From the moment that the developers of the Sims series announced the StrangerVille expansion pack, fans began attempting to draw connections between this new pack and the mysterious yet exciting world that was Strangetown from The Sims 2.
Though, at a cursory glance, the neighbourhoods seem nothing alike (StrangerVille comes with a contained mini-game for starters), there are several similarities that tie the two towns together. Some of these connections are discussed at length below.
10 Their Names, For A Start
Though it seems so obvious that is goes without saying, it's important to note that the town have very similar names. In the gaming world, few things are true accidents (ignoring glitches and bugs). The developers chose to give both towns eerily similar names, which can only mean that they wanted us to consider the similarities between the two of them.
Both are small towns (implied by the town/ville suffix), and the fact that both begin with the word 'Strange' seems crucial to the themes that shape the stories that occur in both worlds. If the developers did not want the worlds compared, their names would not have been so similar.
9 The Supernatural Ties
Though the supernatural elements are far more obvious in StrangerVille (they are central to the mini-game that this world was created around), it is important to note that both StrangerVille and Strangetown have supernatural ties.
Both worlds are centered around a specific supernatural event which occurred in the town's past (though the event is a bit more current-affairs in StrangerVille), and both towns were truly shaped by these events. Neither town would be the place that they are today without said events.
8 The Air Of Mystery
You can't have a town based upon a major supernatural event without creating a place shrouded in mystery. Though the story is laid out upon arrival in Strangetown (and uncovered at a later time in StrangerVille), both towns maintain a strong sense of mystery around its people and monuments, even after the enigma is solved.
This writer tends to believe that the air of mystery is preserved within the suspicious nature of the people who reside within either town, as the supernatural event causes a bit of paranoia to run rampant... and it is hard to open up when you don't know who you can trust.
7 A Focus On Science
Scientifically-minded people and those who believe in all things supernatural rarely see eye to eye in the real world. However, sometimes, the two opposing schools of thought collide.
The weird and bizarre things that are happening in these fictional towns seem to have an origin that is both scientific and supernatural, so the two forces must come together to get to the bottom of things for the good (and safety) of the people. Both StrangerVille and Strangetown have a unnaturally large scientist population/focus on things of a scientific nature in their communities.
6 The Military Motif
As well as the large number of scientists, both communities also have a very large military presence. In The Sims 4's StrangerVille, the military presence is explained by the fact that they were called in to try and aid the situation as it got out of hand.
They remain in the town to assure that the citizens are safe and that the issue is contained, so to speak. In Strangetown, it is never directly mentioned why so many military personnel are in the area (but this writer believes that this was to reflect the ties that the military supposedly has to aliens thanks to Area 51).
5 The Large Crater
It is also important to note that both sites include large craters, which stem from the event that caused each town to get their name and reputation. They were rumoured to be (spoilers) created by otherworldly entities.
In both the neighbourhoods of StrangerVille and Strangetown, the craters are believed to be created by some sort of alien spacecraft which crashed into the Earth. This alien and/or its spacecraft, we're told, is the source of the abductions/possessions and strange happenings that occur within the town.
4 An Alien Invasion
It is important to note that there will be spoilers in this paragraph, so read on with caution. Both Strangetown and StrangerVille are the way that they are and have the reputation that they have because of aliens. Strangetown is home to routine abductions and extraterrestrial visits, which occur so often that it has merely become an accepted part of life in the town.
StrangerVille is no different, being home to a large alien mother whose spores infect the local citizens (in order to use their bodies as hosts). She needs the hosts so that she can use them to" recruit" others, to help her spread her fruits and spores far and wide in order to take control of every living creature the entire area.
3 Infected And Abducted
It is also important to note that the aliens that occupy both worlds are not harmless. They may not have direct ill intent in their interactions with the Sims that live in both Strangetown and StrangerVille, but the citizens are profoundly affected by their presence.
The citizens of Strangetown are often abducted, and male Sims who find themselves taken away might return with a bun in the oven that can be returned to their alien mothers after their birth (or kept on Earth if the player prefers). Unfortunately, the alien that resides within StrangerVille has an agenda and that agenda involves shooting spores into the air which possess the citizens who reside within the town.
2 The Desert Atmosphere
Both Strangetown and StrangerVille are desert towns, which exist in the middle of nowhere and are surrounded by sand and mountains as far as the eye can see. As mentioned earlier on in this article, the large military and scientific presence in both towns is likely the result of certain real world conspiracy theories.
Since Area 51 is supposed to exist out in the middle of the American desert, one can only assume that the desert motif which exists in both games is due to the location of said base.
1 The Place Where It All Went Wrong
Both StrangerVille and Strangetown are mysterious towns filled with aliens, military personnel, scientists, and much more. Both towns exist in desert landscapes and both towns present the near-constant risk of alien invasion/abduction/infection to their citizens.
Likely based on the rumours that surround the mythic Area 51, these towns are both based around alien crash-landings and occupations that went terribly wrong (and are affecting the people who reside within the towns). Both are also occupied by people who do not seem to mind --or even acknowledge-- the strange occurrences in both of these peculiar towns.