I can't think of something more godlike than creating or designing the universe, can you?

Sure. For instance, some theists claim that God created and maintains logic itself.

Moreover, a simulator who is not ontologically basic (i.e. is made of matter; arose through material processes in their own universe) does not meet four of Aquinas's "five ways" — unmoved mover, first cause, necessary being, or maximum degree of goodness.