Fans of The Sims franchise have eagerly awaited the arrival of The Sims 5. Instead of a major release. they were met with the arrival of the series’ newest mobile game, The Sims Labs: Town Stories. The mobile game was announced by EA on X (formerly Twitter) on August 22 and has been seeking playtesters ever since.
The game’s listing has only just arrived on the Play Store, although it is not yet downloadable and appears to be in testing. There it is described as “an-all new exciting building simulation game” where players will “embark on an exciting adventure as the new resident of Plumbrook – picturesque town brimming with charm and potential.” EA depicts the game as their “learning laboratory across all existing products” on their website and claim that “through The Sims Labs (they’ll) explore new experimental ways to play The Sims.” Based on the game’s current screenshots and summaries, it is not a departure from former mobile Sims games, such as The Sims FreePlay, released in 2011, and The Sims Mobile, released in 2018. Like these games, The Sims Labs: Town Stories will likely feature Sims-style building mechanics and interactable relationships with its residents.
A youtuber channel named simmerdan recently released multiple videos featuring gameplay footage of The Sims Labs: Town Stories. Although these videos are each only a couple of minutes long, they offer a straightforward taste of the game’s content thus far.
Fans of the series express disappointment on Reddit with the game’s current graphics and content, claiming that it will end up as merely one more “microtransaction infested, eye soring UI.” They felt decrease in the quality of EA’s mobile games since the release of The Sims FreePlay. EA intentionally labeled The Sims Labs: Town Stories as a “testing bed” for future mobile games and products, leading its target consumers wondering exactly why they are choosing to release it at all.
The game is still in early development as it depends on placeholder assets, and its graphics are likely to undergo changes. Currently, the game possesses a number of visual bugs, substandard character animations, and flat lighting. Even so, The Sims Labs: Town Stories has the potential to change its player’s minds and contribute to The Sims franchise upon its eventual release.