The Sims 5could have a surprising amount to gain by approaching the series like a multiverse rather than a single timeline. AlthoughThe Simsis more of a sandbox rather than a story with a set narrative, there are histories and storylines involved with several of the series families. Although the series hasn’t made a big deal about these stories in most cases, they’re still in the background. With how the games keep evolving, the series' approach to characters may be ready to change as well.
Starting way back withThe Sims' original tutorial family, every premade household inThe Simshas had something that makes them unique. For example, the Pleasant family were far more dysfunctional than their name would imply, and the Beaker family were brilliant scientists with no morals. Usually, these stories would be little more than window dressing to give the player a starting point, but they helped give each household a bit of character, rather than being interchangeable. Of course, that’s without taking into account the player’s ability to make a household from scratch, adding a completely new element to the neighborhood of their choice.
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The Sims 5 Could Permanently Change The Sims' Timeline
Among the list of potentialfeatures worth wishing for inThe Sims 5, a new approach to the game’s world and stories may be in order. To be fair, the variousSimsgames are largely isolated, with each new incarnation mostly showing off the respective game’s new features rather than continuing any sort of story. This plays well with the game’s sandbox-style approach, letting the player jump into any household and change things as they wish. Plus, moving the plot forward would eventually age some Sims out of the game completely, so it’s understandable why the games haven’t gone that route.
Funny enough, there is already a solid basis for aSimsmultiverse. Thelore surrounding the timeline ofThe Simshas already been broken in the past. Malcolm Landgraab is a good example, going from a selfish landlord to a well-meaning kid and a cruel teenager in different games. Most famously, the disappearance of Bella Goth inThe Sims 2was never followed up on or addressed in subsequentSimstitles. Rather than trying to explain this disjointed timeline,The Sims 5could canonize these events as taking place in different universes. That would clear up almost all ofThe Sims' confusing history in one fell swoop.
Embracing the idea of a multiverse could provide a lot of new opportunities forThe Sims 5. For one,The Sims 5could embrace supernatural elementsmore than usual for the series by taking such a concept into account. Making it canon that the games take place in different universes could allow players to have even more outlandish options to play with than usual, makingThe Sims 5truly a world of its own. After all, if the games take place in a multiverse, then players could have the freedom to make a radically different world without breaking the suspension of disbelief.
A multiverse may sound like an odd idea for a largely plot-free series likeThe Sims, but its creativity-driven nature might make it a perfect candidate for one.The Sims 5needs to be ambitious, and that means that it needs some original offerings to show how the series is evolving. Taking the series' already-imperfect timeline and reimagining it could be what makesThe Sims 5a landmark entry for the series.The Sims 5has a high bar to clear in order to live up to the series' standard, and creating a multiverse could be its big addition.
The Sims 5is in development.
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