Paralives walk styles are the focus of this week’s post, as every week since October last year the Paralives team has been opening to the public posts that were originally only available to Patreon supporters.
The walk style animations are intended to make the game feel more alive since we will be able to observe Parafolk in everyday situations interacting in the open-world town in real time in-game. Let’s take a look and understand how Paralives walk styles will work on day 1 of Early Access!
Paralives: All Walk Styles
Life Stage Walk Styles
As stated in the original blog post “Animation Showcase: Walk Styles!” on Patreon, the walk styles based on life stages are the highest-priority type of walk style, and they will not be influenced by emotions (at least at first). The ones that will be present this time are the child walk style, the pregnant walk style, and the elder walk style.
Child Walk Style
The showcase starts with the walking style that will be used as the default for children. It is likely that, at least in the beginning of Early Access, this will be the only walk style for kids. It was teased in the post that they also already had the toddler animations ready, but they were not shown this time.
Pregnant Walk Style
The second walk style in the showcase shows how pregnant Parafolk will walk. This walk style also has a high priority, so regardless of emotion, the Parafolk will use it while pregnant.
Elder Walk Style
The last priority walk style in the video was the elder walk style. This one will be used for all Parafolk in the elder life stage.
Vibe Walk Style
The vibe walk styles are walk styles based on personality traits. These are the walk styles that will be used when emotions are not strong enough to cause a variation in the walk style.
Energetic Walk Style
The energetic walk style will be used when the Parafolk has the energetic vibe. It is possible to see that, even though the Parafolk has the “stressed” emotion at level 3, the emotion isn’t strong enough to change the way they are walking. The “stressed walk style” will also be presented later in this post.
Gloomy Walk Style
Similar to the energetic walk style, the gloomy walk style will be used when the Parafolk has the gloomy vibe and the emotions they are feeling are not strong enough to override it. In this case, the Parafolk has a level 2 “sad” emotion, but it is not strong enough to change the way they are walking.
Overjoyed Walk Style
The overjoyed walk style works the same way as the previous walk style and will be used when the Parafolk’s emotions are not strong enough.
Serious Walk Style
The next walk style presented is the serious one. This one will be used when the Parafolk has a “serious vibe” and is not under the influence of any strong emotion.
Jester Walk Style
The Jester walk style is the last walk style based on the vibe of the Parafolk in this showcase. This one is also not impacted by emotions.
Emotion-Based Walk Styles
The emotion walk styles are the second priority and will be used when emotions are strong enough. They will not be used for Parafolk in a special state (such as being pregnant) or in life stages that have their own walk styles (such as children and elders).
It has not been officially stated yet and may change, but based on the original post about walk styles, it seems that emotions start to affect the walk style at level 4.
Happy Walk Style
The first presented walk style based on an emotion was the happy walk style, with the emotion card at level 6.
Stressed Walk Style
The second walk style based on an emotion was the stressed walk style, with the emotion card at level 7. Poor Parafolk!
Sad Walk Style
The sad walk style is one of my favorites. The Parafolk presented has a “sad” emotion card at level 5. It really captures the emotion, and the Parafolk looks so sad in this animation that I wish I could give them a hug.
Angry Walk Style
The angry walk style presented is at level 5. I wouldn’t mess with this Parafolk.
Embarrassed Walk Style
The embarrassed walk style is at level 5, and the way the Parafolk is acting really tells a lot. I can feel how ashamed they are in this animation.
Disgusted Walk Style
The disgusted walk style was presented at level 4. I want to know what situations trigger this emotion!
Bored Walk Style
To finish the showcase, the bored walk animation was presented at level 6.
In the original Patreon post “Animation Showcase: Walk Styles!“, published by the Paralives team, it is said that the walking styles are still a work in progress and may change or evolve over time. You can also visit our Paralives News section to learn more about what is coming in Early Access!
Paralives is set to release on PC and MAC on Steam on May 25, 2026.
What do you think about the new walking animations? Are you excited for the Early Access? Let us know in the comments and stay tuned for more updates on your favorite Life Sims!
