The Sims’ Project Rene Isn’t Going to Be For Everyone, But It’s Perfect For Me

Years ago when I was away at college, I remember killing time between classes by joining a PlayStation party with my now-fiancee and watching her create new Sims, and it’s here where I regularly thought about how fun it would be to play The Sims together. Sometimes she’d play out some alternate lives for us, always making sure to capture my anxiety and clumsiness, while other times we’d get a look at something completely different. I also remember being hugely entertained by seeing how some of our favorite Overwatch heroes — Moira and Junker Queen for her, Tracer and Mercy for me — would cope with living together in the same house, with all their rooms matching their quirks and personalities. So, while I’ve never felt a need to play The Sims on my own, every time I see her play it I wish I could join in, controlling a few of the characters, designing half of the house, and so on. Enter Project Rene, which could be my dream come true… even if I recognize it’s a bit of a nightmare for others.

Project Rene, Flaws and All, Could Finally Get Me Into The Sims

Though part of the wider Sims franchise, Project Rene is not a direct sequel to The Sims 4, meaning those looking forward to a traditional Sims 5 are out of luck. Project Rene will focus heavily on multiplayer, existing alongside The Sims 4 (which will keep getting support) and aiming to attract as many players as possible via a free-to-play release and cross-platform multiplayer. Despite being Rene’s entire focus, online play is one of the key issues that some have with the project, as many Simmers have no desire to play with other gamers and are content with playing on their own. They’d rather have Maxis create a traditional Sims game with updated graphics, more quality-of-life features, and a deeper creation suite. I truly feel for those players, as though they’re growing more disappointed with each playtest leak, I’m only getting more excited.

While I do agree with the game’s critics that Project Rene‘s playtest graphics, character movement, and interface for aren’t appealing and need some improvements, I’m hopeful that they’ll change for the better, as the game is still deep in development. Several other features, on the other hand, do sound exciting to me. These include:

• A plaza to interact with other players, similar to other iconic gaming hubs like Destiny’s Tower.
• A cafe where players can work to earn Simoleons, which can be spent on new clothing and hairs.
  • New attire is purchased at a special thrift shop, similar to the Able Sisters’ store in Animal Crossing.
• Numerous objects that can be interacted with as opposed to being static decorations.
• No pay-to-win microtransactions like energy timers.
• More expressive character models.
• An outdoor party venue that can be built and decorated with friends.

The plaza is presumably just the hub area for Project Rene, and to me, it sounds like a fun enough place to visit. While the main draw for me would still be decorating a home and carrying out typical Sims activities alongside friends, something that wasn’t part of the April playtest for Project Rene, my opinion differed from all the negativity surrounding the leaks. I’m fully aware that I may be too optimistic, as there’s a chance this game disappoints me just as it has already let down existing fans. For those players, there’s likely nothing that can make Project Rene appealing, as it’s getting in the way of the kind of game they enjoy.

Seeing one’s favorite franchise go in a direction that doesn’t appeal to them is difficult to process. Fans of turn-based combat have experienced this struggle with Final Fantasy as it aims to bring in newcomers through more “exciting” combat, while, to a lesser extent, Battlefield fans are encountering this issue via BF6’s reliance on small maps. I truly wish The Sims 5 hadn’t been “canceled” in favor of Project Rene and more support for The Sims 4, as a fresh start for the mainline series surely feels long overdue for fans. This has led to an odd feeling of guilt, which only increased when I saw how harsh the backlash was to the latest Project Rene leak — the same leak that instantly made me light up with excitement.

Even Project Rene’s Dress to Impress “Rip-Off” is Up My Alley

The latest Project Rene leak was met with some of the harshest criticism yet, as players were outraged to learn that one of the mini-games available in this Sims spin-off is essentially Maxis’ take on Roblox’s Dress to Impress. Some of this pushback comes from players having an anti-Roblox stance by default, as the game is everywhere despite much of its content being aimed primarily at kids. However, the majority of the pushback is that a Dress to Impress-like isn’t what The Sims is known for, and when coupled with the despised mobile-style UI from the playtests, the “DTI clone” known as Fashion Passion emphasizes how far Project Rene is straying from what made the franchise so popular.

Again, I completely understand this argument, but, again, I’m still excited. When I visited the UK to meet my fiancee’s family earlier this year, I got to interact with my future niece, who just so happened to love Dress to Impress. This, coupled with all the viral memes about the Roblox game, pushed my partner and I to give it a try. We only planned to play it once or twice to make her niece happy, but we ended up playing for hours after she had gone to bed. This went on for a few weeks, as we genuinely had a blast coming up with creative outfits and laughing at how seriously players took the voting process. We eventually stopped playing Dress to Impress due to its clunkiness, the controversies surrounding it, and to focus on our usual console games, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have a great time with it. So, naturally, the idea of The Sims putting its spin on Dress to Impress isn’t something I hate like everyone else — it’s something that has me more hyped than ever for Project Rene.

A Dress to Impress-like handled by Maxis could have so much going for it. Even if the core gameplay is the same, there could be more outfits to choose from thanks to consistent updates, more detailed character models to really nail certain looks, and significantly more options for male characters. This could just be the tip of the iceberg for multiplayer mini-games, too. For example, instead of just doing a Sim-focused competition, Project Rene could go beyond the runway, giving players 20 minutes to design the best room they can to match a certain theme. Longer timers could see players competing for the best house in the lobby, which would surely be a fun time. While the fears of Project Rene turning out to be a platform of messy player-made mini-games, a carefully curated selection of multiplayer activities designed by Maxis could be incredible, and Dress to Impress does seem like a natural fit for the Sims franchise on paper.

At the end of the day, though all the concerns about Project Rene are valid, I do think there’s an audience of potential fans like myself that the game could tap into. Surely there are others out there who have enjoyed watching The Sims and would be open to trying it if they could hop in and out of a multiplayer session with a friend. Personally, I’m thrilled that I’ll soon have a chance to take part in another one of my partner’s interests, something that wasn’t really possible with singleplayer-only Sims entries. It’s a shame that the series is stuck in a “one or the other position,” and we can’t have both Project Rene and a full-fledged Sims 5 to look forward to. Still, though it’s not going to be everyone’s cup of tea, I’m excited to try Project Rene — Dress to Impress clone and all.

Released

September 2, 2014

ESRB

T for Teen: Crude Humor, Sexual Themes, Violence

Publisher(s)

Electronic Arts