"Life" is not classified as a proper game because of a very unfortunate combination of gameplay mechanics - it has permadeath, suffering (unheard of in pretty much any other game), lots of grinding, and it's very unbalanced. Any one of these alone is OK, but taken together, they make for a shitty, and ultimately one-time experience.
If it has any kind of "game mechanic", that's a game, not a simulation.