There’s been a new slew of Project Rene leaks that have just hit the internet—here’s what’s been shared.
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Recently we shared how EA has all but officially declared that The Sims 5 is not happening and that Project Rene—another game EA is working on that players had assumed was the anticipated sequel—is continuing on but as its own thing. Instead of being the next step in the franchise, Project Rene will be an offshoot/standalone that focuses on online, cross-platform play instead of a single player model.
Earlier in the year we shared the latest in Project Rene thanks for a Reddit user named DzXAnt22, and they’re back with even more Project Rene leaks after participating in a small mobile-only playtest of new content for the game. They were kind enough to capture loads of information and share it with the community, giving us a great delve into what’s to come.
Note: While simmers always assumed that Project Rene was the code name for The Sims 5, EA never confirmed this. Some players believe that Rene started out as The Sims 5 but evolved into something else, however it’s just as likely that Project Rene has always been its own project, and that The Sims 5 was never started or started under a different project name that was never shared with the public.
Project Rene Leaks – The Latest Playtest
DzXAnt22 spared no details in the wonderful Reddit post they made sharing their experience, giving us heaps of information. Do note however that everything presented here is considered in alpha testing and may not reflect the final game.
The Sims
For the playtest DxZAnt22 participated in they were able to select from 4 premade, nameless sims to experience the test with. It was confirmed that Create-A-Sim is a feature that will make it into the game eventually, and it just wasn’t part of this particular test. They did manage to glitch into a named character called “Rory” who was not playable, perhaps this is the tutorial Sim we’ll first meet when playing the game?
Since there’s no access to CAS in this Project Rene leak we really can’t tell how much variety players will have when creating their character although with the screenshots provided, it looks like there should be at least a decent selection of skin tones, multiple body sizes, colorful hair options, and possibly varying heights (the screenshots make it a bit hard to tell). We don’t get a look at anything regarding a sim’s personality, so that might be limited to whatever the player chooses to add to their character’s bio.
Clothing is presented as completed outfits with multiple selections that can be purchased via simoleons, with different outfits varying in cost.
The Gameplay
Your sim will begin in the game world with a list of quests to get them started, and these quests will rotate out daily. At this point in the build the main mechanic is having your sim earn simoleons, primarily through working at a cafe. They are responsible for taking and fulfilling NPC orders of coffee, espresso, or a croissant. Your sim can also get simoleons by gaining XP to level up and in this build there were multiple ways to earn XP including working at the cafe, socializing with other sims, completing the daily quests, or making a wish in the area’s fountain.
Use your simoleons to purchase new outfits at the thrift shop. At the time of the test DzXAnt22 was only able to level up a maximum of 5 times, and only had a few preset outfits to choose from at the clothing store. Because this is a small-scale test, there was no access to Buy/Build mode. We can assume that the simoleons you earn throughout gameplay will be available to buy items for your sim’s home in addition to new outfits, similar to previous models.
The World
Bearing in mind that this Project Rene leak only focuses on a small part of the bigger game, we did get more information about where the game is taking place and what it will look like. It’s described as “a Parisian neighborhood full of unique activities and stylish rewards” which confirms what part of the world this new game will take place in, and through the limited view we have into the world we can see elements that fit the area in some of the architecture.
The Settings & UI (User Interface)
Despite being a test version, there are a lot of options already available for customizing the gameplay experience through audio, camera, and graphics options. It’s unclear if there will be differences in the visual quality of the game on mobile vs. PC vs. console but this is what DzXAnt22 had to say:
“…the graphics genuinely do look like this. It’s not your device, its not compression. It does have a weird blur over everything and looks very grainy. I won’t pick at the graphics too hard because optimization is usually the last stage of game development and it’s clear they opted for performance over visual clarity.”
–DzXAnt22
Since we’ve seen in prior streams that objects being worked on for the game have so far been very detailed and customizable, it’s safe to assume that the game’s appearance will be far more polished once it’s made available to the public.
As Seen In The Play Store
Along with everything we’ve seen so far there are also screenshots shared from the experience of how the playtest currently appears in the play store interface. Project Rene is just one branch of a larger “Sims Hub” which also encompasses The Sims 4, MySims, and The Sims: Project Stories.
These images give us a bit more of an idea how the world and characters will look, particularly during daylight hours as the playtest screenshots were all taken at night.
Project Rene Leak Opinions
In order to protect their identity as a tester, DxZAnt22 didn’t share any videos of their gameplay and they kept some information censored from their screenshots. They also tried to keep the descriptions as detailed but non-incriminating as they could, and opted for factual information over personal opinions. They did say though that the coffee shop gameplay “can get very repetitive and grindy [sic] after a while. Especially since the jobs don’t give you that much simoleons.” We do have to keep in mind that this playtest was specifically for a tiny aspect of the game, however.
Other Redditors who saw the post had plenty to say, though!
The Game Looks Ugly
Unsurprisingly a large number of people are upset at how bad the game physically looks. The art style of sims became a divisive topic when The Sims 3 released and then again when The Sims 4 came out and changed their look entirely. Admittedly the Project Rene leaks don’t so much for making the game look pretty, but it’s important to bear in mind that this is an Alpha test and the “look” of the game wasn’t the main focus here.
It’s Just A Reskin Of The Sims Mobile
A lot of the game mechanics as presented in this Project Rene leak have reminded players of The Sims Mobile, with the daily goals, set timed duration for activities, and piecemeal clothing purchases understandably conjuring up memories of that game. It’s also reminiscent of The Sims Social, which used similar game mechanics.
The biggest concern with this line of thinking is what while a Mobile-style model will work fine on mobile phones, PC and console players may find the game lacking. A lot of mobile games are designed to be played in bursts, with timers being implemented on resetting daily or weekly activities, but PC and console players usually have extended gaming sessions and there might not be enough to keep them entertained. We’ll have to see how EA addresses this potential issue as more Project Rene leaks occur and we get a better idea of how the game will play.
It Has The Potential To Be The Next Great Spinoff
Despite the overall sour impression that the Project Rene leak has made so far, one Redditor named Lonely-Tumbleweed-86 shared an optimistic view. When the Sims franchise was still young there were a lot of fun offshoots such as Bustin’ Out, The Urbz, Sims Life Stories, The Sims 2 Castaway, MySims, and even Sims Medieval. These were great because there was a big variety of ways to play and some titles were optimized for consoles or lower-end laptops that might not have had the power to run a mainline game, meaning there was a little something for everybody.
Project Rene might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but there’s a sub-genre of simmers out there that may see this as their favorite Sims game yet. Casual gamers may use Project Rene as their first step into the world of The Sims and pull them into the mainline franchise in the process. If you’re bored with The Sims 4 and want to try something new, it’s a change up while still remaining in the same universe. Maybe we’ll be pleasantly surprised!
More Leaks Coming!
DzXAnt22 states in their post that this Project Rene leak is likely “Part 1” of an even bigger info haul, and they’re currently working on datamining anything they can. Assuming their identity isn’t found out, they’ll probably be pulled in for further playtesting as the Project Rene team rolls out more gameplay so we can continue getting detailed information on the progress of the game. At this time we have no idea when the game is set to be released.
If you want the opportunity to playtest the game yourself, you can apply to be part of The Sims Labs. You never know, maybe the next Project Rene leak we share is from you!
Final Thoughts
So simmers, what are your impressions of the new information as shared in the Project Rene leak? Is this a game model you’re looking forward to trying out, or are you a single-player simmer? Have you had the chance to playtest any of it? Share your thoughts in the comments!