Ahead of the Game - The Sims Labs: Town Stories lets you rebuild your town using an energy system and a whole lotta crafting
Patience is a virtue
- Use energy to clear tasks around town
- Help the townsfolk, then wait to craft
- Now in regional soft launch
It's all about energy efficiency and checking things off your town's to-do list in this week's Ahead of the Game series, where we tell you all about a new mobile endeavour that's playable in one form or another despite its unofficial launch.
Admittedly, I've never really been a big fan of one of the most popular (if not THE most popular) simulations in gaming history, but that's very much a "me" problem. The genre has never really been my thing - I am, however, easy enough to lure with shiny things, and The Sims Labs: Town Stories is as shiny as it can ever get.
I don't mean that as a terribly bad thing, of course - it's just that a new Sims release is always worth diving into just so I can see what the fuss is about. Here, though, you'll focus more on rebuilding your town - that's been ravaged by mutant cowplants, no less - all because your dad got a little too enthusiastic during the Plumbrook Expo.
It seems it's up to you and your trusty ability to collect Essence so you can repair what's left of the town - which means there are tasks to clear, citizens to help out, and energy to earn as you go along.
Yes, the dreaded energy system is at the forefront of your progression here, because you'll need it to accomplish everything from clearing giant vines blocking the road to freeing your dad from a sealed coffin (don't ask).
You do get to replenish your energy after a while, as well as earn it as a reward for completing tasks and nabbing daily bonuses. Patience is a virtue, after all - and you'll need all the patience you can get, given how much you'll also be waiting around to finish crafting your essentials.
While waiting, though, you can always get to know the lovely folks in town and lend them a hand with their daily dilemmas - you can even solve simple puzzles for more rewards, or help a certain skeleton maid collect her Ghost Dusters littered all over town.
It's definitely a different kind of experience compared to what I've played from The Sims Labs: Life Together (formerly City Life Game With Friends). Give it a go if you're eager for a fresh twist to your average sim - or if you simply want to see what exactly a cowplant looks like, then that's totally fine too.
So, how do you play The Sims Labs: Town Stories?
It's currently in soft launch in Australia, the Philippines and South Africa, with no official release date at the moment. Still, if you're a fan of the franchise, it's probably well worth the wait if only to see how this new launch transforms the IP in a slightly more city-builder-ish way.Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to Bella Goth and her magic before the cowplants devour us all.
