The Sims series has always been one focused on modern life. Growing a family, developing a career, and making friends have always been the main objectives, with it all wrapped up in the surroundings and amenities with know so well.
But why is that the case? When our world has such a rich history, with so many time periods boasting entirely different lifestyles, why not give us a chance to build a life in one of those eras we're not quite so familiar with.
Historical Settings in The Sims 5
The inspiration for this idea comes from Own_Review1558 over on the Sims 5 Reddit, who posted the following reply on the page's weekly Sims 5 Wishlist post:
"I would really love to see more creativity allowed in the creation of the villages/towns. I've always thought it would be amazing if you could create communities in different time periods as well. Like Ancient Rome, Tudor England, 1920's Paris...the list goes on and on. A long shot perhaps...but would be amazing."
We think they're completely right too. How cool would it be to simulate a life in Ancient Rome, where the careers are anything from painter to gladiator?
Yes, the settings would likely be pretty cliched, as The Sims can be at times, but life worked completely differently a few hundred years ago.
It wasn't a simple procession of go to work, come home, work out/watch TV, and go to bed - there was more variety to life, and it'd be fun to play around with a family of your own in those settings.
Relationships, schedule, and what your sim does in their free time could all be entirely different.
As Own_Review1558 says, "it would be amazing if you could create communities in different time periods" and it is this focus on different communities that would be interesting.
The whole world of The Sims would be different if the focus was moved away from 21st century lifestyles.
Depending on the time period, health may also be a more significant factor in your sims' lives. Quite how now eradicated diseases would work in a game like The Sims 5, would be hard to say, but they'd have to play some part if EA are striving for some level of realism.
Stunning New Towns
Also, it would be fascinating to see what Maxis and EA could produce in terms of physical worlds for iconic times in history. It's inevitable that The Sims 5 will be a big step forward in terms of visuals and variety once it is released, but that could come in forms that are different to better textures and busier locations.
The old-English streets in the Victorian Era, the smokey streets of mid-20th century New York, or the vibrancy of Ancient Greece all have the potential to look stunning in the traditional Sims style.
The only concern is that adding history to the established Sims formula would essentially produce multiple different games in one, due to how different the lifestyles would be.
That being said, that might give The Sims 5 some much needed variety, and provide something for the history buffs in the community to really dive into, provided it's done properly.