Play dress-up and solve murders in this cute, bizarre life simulation game

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Life Makeover might be lacking in originality, but it's still an incredibly addictive dress-up game. Even though it just launched, it's absolutely packed with content. From putting together outfits for challenges to creating unique designs to solving murders, there's so much to do that it's almost impossible to stop playing.

It's hard to talk about Life Makeover without mentioning another dress-up and life simulation game, Shining Nikki. While Life Makeover isn't quite a Nikki clone, it borrows from it heavily and flat-out copies some of its core gameplay mechanics. If you've spent any time Nikki UP2U series, Life Makeover will instantly feel familiar.

Life Makeover may be a Nikki imitator, but it also finds ways to improve the basic formula. One of the Life Makeover's best upgrades is its dyeing feature, which lets you customize the colors of clothing and accessories.  If you've played Nikki games before, you'll know that your top-rated pieces won't always match. Since Life Makeover lets you dye pieces, you can get a great score while still creating a cohesive look.

In addition to refining Nikki's dress-up challenges, Life Makeover takes the simulation aspects of the game one step further, letting you buy and decorate homes. So far, I've only purchased one small property, but it looks like I'll eventually be able to create a real estate empire and flex my interior decorating skills. 

Life Makeover also takes itself in some unexpected directions. Most of the gameplay revolves around putting on cute outfits, but it's not just a dress-up game. Within the first few chapters, Life Makeover reveals itself to be a murder mystery, complete with witness interrogations and investigation segments. Your character even has the power to peer inside the memories of suspects to learn more about their motives.

As a longtime fan of the Nikki games, I figured I'd have fun with Life Makeover, but I wasn't expecting to like it as much as I do. Ever since I started the game, I've struggled to put it down, and every new feature and twist in the story has sucked me in further. Nothing will replace Shining Nikki in my heart, but I think I'll be spending lots of time with Life Makeover in the weeks to come.