MiiNews Alert! Tomodachi Life has been resurrected on the Nintendo Switch/Switch 2

While it’s nearly time to live the dream, for now I have the opportunity to give you a glimpse of that dream. For the sake of a preview, we will look at the opening hours as we start (or return to) our Tomodachi Life.

Many years ago now I spent countless hours with the 3DS Tomodachi Life, and even a little too long within Miitomo. It’s now a decade later and I’m ready to oversee a new Tomodachi paradise.

Tomodachi Life is a quirky social simulation game where you control and look after an island of Miis as they go about their lives, as you intervene and help them to connect and get up to all kinds of shenanigans.

Starting off, you have an island to name. The game offers a few options, or you can name it yourself. Overwhelmed by the possibilities, for the sake of actually progressing past the first option, I went with the preselected Big Cheese Island.

When you name your island, there is a cool option where if the pronunciation doesn’t sound as it is written (say you have a word with two pronunciations and meanings), you can use a second menu to adjust how it is said so it is pronounced exactly as you intended. This also goes for anything you name within the game, nicknames your Miis can give each other, and more. While it’s not a new feature, it is just a taste of how you get to make this Tomodachi Life your own. Given how long it has been since we were blessed with a new Tomodachi Life game, not all of these features are new, and hell, it’s been some time since I played it too.

What is new is that Tomodachi Life comes with some important inclusive features. You can choose from Male, Female, or Non-Binary gender settings, with Mii customisation not locking you into any particular gendered appearances or voices. You can also select from four dating options, finally allowing for same-sex dating, relationships, and romances, or you can have your Mii open to any gender. You’re in control of the settings ultimately, and while the options are there, you make the decision. It’s great to see that Nintendo listened after the 3DS game.

MiiNews Alert! Top Banana placed in management of Big Cheese Island

“The Top Banana has started Big Cheese Island with a Mii in his image. With advances in Mii technology, Blues is getting a Switch makeover and is now the owner of a new set of ears”.

You are recognised as the caretaker of the island and the Mii’s within. Which the Mii’s are very much aware of, as such the game wants you to choose a name to refer to. The preset options are pretty silly, either leaning into the goofiness such as ‘Top Banana’ and ‘Cap’t’. Other names lean more towards potential charismatic cult leader, or a name of your own choosing. I went with ‘Top Banana’ of Big Cheese Island. 

Since the 3DS days, Nintendo’s Mii’s exist in a strange space. There’s been a few games with 3DS origins that use them, but it has been some time since there has been a community to draw from. Which makes Tomodachi Life an interesting (and much wanted) addition to the Switch/Switch 2. If you already have a Mii on your system you can bring them into your game, along with sprucing them up with some updated hair styles, ears and just generally more comprehensive Mii editing. 

As with the previous title, you get some sliders to help choose each Mii’s personality. You can make them into a wild goofball, a super serious no nonsense type, or tweak the formula to make for some entertaining Mii’s. And it wouldn’t be Tomodachi Life without the text to voice-speech, where you can also fiddle with how your Mii sounds in some entertaining ways. 

Customisation is throughout many decisions in the game, with very few decisions being permanent. If it turns out you don’t like your Mii’s name, want to change up their appearance or any other initial settings, you can edit them at any time. 

MiiNews Alert! Big Cheese Island inhabitants can’t stop talking about Hotdogs!

“Big Cheese Island’s first Mii inhabitant Blues has now spent hours spreading the news of Hotdogs to the slowly building population on the island. With a coincidental find at the Clothes Shop, Blues has donned a Hotdog costume and continues to spread the good word, as the Mii’s on the island are keen to connect over their shared love for this mystery item. Will Big Cheese Island move out of the big hotdog’s shadow?!?”

You are far from a passive overlord; the Mii’s want to know about you and want to know about their fellow Mii’s. It took only one response to a favourite item to result in the fledgling island all discussing how much they like hotdogs, keen to demonstrate their devotion to this topic. As new Mii’s are introduced, there is a moment of tension as to if they will be a hotdog fan or if they’re about to commit one of Big Cheese Island’s newest faux pas. 

Of course, new topics come up to help add some variety and potential tension to Mii interactions, as not everyone is going to be into the same interests. It can even be that someone just doesn’t like hotdogs in the way the other Mii does, potentially leaving some hurt feelings at social rejection. Not to worry, there are plenty of other opportunities for Mii’s to connect, whether it is helping a fellow Mii that has frozen on the spot or trapped in a hiccup. Mii’s can even just decide they want to get to know someone and ask for your advice.  

MiiNews Alert! Carrot Cake Cake has become the new craze food on Big Cheese Island! 

“Aldan, the latest Mii inhabitant, is fast asleep. Big Cheese’s Top Banana is unsure if Aldan is having a pleasant dream or a nightmare, as the Mii dreams of endless waves of Carrot Cake Cake. Fortunately every day on Big Cheese Island is a paradise getaway for Mii’s and Top Banana’s alike”. 

With the Studio Workshop, you can create new items to be used on your island. The starter example is making a cake, which you can draw on, colour in, or use a stamp to make something new. I found the image for the game’s Carrot Cake and stamped it on top, and voilà! Carrot Cake Cake is born. As with any information shared with your Mii’s, it is adopted into the game’s larger ecosystem. 

If you feel a little overwhelmed with creation tools in simulation games like this, fortunately, Tomodachi Life is very low stakes. Customisation is king, and you can always fix things up later or remove them (to my understanding). Even your low-effort creations quickly become endearing; the game never takes itself too seriously. 

MiiNews Alert! Quirks maketh the Mii

“Big Cheese Island inhabitants are greeting each other in explosively charged salutations! Beth, reminiscent of Goku, looks like she is ready to power up to Super Saiyan. Aldan is strutting his stuff around the island, while Beth has taken up photography, mostly taking photos of the front of Mii houses.  

Making your Mii’s happy leads to earning warm fuzzies. These fuzzies go towards levelling up the island and the Wish Fountain. More importantly, building up happiness also leads to levelling up your Mii’s. When they level up, you get to magnanimously give the Mii a gift or perk. Prezzies are items that help give the Mii something extra to fill out their personality around the island.

This could be a camera for a hobby in photography, a Yoga DVD, or a Guitar, and more. Quirks allow you to give your Mii’s some extra personality, whether it is a type of walk, greeting, or even just how they stand. You can also give them phrases to inject into their vocabulary, either presets or phrases of your choosing. As you level your Mii’s up, you get to really develop them further into their own individuals. 

MiiNews Alert! Living the dream on Big Cheese Island

All of this and honestly it’s barely scratching the surface, but besides, this is just a sneak peek. If you’ve been waiting to return to this series, you’ll have a good idea of what lies in wait, and then some!

Stay tuned for closer to launch for the full news scoop on this wild and wacky game.

Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream is out April 16th, 2026 for the Nintendo Switch