The sharp eyes over at Techradar have spotted a new The Sims game on the Play Store. You likely can’t play it yet; the listing only just popped up and doesn’t offer a download button, but the game appears to be in testing, as YouTube videos of gameplay have been published over the last day. What’s interesting about this title is that it’s part of what’s known as The Sims Labs, a program created to test “many new ways to play The Sims,” and The Sims Labs: Town Stories is clearly part of this program. It would seem those who wish to test The Sims Labs titles need to sign up to take part, but that doesn’t mean we can’t check out the fresh Play Store listing to see exactly what the latest The Sims mobile game will offer on Android.
If you’d like to see the game in action, YouTube user danx recorded three and a half minutes of gameplay, which you can watch above. As you can clearly see, The Sims Labs: Town Stories looks the part, but this time around, the focus appears to be all about crafting the perfect town. What’s also clear is that the game offers multiple currencies revolving around unlocking new outfits and buildings, par for the course for a mobile town-building game.
While it is interesting that Electronic Arts is using The Sims Labs to test out new styles of gameplay for The Sims fans, The Sims Labs: Town Stories looks just like every other low-effort city-builder on the Play Store, so it’s a bit of a headscratcher why EA would use a self-labeled testing bed to bring forth games that look just like every other mobile game filled with currencies and timers. Moreover, the lasting impression of this The Sims Labs title feels more like EA has no confidence in its work, as if it wants to test its The Sims mobile games free of criticism as part of The Sims Labs.
But as listings go up on the Play Store, people will judge titles, and so far, there looks to be a lot to judge here, like the simplistic graphics filled with time-wasting mechanics. It’s a recipe we’ve seen a million times over, even in EA’s own mobile games, which begs the question, what exactly is EA testing with The Sims Labs: Town Stories, as it sure looks like more of the same from this end. Of course, if you’d like to take a look at the new listing, click on the Play Store widget below.
