Paralives Basement Guide: How to Build Underground
Finding out your digital avatars are procrastinating by playing real indie games on their computers is a brilliant level of inception.
If you want to build a dark underground bunker so your character can play Dwarf Fortress and eat ramen in peace, you are going to run into a frustrating roadblock. Paralives is currently in Early Access. The developers explicitly stated that official basement building tools are missing from the launch build and sit somewhere on the 2026 to 2028 development roadmap. A few of the pre-built homes scattered around town actually feature working basements filled with storage boxes, but the game currently lacks a dedicated tool to carve one out for your custom lot. Thankfully, you don't have to wait years for an update. You can actually force the game engine to create an underground floor using a clever trick straight from the development team.
The Sinking House Trick
Instead of digging down into the dirt, you actually have to build upward and shove your entire house into the ground.
Preparing the Lot
Before you attempt this trick, you need to clear your yard. If you already placed trees, shrubs, or expensive patio furniture around your house, open your build menu and move all of those items directly into your household inventory. If you skip this step, the sinking trick will physically drag all of your landscaping underground and bury it.
You need to start above ground. Build a standard two-story house. The bottom floor of this building will eventually become your basement, so design the shape and square footage exactly how you want your underground space to look.
Dropping the Foundation
Once your two-story shell is finished, zoom your camera all the way out until you hit the main town map view. Click directly on your lot and select the "Move Lot" arrow icon. Here is where the magic happens. Click your house, hold down the Shift key on your keyboard, and drag your mouse downward. This completely overrides the normal placement rules and allows you to sink your entire first floor directly into the ground.
Step-by-Step Basement Instructions
If you just want the raw mechanics of the exploit, I broke the entire process down into a quick reference table.
Fixing the Staircase Problem
Just because you shoved a room underground doesn't mean your characters actually know how to reach it.
Clearing the Path
Many people execute the sinking trick perfectly but find that their characters completely refuse to walk downstairs. They just stand at the top step and wave their arms. The game engine is incredibly strict about pathing. If you drop a staircase into your new basement, you must leave a wide ring of empty floor space at both the absolute top and the absolute bottom of the stairs.
If you place a couch or a storage box too close to the landing, the game assumes the stairs are blocked and breaks the pathing. Keep the landing zones totally clear, and your characters will happily navigate your new underground space. The developers promised new staircase options in a future update, but for now, strict space management is your only fix.
