be beneficial, but others can really take a toll on the character’s life. One wrong move could land the player’s character in prison for a few years or result in a life sentence. This doesn’t even scratch the surface of buying things like cars, jewelry, or even real estate within the game.
BitLife also offers the opportunity for players to become “Bitizens” after a one time payment, but being a Bitizen removes ads, opens up more slots for pets, and unlimited generations, among other things. The developer, Candywriter, also introduced “God Mode,” which is a separate fee but allows players to edit any character and adjust their looks and temperament accordingly.
As a franchise, The Sims has veered away from broaching adult topics, but it wasn’t always that way. Earlier Sims games were full of tongue-in-cheek references and hints at more mature content, especially things like somewhat promiscuous looking maid outfits or even the strippers that would pop out of giant birthday cakes in The Sims: House Party. BitLife, on the other hand, isn’t very tongue-in-cheek about anything, and that’s what makes it such a realistic and interesting life simulator.
Players’ characters, though they can only control one at a time, can deal with real-life issues like drug addiction, alcohol addiction, or even a gambling addiction. They can live with these issues or seek help by going to Alcoholics Anonymous meetings or by attending an in-patient rehab. Players cannot go with them, but a text box will pop up that confirms the character has attended and if it’s “cured” the addiction or not. The last part isn’t exactly realistic, but there has to be some tangible payoff for players.
BitLife also has a fame tracker, but players must have their character follow a specific route to end up famous. One of the more recent updates opened up the opportunity for characters to become famous musicians and singers instead of just acting. Once famous, players can make their characters participate in TV ads, write a book, appear in interviews, and pose for magazines to maintain their fame.
There are also tons of achievements in BitLife that players can work towards with any given character, though their smarts and looks will factor into a lot of the gameplay. For example, players will find it difficult to become popular on social media in the game if their character has a low looks bar. Players can also complete “Ribbons” in BitLife, with examples being “Hero,” “Geriatric,” or even “Jailbird.”
The countries that player’s characters live in are true-to-life as well and not so much fictionalized ideals like The Sims. If a character is part of the LGBTQ community and lives in a country where it’s illegal to be part of that community, the game will pop up with a message saying that a character cannot marry their partner because it’s illegal there. But, never fear, because players can have their characters emigrate to a place where it is accepted, and more often than not the partner will agree to move with the character.
BitLife is such a rich life simulator, and a great choice for fans of The Sims who like to dabble in more mature themes at times. Though it’s not as graphically in-depth as The Sims, content-wise BitLife will leave players feeling like there’s always more to be done.
BitLife – Life Simulator is available now on the Google Play Store and iOS App Store.
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