MySims: Cozy Bundle Review – Back and in Better Form (Switch)

Whenever I think of the Nintendo Wii, a few games spring to mind. Obviously there’s Wii Sports, but another series of games has significance for me as a big fan of The Sims: the MySims games. I still have my Nintendo Wii and most of the MySims games (I never got Racing and SkyHeroes). Now and again I would get the Wii out and play them. I was sad when no more MySims games were released after SkyHeroes, and didn’t think I’d hear anything of it again.

Until now, thanks to the out-of-the-blue release of the MySims: Cozy Bundle on Nintendo Switch, which comes packaged with the first two games in the series: the original MySims and its sequel MySims Kingdom. I was surprised but thrilled about this announcement, especially when I learned that they would be updated with improved graphics and performance. Despite playing the original MySims games to death, I knew I just had to get my hands on the Cozy Bundle and see if they really would be better than the Wii version. That’s what this review is going to be all about!

MySims: Cozy Bundle is available exclusively for Nintendo Switch for $39.99.

Story – Two Games in One

With the MySims: Cozy Bundle, there’s nothing new story-wise. The original stories of MySims and MySims Kingdom remain the same. Most of the changes apply to the gameplay and graphical aspects of the two games. However, for those who are unfamiliar with the MySims series and the first two games in particular, here’s a brief rundown for the context of this review.

MySims was a spin-off series from The Sims, first releasing in 2007 with the first game, MySims on Wii and DS. Despite being part of The Sims, MySims is very, very different. Instead of being a straight-up life simulation game, where you control characters who have needs, jobs, relationships, and more in their day-to-day lives, MySims follows a very different format. For one, it is much more cutesy and family friendly, appealing more to younger audiences, removing all the typical life simulation gameplay that The Sims is famous for. MySims concentrates on helping characters to restore towns, buildings, and even whole kingdoms (at least in the first two games).

The Sims themselves have a distinctive appearance, not being too dissimilar in style to Miis or Funko Fusion characters. Sims in MySims are cartoonish, squatter and squarer, and arguably cuter. Sims can interact with each other and even become friends or enemies, but on a much more limited scale.

MySims generally has two distinctive features: Interests and Essences, especially in the first two games. All Sims have different interests, depending on which game you’re playing. You can also gather Essences, used for crafting and designing objects and buildings.

Now you know a little more about MySims, let’s delve more into what the two games featured in the Cozy Bundle are about.

In the original MySims, you create your own character who moves into a town that is seriously rundown, with pretty much everyone moved out. The mayor tasks you with helping to restore the town and move Sims back in to make it into a thriving town once again, eventually growing it into a 5-star town.

To do this, you’ll need to construct buildings by placing down blocks and then adding doors, windows, roofs, and other items to complete its look. After you move new Sims in, they’ll have specific requests for new items, which you need to build from scratch in your workshop using building blocks. Not only that, but you need to add Essences to these objects to satisfy the requester’s interests. There are six Interests altogether: Tasty, Geeky, Studious, Spooky, Cute, and Fun. Essences can be found by shaking or chopping trees, fishing, prospecting, and interacting with Sims or certain objects. The more Sims you move into your town, and the more Sims you help with tasks, the more your town’s star rating will grow.

The other game included in the Cozy Bundle is MySims Kingdom (one of my favorite MySims games, along with Agents). MySims Kingdom is very similar to the first game, but a little different. This time, your Sim embarks on an epic quest, aided by your two loyal friends Buddy and Lyndsey, to help the Sims across the kingdom on various islands. Like the town in MySims, these islands have become neglected, and the Sims themselves are in need of serious help, and it’s down to you to save the kingdom and restore it to its former glory. A lot of the original gameplay is carried over into Kingdom, with some new ones including mining and socializing with Sims. However, you no longer build items from scratch in a workshop, but you can still construct buildings and furnish them.

It’s good to see old familiar faces again, like Buddy.

Gameplay – The Same… but Smoother

The first thing you should probably know is that the way I see the MySims: Cozy Bundle, it’s very much like a remaster of MySims and MySims Kingdom. But that’s not a bad thing! I don’t know how many people have ever or still do play the Nintendo Wii, or have ever played MySims, but if you own a Switch, here’s your chance! It’s not the exact same experience. There’s obviously no motion control gameplay, no pointing a controller at the screen to click on something or move something across. But the nostalgia is still there. It’s still the same MySims games… with a few additions. Let’s talk about it in more detail.

A Much Better Performance

The first thing I should touch on is how good the performance of both games are. The Cozy Bundle was promoted as both games being better performance and graphics wise. I’ll go into the graphics later, but for now, we can definitely talk about the performance. I have to admit I was sceptical about whether or not the performance of these games, or even just the games as a whole, would be better. You can relax: the performance is far superior to the Wii releases of MySims and MySims Kingdom.

Lag was always a big issue for me in MySims. It didn’t stop me from enjoying the game, but it did make the game feel sluggish now and again. Notable instances were when first using Create-A-Sim in a new game, whenever the game transitioned from day-to-night or night-to-day, whenever I hovered the cursor over a building, and whenever I placed an object down in a building as part of a task. The good news is that in the Cozy Bundle‘s release of MySims, lag is non-existent. Seriously. The game runs as smoothly as silk. I was surprised and delighted at how well the game ran. In fact, it actually made replaying the game much more enjoyable.

The lack of lag in the first game especially is total and utter bliss.

It’s the same thing with MySims Kingdom. I didn’t have the same lag issues as with MySims, but when playing Kingdom through the Switch, I noticed a definite improvement in the smoothness of the game.

Another thing to note is loading times. Yes, Cozy Bundle‘s MySims and MySims Kingdom does still have loading screens, but these are enormously reduced from their original Wii counterparts. This is another victory for the Switch releases.

As far as I’m concerned, when it comes to performance, Cozy Bundle is the clear winner over the original releases on the Wii.

Controls May Take Some Getting Used To

I should talk about the controls in MySims: Cozy Bundle next, and this is where things are a little more hit-and-miss. Being that these two games were originally on the Wii (and PC for the first game), I knew it was going to be interesting when it came to the controls and how to play them. The big question is: do the new Switch controls work and transfer well from the Wii? The answer: they do… for the most part. It might take a little time for you to get the hang of. It can be a little awkward sometimes.

Here are the main control functions I found awkward and tricky to work with, even after playing the games for some time. To use the cursor, you have to use the right joystick. This can get very confusing at times, especially if you’re in Create-A-Sim and Construction Mode. The worst thing is that in these modes, the left joystick is usually defunct. You do use the left joystick when moving your character around the world (which is a relief!), so perhaps it would have been more confusing switching between the left and right joysticks where the scene required it, so it was more consistent to just use the right stick for pointing at things. It’s just something to keep in mind.

Actually though, I did discover a use for the left stick instead of the right; you can use it to quickly jump to different options, rather than manually moving a cursor with the right stick to select something, so this method did have its uses.

The controls take a little getting used to, but it shouldn’t stop you from enjoying the games.

That’s not the only thing you had to watch out for though. The other control system I struggled sometimes to get to grips with was the camera. Again, this linked back to usually having the right stick as your camera controller, whether rotating around your character or zooming in and out. It’s all muscle memory. It’s different in both MySims games. You actually use the L and R buttons to rotate, then ZL and ZR to zoom in and out.

The good news is that I didn’t find the controls so frustrating that they took away my enjoyment of the two games. I just got a bit flummoxed sometimes whenever I would go to point the cursor at something or move the camera, only to forget what the controls were and press or push the wrong button or stick. In the context of the games and their various command prompts needed, I get why certain controls are assigned. It’s just something you need to be aware of and learn to adjust to.

I should also note for this review that the two games included in MySims: Cozy Bundle can also be played in touch screen mode. I’ve not yet tried this out myself, so I can’t do an evaluation, but you may find that certain controls are different and possibly even easier than using the buttons and joysticks. It is good though that the option to play these games on the Switch via touch screen is there if you want it.

Any New Gameplay?

One question you might have, being that this is technically a re-release of MySims and MySims Kingdom is this: is there any new content or gameplay available? The answer is there are a few additions that weren’t available in the Wii versions, but these are more minor. For the whole part, the games are the same.

I’ll tell you about the things that have been added in. MySims especially has some extras. For example, MySims on the Switch includes the bonus Gardens area that was originally part of the PC release of MySims. After you’ve got to a certain point in the game, you unlock the ability to travel to this new area via the train station. It’s a huge impressive area that includes not just some extra plots of land to move more Sims into, but also some exclusive Essences! These Essences weren’t available in the Wii version, and there are a lot of them. Just a few to name include pinwheels, kittens, ravens, puzzle cubes, and UFOs. If you get the MySims: Cozy Bundle, I would really recommend that you check this cool area out!

The Gardens, originally only available in the PC release of MySims, is available to access in the re-released Switch version.

One thing I noticed as I was customizing my Sim at the start of MySims was a few extra clothing options that I don’t remember being in the original. In fact, I recognized a lot of these outfits from MySims Kingdom as bonus unlockables. Just thought I should mention this, but it at least gives you some extra options with customization. 

I also spotted a bit further along into playing MySims a few Sims I had never seen before, who had new tasks for me to do for them. I’ve never played the PC version, but I’m guessing that’s where these Sims originated from.

Since the two MySims games on Switch have different controls to the Wii versions, some gameplay was altered for the Switch release. You cannot shake trees to get Essences out of them, nor can you chop wood by manually waving your controller like you really are chopping. It’s the same story with mining in Kingdom. While it is a bit odd not doing this, it does mean that all these actions can now just be done at the press of a button, rather than tiring your arm out with the constant swinging. I also must add that this affects fishing in both games, but I actually find the Switch’s way much easier.

There’s just one final thing that was new that I spotted specifically in MySims Kingdom. If you originally found travelling on the boat a bit tedious, the good news for you is that you can actually skip these journeys and their dialogue, so if you want to jump straight to the action – or the island you’re heading to – you can! It’s just a nifty little feature that you might appreciate.

Are these boat trips boring you in MySims Kingdom? You can now skip them!

Graphics & Audio – Sweet and Slicker

Another big thing that was promoted with MySims: Cozy Bundle was the enhanced graphics. The first two games are almost dated now, approaching 20 years old, which feels very old for a game! Both games still have their distinctive cartoony cutesy looks… but they have been notably improved. Slightly blurred textures now look a lot sharper, as do those jagged edges that old games used to have. MySims and MySims Kingdom certainly do clean up well on the Nintendo Switch, so graphically, you shouldn’t be disappointed. It’s another point to the Switch version vs the Wii version.

I’ll talk a little about the audio side of both games as well. I have to admit, I did notice that music that plays when in Construction Mode in MySims seems to repeat after finishing a track. I don’t know if this is deliberate or an oversight. The background music didn’t seem to loop, giving us more variety in what we listen to as we build houses or construct furniture. However, I won’t harp on about it too much as it didn’t take away from the gameplay. It’s just something I thought I should note.

I also noticed that sometimes in both games, sound didn’t always play correctly or when prompted. This particularly applied to sound effects. The sound effects that plays when prospecting in the first game is especially janky. However, these sound issues are minor and don’t do anything to break the gameplay. It’s nothing really glaring.