For a long time,The Simsspin-off seriesMySimswas thought to be abandoned, with its last entry releasing over a decade ago. However, fans’ hopes were renewed with the announcement of theMySims Cozy Bundle, which includes re-releases of the first two games,MySimsandMySims Kingdom. Their gameplay is a large departure from the mainline franchise in many ways, and theCozy Bundledefinitely has a target audience that skews on the younger side, but it does bring some creative new features to the table that are charming nonetheless.
MySims Cozy Bundle
While mostSimsspin-off gamesmaintain the same general aesthetic and core gameplay elements - like tending to needs -theMySimsseries presents an almost completely new style of title. Needs are no longer a factor at all, socialization is quite simplified to things like “Be Nice,” and the look of the characters and world has completely changed. There’s a much bigger emphasis on building, but not exactly in the waySimsplayers are accustomed to - players instead will largely focus on building objects piece by piece, and designing exteriors and interiors to meet specific requirements.
The Stories Of MySims & MySims Kingdom
A Town In Trouble & An Eccentric Fantasy Romp
The narratives of bothMySimsandKingdomessentially revolve around improving communities, but through different means. InMySims,players are recruited by Mayor Rosalyn to improve a town that’s essentially a blank slate, aiming to help it reach a five-star rating. The general gameplay loop consists of meeting new people at the town hotel, convincing them to move in, and then - at least for characters who aim to open businesses versus simply residing - completing a series of furniture-building jobs with certain requirements until they’re fully set up.
As you complete more and more of these jobs, the rating of the town will rise; with each star increment,you’ll unlock new tools like a crowbar or blowtorch that help you gain access to new areas. This progression, paired with the absolute freedom to choose where each new resident’s home or business goes among the many empty lots, is fairly satisfying, though the map never getsthatlarge and the lack of much story diminishes this feeling a bit.
10 Most Anticipated City Builder & Management Sims For 2025
The most anticipated city builder and management Sims for 2025 are some games that players will love to get their hands on upon release.
MySims Kingdombrings a much richer story to the table;while not incredibly deep, it’s a much more detailed and varied romp in comparison. As the name implies, it takes a somewhat fantasy slant - instead of a mayor, players are following the requests of King Roland, and they aren’t simple builders, they’re magical Wandoliers. After being appointed to the position, they’re tasked with traveling throughKingdom’s many differently-themed islandsto help bring happiness to each resident. These are more overarching sets of quests, like completing a set of builds to help launch a rocket or putting on a DJ show.
Building In MySims & MySims Kingdom
Using Essences To Make Highly-Customizable Creations
A mechanic in bothMySimsandKingdomis the ability to command Essences, which are essentiallymaterials that grant special aesthetic properties to constructed items.MySimsbuilding mostly consists of making custom item requests via blueprints for various Sim businesses, like machines for an arcade or a freezer for an ice cream shop; they’ll build the exteriors as well, albeit simplistically. This is done in a workshop with individual pieces, and then each piece can be colored via Essences, each of which has four different paint jobs players can choose between - roses have various florals, pinks, and greens, for example.
There are a huge amount of Essences inMySims,ranging from more expected things like plants to things like cake, fish, or even emotions like fear or joy. Collecting them is done through a handful of activities, like shaking trees, fishing, and prospecting, which is done by following metal detector beeps. Unfortunately, both this collection and the building itself form a pretty repetitive loop fairly fast - walking in circles with the detector hunting 20 of a harder-to-find Essence or adding a bunch of extra pieces to furniture to meet a villager’s painting requirements loses its luster quickly.
InMySims Kingdom, the focus shifts from building specific objects to designing more complex exteriors and interiors for various quests, which need certain quotas of things like Nature or Fun to be fulfilled. Instead of being used directly in crafting, Essences are used to complete scrolls that unlock new groups of thematically similar items. As I continued on in the game and unlocked more and more pieces,I really did get an increasingly large sense of creative freedom in how to complete these taskscompared to the blueprints ofMySims.
Once the scrolls are unlocked, players will only need Mana, another collectible resource, to produce the objects within it, which is a nice change fromMySims. There’s also a significantly larger amount of puzzling inKingdom. The title introduces things like gears, axles, pipes, and electric wires that players will need to finagle with fairly often to make various contraptions work and complete quests. While these were never exceedingly difficult, there were a handful that took me a few attempts to get right.
Final Thoughts & Review Score
6/10: Solid, Or Good By Screen Rant Standards
Of the two titles included,the standout in my eyes wasKingdom. It provided a stronger, endearing storyline, and the areas it added depth to, like puzzling and fishing, greatly behooved the game as a whole. It also felt less grindy thanMySims- while there was still a lot of resource collection, the amounts required and the methods of acquiring them felt more reasonable and less frustrating than the first game. Even the new Mana restrictions were fairly easy to work with in comparison toMySims, which fairly frequently asked for 30 or 40 of certain Essences for jobs.
There were honestly large stretches ofMySimsthat I found to be a repetitive grind, or too simplified to be engaging, but that’s also partially because I’m not the target demographic. I’m sure my nearly 1,800 hours inThe Sims 4didn’t help either - while I tried to separate them in my mind,I inevitably found myself making comparisons now and then, missing the depth of the mainline series’ mechanics.However, that’s not to say the entireCozy Bundleisn’t without its charms, and there were definitely areas the two games offer freedom in waysThe Simsdoesn’t.
MySims: Cozy Bundle Revives Hope For A Cult Classic From The Franchise
With the release of the exciting MySims: Cozy Bundle, many fans have gained new excitement over future remasters from the iconic MySims Franchise.
I think it’s important to note that this isn’t a remaster by any stretch -what’s included in theMySims Cozy Bundleis essentially exactly what players received from the original two games. The graphics have been very slightly improved,but there’s no new content added or any other major quality-of-life improvements. That being said, the retail price of $40 for two games - albeit basically ports - is a pretty good deal in the current market, especially considering each title can easily be played for over a dozen hours.
While the duo don’t necessarily offer a huge amount of depth, and there isn’t much to do in either outside building, the slight twists offered by Essence and designing individual pieces of furniture inMySimsare fun ones. For younger players, these titles definitely have many hours of potential enjoyment waiting in them, and they aren’t without their positives for older players as well. Players fiercely dedicated toThe Simsmainline series who aren’t looking to change things up may not enjoy theMySims Cozy Bundle, but for those looking for something new, it can be a fun time.
Reviewed on Nintendo Switch
Screen Rantwas provided with a Nintendo Switch code for the purpose of this review.
