A picture, doll, statue, or computer face is lifelike when it looks so close to a real person or thing that you almost expect it to blink. We use it for how something looks, not for how a story feels — a film can have lifelike skin, but a plot is realistic, not lifelike. Painters, toy-makers, and people talking about games and special effects use it a lot, and it is usually praise: the maker took care. You can stretch it a little to voices or movement (a lifelike recording), though the home of the word is still ‘looks real’. It is an ordinary, slightly admiring adjective; not slang, not stiff textbook talk.