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The Sims 5 reveal has only made me more excited for ParalivesRunning scared?
Running scared?
Behind The Sims Summit Stream EventGo to about 26:50 in this video for the relevant Project Rene bit.Watch on YouTube
Behind The Sims Summit Stream Event
Paraliveshas been in quiet development for a while now (Iinterviewed the project leada whole two years ago, in fact), and offers small tidbits and updates every few weeks. And when you look at Paralives, it’s basically trying to offer the kind of control and customisation that Simmers have wanted for ages. Curved walls! Modular furniture! Control over colours and patterns on fabric! You can even have modular floors within one room. And the character customisation?Just look at it!
Boo!Booooo!
Meanwhile, the official game packs over the past few years have been… mixed. I was a fan ofCottage Living, for example, and Rebecca really likedthe whole werewolves thing, but the Star Wars one wasalmost universally hated- the more for being almost a textbook example of how to do a soulless franchise tie-in badly. And whether they’re good or not, they bringa host of bugsevery time.
Meanwhile, Paralives’ Patreon is drawing over $40k a month. That’s a lot of people putting their money up for an alternative to the Maxis juggernaut. People are paying attention to it, and honestly? This early tease for whatever Sims 5 is going to be smacks a bit of Maxis waving a cocktail sausage in front of a distracted dog. The individual cushion placement and modular building that Maxis showed a snip of just… well, it looks a lot like Paralives. I’m not the only person whonoticed the similarity, either.
I mean, look at this.
Plus, c) Paralives doesn’t (yet) have the spectre of free-to-play monetisation methods wafting around in the background. Why, just the other week the Paralives team dropped a sneak peek at some summertime interactions that includeddaydreaming and smelling flowers. You can literally stop and smell the roses. Adorbs! If you ask me, Maxis should have waited until they had more to get excited about. Because right now Project Rene just looks like a less fun version of its direct competition.
