Life Makeover, also known as Kirameki Paradise, will make fashion gamers rejoice, drawing users into its vivid world with a beautiful 3D avatar that they can customize to their tastes. The newest entry for Archosaur Games takes a bit of a different turn compared to other titles by the developer, such as Noah’s Heart and Dragon Raja, presenting its story as a mystery visual novel while blending in dress-up challenges and interactive photoshoots.
Note that as this review is based on a beta version; some parts of Life Makeover may change upon its official release on July 28. However, with the goal to provide an immersive experience, Life Makeover spares no effort in the number of ways that the player can express their inner fashionista.
▍Style Your Character for the World to See!
Life Makeover has an impressive number of fashion options to choose from spanning a wide range of styles for you to mix and match. Though there are limitations on what clothes, hairstyles, and accessories can be matched together, each piece is highly detailed and can be dyed to suit your tastes! Beginners will start with a small wardrobe, but by participating in events, PVP, and clearing the main story, their wardrobe will grow exponentially to fit many different styles.
Once an outfit has been assembled, players are able to take pictures of their avatar using a variety of poses, backdrops, and filters similar to popular SNS like Instagram and Snapchat. These pictures can be shared with your friends on your social media apps and reward Diamonds in the process. While the option isn’t available right now, Life Makeover plans to allow players to create recordings of their avatars that can also be shared.
Normally, most games use preset images for player accounts that can be unlocked through in-game progression. Life Makeover goes above and beyond in allowing creative freedom, as photos taken in this mode can be set as the player’s account image.
▍Create Your Own Fashion Brand
Imitation is not a form of flattery in Life Makeover, and the developer kept this idea in mind when devising a way to allow players to design their own patterns. With enough progression, any player can unlock the ability to put their own aesthetic perspective into the game itself.
By consuming materials obtained in-game, players can create personal designs using a base template with their own flair, such as adjusting the hem of a dress or adding a belt to a cute skirt. Even the fabric of the clothing can be adjusted and is visually reflected in the game, showing the extent of Life Makeover’s devotion to fashion. If that isn’t enough, then the ability to produce your own custom patterns is sure to convince you otherwise!
▍Your Journey to Become a World-Renown Fashion Designer
In Life Makeover, the player takes on the role of a fashion blogger for VVANNA, who accompanies your older sister, Ashley, on a trip to meet with the famous idol group Black Sugar. Though the sisters’ lives look to be peaceful, Ashley’s job as a private detective land both siblings into a mystery when the members of Black Sugar find their clothes destroyed and a culprit nowhere to be found. Taking the chance to help the idol group, you will assist Ashley with the investigation, setting off a chain of events that hints at a bigger problem on the horizon.
The main story and side stories are notable for using live 2D and CG images to build interactive scenarios. Life Makeover also features English voice acting at the time of this writing, but there are several instances where the dialogue and voice acting did not match up, and the translations are a bit spotty. But it may mostly be due to the early version provided for this review.
To progress in the story, players are tasked to dress up their avatars in a way that fits the theme given. Players will need to consider the attributes and style of a hairstyle, clothing, or accessory piece to create an ensemble tailored to the mission’s objective. The Search function would be the go-to pick to see which styles can help maximize the score, but it is a bit clunky to use as it filters clothing that matches all tags that are selected, instead of any styles that match the selected tags.
Points are earned based on how well the outfit matches the theme, resulting in a ‘Perfect’ score once the outfit exceeds a certain number of points. The player is allowed to bring in an Ally, with unique attributes and skills that can help the player earn more points.
Once the player submits their outfit, they are treated to a short music video showing off their character’s ensemble while points are tallied, which makes the mix and match process even more exciting.
Occasionally, the player might also be asked to take photos of a model over the course of the story. Poses are automatically rotated on a reel, and players will need to time their inputs to take a picture with a pose that fits the mission objectives. Players will also be able to select one of three backgrounds for the duration of the photoshoot.
▍Invite Friends Over to Your Decorative Home
Fitting for its name, Life Makeover/ Kirameki Paradise allows players to build their own personal haven with its Housing system. By completing Daily missions and participating in the Endorsement Queen event, the player earns Chestnuts which can be used to place housing infrastructure or purchase furniture. The game splits the Housing area into four floors and a yard, giving plenty of room for the user to experiment with possible layouts.
Decorating a home may be nice, but what about living in it? Life Makeover takes interaction to a level unseen in most mobile games, as avatars are able to interact with the environment around them. From cooking meals, swimming in a pool, or even taking a nap, Life Makeover even incorporates a meter measuring Hunger and Cleanliness to simulate a realistic environment that is shareable on social media. The app even gives you diary entries of your activities, serving as both a reminder to the player about what they’ve done recently, but also adds character to your avatar.
An adorable Housing system such as this drew me in almost immediately, and it was a struggle to avoid spending hours in this mode. The experience started simply where walls and basic furniture were placed but soon evolved into deciding what bookshelves to use and moving pieces around until you could fit a piano into your sweet home. The time with the system was pleasant for the most part, but my biggest gripe was that it was difficult to interact with objects unless there was a large amount of space between the selected object and an obstacle.
▍Life Makeover is Making Its Way to Stardom
Archosaur Games’ newest entry is ambitious in what it sets out to accomplish, but it hits all the right marks in identifying itself as a high-end fashion game. Life Makeover prides itself on its gorgeous 3D models and creative freedom; while lower-end devices may be unable to play the game itself, the quality of its visuals is undeniable. Fashion lovers and simulation gamers alike should keep an eye on Life Makeover, as it is sure to satisfy any imaginative urges players might have.
