Project Rene has been in the works for some time – as Iwan noted in his deep dive into it – and it seems EA is slowly pushing the needle towards a fully-fledged release for us to sink our teeth into. They are currently running a playtest for City Life Game with Friends, which is somehow even less catchy than Project Rene.
Folks in Australia and the Philippines can join the fun
The playtest will run until April 4th, meaning you don’t have long to dive in. But even with that small window, there are a few more catches. The latest iteration of Project Rene is only available on mobile and Android devices, specifically. On top of that, you’ll need to be in either Australia or the Philippines. The rest of us will either have to look over with jealousy or be happy that our overseas friends get to enjoy something new. I’ll go with the latter.
As many have speculated, City Life Game with Friends focuses on co-op, with the Google Play description mentioning working together – which comes as no surprise, given the name – to design venues as playing an important role. That said, there’s still plenty of attention given to making your character stand out, with the option to customise their looks, style and story. Once created, you can then pursue art, and music or even become a connoisseur of conversation.
The latest Project Rene playtest reinforces the co-op aspect we’re expecting
For the most part, the drive seems to be around creating good vibes, with throwing parties or sharing your musical prowess with your fellow Sims being common themes. In fact, the only career on offer appears to be working at the local café. Of course, it’s early days, and this could be expanded on soon. But that’s all we have confirmed for now.
Now, while the rather silly City Life Game with Friends name doesn’t immediately suggest this is a Project Rene/Sims playtest in disguise, you only need to look at a few screenshots to connect the dots. While EA wants to covertly test everything, as many developers do during various soft launches and betas, the family resemblance is too strong to deny.
