Virtual Families Lite is a Android compatible game available on mobile devices; smartphones and tablets which run Android 1.6 and above. As well as this, it is compatible with lots of hardware based on Apple’s iOS operating system. Since its release in October of 2013, by Last Day of Work LLC, Virtual Families Lite has achieved over five million downloads to smart devices. This is a casual game, which is entirely free to play with no in app purchases – however, some of the content is locked and unavailable to play, and is purely for the paid version of this application only. The game is fairly limited if you do not purchase the paid version.
Users of Virtual Families Lite are able to care for their own families – virtually. If the user does not feel like taking care of their virtual family members within Virtual Families Lite, this is fine – they are able continue in the real world while the virtual world continues by itself. Virtual family members are able to have babies and then grow – users are then able to watch these family members pass down the household for generations after generations as older family members slowly pass away. Users can also help family members within Virtual Families Lite with choosing their career path, eating healthily, working well and being nice ‘human beings’ in general.
Getting started is extremely easy, but leaves also has the potential to leave the user a little confused. Upon starting a new game, the screen reads “there is a tiny world hidden in your computer,” which is followed up by a menu which allows the user of Virtual Families Lite to choose which virtual family member they wish to adopt. That is essentially it, and after that the user is free to play and do as they wish with their newfound family member. The introductory line is, however, a little confusing and it does not really explain much.
If you are playing Virtual Families Lite, then you probably know that there are a lot of ads in this game, and that can really get annoying. We have decided to add a hack tool for Virtual Families Lite, which removes all of the ads in this game.
Check out the image below to see just how easy the hack tool is to use, with the options menu being where you select to get rid of all the ads.
Simply download the Virtual Families Lite hack tool from our website, which takes about 30 seconds, and then wait another 20 seconds while the hack automatically installs. Once that is done, simply select either iOS or Android depending on which device you are using, and then just click the box that you want to remove the ads from the game.
Tap “Start” to begin the hack tool, which should take no more than 40 seconds to complete. After the hack has completed, you can open up the game as normal and you will find the ads are gone from the game. By using the hack tool and getting rid of the ads, you will find yourself enjoying Virtual Families Lite more.
There is a cheat which allows the user to make more in game currency than they were originally intended to within Virtual Families Lite. Instead of allowing the parent adult members of their virtual family to do all of the work, users should only let them do actions which are relatable to health and safety. This includes things such as going to the toilet and washing their hands. Users should cancel most or all other options. This will force the children of the virtual families to do all the housework, which in turn will increase profit while the parents are out working in their new found career.
As well as the above cheat, there is also another money making cheat. Again, this increases the amount of money within Virtual Families Lite that the user can earn that they otherwise shouldn’t be able to if they weren’t using this method. Users should keep giving children books until they reach level eight in the game. The more books used on children is equal to more money for the user of Virtual Families Lite. If the user continues to give their virtual children books, then they can easily earn above one thousand in game dollars for every in game day. And then, when the children become old enough they can be sent to work – from there, the above cheat can be repeated!
There is also another cheat for Virtual Families Lite which works well on both Android and iOS alike. The first step is for the user to open the game and then quickly exit out of it – there is not a specific play time required, so it can be exited almost immediately. After that, the user should go to settings and chose the date and time tab – from there, the user should change the year back by 2 years. Once this is complete, they need to reopen the app and have a family member complete a task like take out the trash or make a meal. The last step is to exit out, change the date back to today’s date and reopen the application. Users should easily find thousands of in game dollars within their virtual wallet.
There is also a cheat to receive rare items within Virtual Families Lite a lot quicker than the developer intended. The user needs to wait until it is raining in game, and then they should continually take their dog out for a walk. As long as it is not dinner time and the dog is not hungry, then the dog should cooperate. When walking the dog, it will eventually find something for you, which will be very rare and valuable.
There is also another cheat which enables the user to keep their family members happen for a longer amount of time than usual. Happiness of Virtual Families Lite family members only decreases if the app is open, or running in the background. So, the user should only play for brief time periods and/or ensure the app is closed from the background once they are finished playing.
Virtual Families Lite does not offer an immersive experience and when I play, I do not find myself feeling as if I was part of the game – however, not a lot of other casual games offer this experience so it is forgivable. Everything seemed very mild, and a little bit stale – as if nothing much was really going on within the game. When playing Virtual Families Lite, I felt more as if I was playing for the sake of playing and wasting time rather than feeling as if I was an actual part of the game. Again, not a lot of casual games offer this, so it is not something out of the ordinary for this game genré. There was not enough happening to make me feel immersed – there needed to be a lot more action, and a lot more frequently. I think that if family members ended up having (fairly) frequent fights and/or arguments which needed to be stopped to avoid damage to the Virtual Families Lite family members, then the game would feel a lot more immersive. I thought that I would feel more like a parent while playing this game, but instead I felt like I was just a user of an application. Also, actions taken aren’t rewarding enough and in reality, it feels like I have no reason to be doing it other than to waste my time if I am bored. This could certainly be worked on – if there was more action, then there game would become more immersive.
The user interfaces for Virtual Families Lite are not the worst, but they’re also far from perfect. When I’m playing the game, there are a lot of buttons which cover a fair percentage of the screen – which isn’t perfect when the game is being played on a mobile device. I can see this being fine on a computer with a large monitor – but when using a smartphone, like the Google Nexus 5, that space would be appreciated for other things. Maybe the buttons and menus at the bottom and left hand side of the screen could be fixed so that they collapse and can be bought back by dragging in from the edge of the screen – this would improve gameplay greatly. The point I’m trying to make here is this – there shouldn’t be anything too large on the screen, especially when it is intended for use on mobile devices. In open menus, things are alright and I do not think that things are too cramped into one small area. Everything flows well and is very responsive within menus, however they do look a little scruffy and could do with a little bit of work on the aesthetics side of things.
I think that the graphics for Virtual Families Lite are far from perfect, but they are also very pleasing to the eye. They do look a little but novelty, but that’s what I like about it. Everything is very cartoon-esque and is simultaneously unique. I think the developers have done a great job in the graphics department, and I think they are perfect for this style and genré (casual) of game. Everything fits together well with each other, and nothing looks out of place – I am glad to see that things have been designed with care and compassion with the other models in mind whilst creating new ones. I feel that the graphics are absolutely perfect for mobile, and it is exactly what I would like to see when I am playing on a smaller device. Although they are not perfect, they look a little classic which makes me reminisce of past family games which is a lovely added touch. I really like the graphics.
Tasks within Virtual Families Lite are far too repetitive, and I do not feel as if they are rewarding enough. After a while of continually making Virtual Families Lite family members sleep, go to the toilet, wash their hands, have a shower, and watch television over and over again, it does get very tedious. And the worst part of all, there isn’t much of a reward for doing these tasks like in game currencies. I think that the addition of a few minigames, like a casino or some classic games on the virtual computer, would be great. This would be a fantastic option for users to do when they are bored of the game but don’t feel like they are quite ready to exit the app in entirety. There also needs to be more action – like fights and arguments between the family members in Virtual Families Lite, just so that the users can do something out of the ordinary after a while. It also seems like something needs to be added to keep me playing the game, like a hourly bonus of some free in game dollars. Some work most certainly needs to be done here to avoid things becoming overly draining.
I love what the developers of Virtual Families Lite have done with the advertisement sides of things. There are absolutely no advertisements throughout the whole of the game. Not once did I see one, and it was extremely pleasing not to see any. This can really be appreciated by users who do not want to be distracted every five minutes like a lot of competitor apps do. This is a fantastic move on the developer’s part.
It is a shame to see that so much is limited within the lite version of Virtual Families. For me to even consider paying for the full version, I need to trial everything. It is such an irritation that some things are blocked off completely, like home improvements. It would be lovely to be able to just try it – to be able to spend a maximum of five hundred in game dollars would be a great idea, just so that I am able to get a feel for things. I think limiting (what I would estimate to be) over eighty percent of the game was a fairly bad move on the developer’s part, here. This does need to be improved on.
Overall, Virtual Families Lite was averagely entertaining.
Artwork: I give Virtual Families Lite an 8/10 for their artwork. Overall, it’ is very pleasing and I think the developers have done a great job. The artwork gives off a retro feel and I think this suits the type and genré of game that Virtual Families Lite fulfils. I can tell that a lot of time and effort has been dedicated into the graphics and I think that it has given a great end output. The artwork really adds to the game, and it is certainly one of my favorite features – I feel that all users can appreciate this artstyle. The reason I cannot give the full ten is because they are not actually perfect, and there could be some work done – such as neatening the outline of objects.
Music & SFX: I give Virtual Families Lite a 5/10 for their work on music and sound effects. Music is very absent, there is virtually no music throughout the whole of the game. I would love to have seen music within this game, because I think it could have really added to the overall gameplay. The sound effects are great, and I really like them. I have no complaints or issues with them, other than they can become a little repetitive if actions are repeated by the user. Otherwise, they are fantastic. I would love to give the full ten, but there is no music – so I cannot.
Story & Originality: I can’t give Virtual Families Lite anything above a 0/10 for story and originality. This has been done countless times with the likes of games such as The Sims. I have seen this done many times and it is certainly nothing new. Plus, there is barely any storyline besides the sentence at the beginning of the game – nothing else.
General Gameplay: I give Virtual Families Lite a 6/10 for general gameplay. It is fun, but does get extremely repetitive and boring after playing for just a few minutes – in the end it makes me question why I am playing and I feel like there is no reason for me to actually be playing. Nothing is rewarding enough, and every task feels like it is practically for nothing else than wasting time. Especially after playing similar games to Virtual Families Lite, like The Sims, everything seems too repetitive. Things are also far too limited within this version of the game and there is basically nothing to do other than the same few things, however, I love how there are no advertisements throughout.
Addictiveness: I give Virtual Families Lite a 6/10 for addictiveness. I do find myself wanting to check up on my virtual family members whenever I have spare time – however, the limitations put on this version of the game makes me not really want to. I get combined feelings – I want to see my family members but there isn’t much else I can do besides what I’ve already done. To know the game progresses at its own rate, without me playing, makes me worse – I know my virtual family members will be fine even if I’m not there to care for them, so really there is no need for me to play. The game produces a continuous dilemma for me. Knowing I won’t be able to do anything more than spend the money on food, rather than pets and home expansions, is very draining for me. There is also not much of a storyline, making things worse, too. If there was more to the game, I’d certainly play more.
Overall, I give Virtual Families Lite a 5/10.