When it comes to life simulation games, Maxis' The Sims is probably one of the first franchises that come to mind. First launching over twenty years ago, The Sims has had four mainline entries over the years and an abundance of DLCs and expansion packs that have added everything from pets and fancy furniture to universities. After almost a decade, EA Maxis has finally confirmed that The Sims 5 is in development, and fans are excited to see what this next chapter will hold for the series and what long-running mysteries it might finally solve.
Toward the end of last year, the developer revealed an early glimpse of The Sims 5, codenamed “Project Rene”, and assured players that this would be an ambitious and fresh look at the series' formula. Although players will still have a while to wait before they can get their hands on the finished game, that hasn't stopped gamers from imagining what updates the developer will bring to The Sims 5. Although revitalizing The Sims' formula is a welcome change, some players hope that the next game doesn't forget about narrative threads that have been woven through the games all the way from the first entry in 2000, like the saga of Bella Goth.
The Sims Lore Behind Bella Goth
It might surprise some to think that The Sims is a franchise that has its own lore, and although it might not be very abundant or apparent, it's still there for those that look for it. The main gist of the games is for players to create their own characters, family dynasties, and increasingly elaborate houses and neighborhoods, but there are also narrative foundations on which they can build their own stories on. In previous Sims games, pre-made families in each of the neighborhoods can have their own backstories and interconnections that help provide background color.
This manifested in interesting ways, like the Romeo and Juliet parallels in Veronaville in The Sims 2 between the Capps and the Montys, but one consistent character has been Bella Goth and her increasingly complicated personal history. Bella is one of the most iconic and recognizable Townies in The Sims games, but she varies wildly in each installment she appears in. In the first game, she's a married mother, in The Sims 2 she's missing from her original neighborhood and turns up in Strangetown, and in The Sims 3 Bella is just a child.
Bringing Bella Back For The Sims 5
The various Sims games have jumped around on the timeline, as players can see from Bella's changing age and life stage, with The Sims 4 presumed to be on an alternate timeline completely. Fans will probably expect to see some connection between The Sims 5 and the series' previous installments, and Bella is the obvious choice to facilitate this. The Sims 5 may follow The Sims 4 and set itself apart, or it could be a prequel of sorts and feature Bella and other fan-favorite Townies' predecessors, but the last game could finally answer the question about Bella's complicated past and disappearance.
Fan theories have flourished since The Sims 2, with speculation around potential murder suspects, time travel, or even alien abduction. The fact that Bella turns up in another neighborhood and claims that she was taken by aliens seems to confirm this theory, but there are Easter eggs and secrets related to Bella littered throughout numerous games like the gravestone bearing her name in The Sims 3's Lunar Lakes. The Sims 5 has the chance to finally solve the many mysteries surrounding this character once and for all, and it would be a fitting way to tie the upcoming entry to the previous titles as well.
The Sims 5 is in development.