Big City Stories mixes SimCity with GTA Online

Goof as we might, there were a lot of people out there who loved PlayStation Home, Sony’s stab at a marketing-driven virtual world on PlayStation 3. Since it was shut down on April 1st, 2015 fans have been looking for a new place to meet and play (and stand in lines and dance). Seeking to fill the void are several projects from studios who previously created content for PlayStation Home like Atom Universe and the more specialized Four Kings Casino & Slots from Digital Leisure.

The latest is Big City Stories from Hellfire Games that looks like a surprising mix of SimCity and Grand Theft Auto Online. It may be a surprise to a lot of us but fans of PlayStation Home likely remember Hellfire’s last offering, Home Tycoon. Big City Stories looks to be a total overhaul of Home Tycoon which allowed players to design and manage a metropolis while also being able to jump down to street level for arcade-y action. Stunt courses can be built and zombies can be hunted by commandeering any vehicle that’s cruising around your city streets.

Big City Stories’ major addition is a layer of MMO that lets players invite friends to their city or run into strangers at the local train station; how very Animal Crossing of them. Of course there will be loads of clothing and costumes to customize your avatar which is where the free-to-play game hopes to turn a profit. Hellfire Games is already planning expansions and improvements once the game is out on PlayStation 4, umm, tomorrow! Katy and I may do a little co-op stream once we get our feet wet but if you’ve got a PlayStation 4 there’s little to dissuade you from trying it out yourself on the 23rd. That is, as long as you’re in the continental United States: other territories will get the game after the launch-day jitters are worked out.