The Sims 4 is still going strong seven years after its initial release. Rumors of an impending successor to the life simulation game haven’t slowed it down in the least, and now, with over thirty million players worldwide across PC and console, The Sims 4 promises to continue its reign for many years to come.
The game is known for its paid DLC in the form of packs, with expansion packs being the largest and most costly of them. As of July 2021, eleven expansion packs have been released, each with its own theme and features, and its own positives and negatives.
11 Cats & Dogs Is A Huge Downgrade From Previous Pets Packs
Despite having the best customization tools in the franchise for canine and feline pals, Cats & Dogs is still a tremendous downgrade from previous pet packs. Aside from the limited number of species—four, including the titular cats and dogs, foxes, and raccoons—the expansion pack doesn’t provide as many unique objects as the Sims 2 and 3. Using the same pet bed gets tiring after the first five times.
The new world of Brindleton Bay is a nice addition, but the absence of a veterinarian career and its replacement with a simple skill needed in order to own a vet clinic is a strange decision and a missed opportunity.
10 Be Careful What You Wish For, Get To Work Edition
As the first Sims 4 expansion pack, Get To Work was great in concept. It finally allowed players to accompany their Sims to work—an oft-requested feature—and added the game’s first occult life state, the Aliens from the planet Sixam.
While the Scientist, Doctor, and Detective careers definitely diversified the game, playing a Sim at work can become a chore pretty quickly, as players have to complete the same tasks over and over just to receive mediocre results. The ability to own retail stores also seems like a good bonus, but the lack of variety in the sellable items makes the experience stale quickly.
9 Discover University Isn’t Innovative Enough
Discover University reintroduced the fan-favorite mechanic of letting Sims attend university, this time getting to choose between two campuses in the world of Britechester. While it added features like roommates, five new careers, and riding bicycles, Discover University doesn’t have the same impact on Sims 4 that other similar packs had on previous Sims games.
The Sims 4 and its packs already favor young adult and adult Sims, which means that the inclusion of universities didn’t really celebrate those life stages like Sims 2 and 3 did. It brings new mechanics for student Sims, but the gameplay isn’t enough to justify its status as an expansion pack.
8 Island Living Is An Empty Paradise
Sulani promised to be a gust of fresh air for the largely suburban Sims 4. Aesthetically, the world of Island Living is one of the game’s best, but aside from its beauty and change of scenery, the expansion pack doesn’t really provide much in terms of gameplay. There are mermaids, and yes, Sims can finally swim in the ocean, but both are pretty much limited to Sulani unless the player possesses other packs with swimmable worlds.
Many were also expecting Island Living to introduce hotels and resorts, but these features never materialized in the pack. Instead, Island Living introduced a conservationist aspect to the game that would continue in Eco Lifestyle with a mixed reception from Simmers.
7 Eco Lifestyle Should’ve Been A Game Pack
Eco Lifestyle caused both positive and negative responses from the Sims community, but there’s no denying it brought something completely new to the franchise. The industrial world of Evergreen Harbor is a welcome change by itself, but its unique mechanic of changing according to the player’s choices and its DIY aesthetics makes it unique within the Sims 4.
The pack lacks wider appeal, however, as its premise is too niche for most players. Eco Lifestyle could’ve made a far better game pack, as its effects are mostly contained within Evergreen Harbor and don’t change the rest of the game.
6 Get Famous Is A Glitchy Mess
Sims can become celebrities with Get Famous. The pack introduces fame and reputation, two features that affect Sims regardless of the world they live in and dictate how other Sims behave around them. It also includes the acting career, a media production skill, and drama club as an after-school activity for kids and teens.
Despite its positive features, Get Famous has quite a few downsides. Its world of Del Sol Valley is one of the smallest in the game, with only eleven lots in total despite its seemingly big map. The pack is also known for its array of glitches, many of which have yet to be patched three years after its release.
5 Most Of Snowy Escape Should Have Been Included In Seasons
Snowy Escape includes the winter sports that should’ve been included in Seasons. The world of Mt. Komorebi stands out as the first Asian-inspired environment in the game and is unique enough to be ranked amongst the best.
Snowy Escape also introduces a new Lifestyles mechanic, a series of traits that Sims acquire organically by performing certain activities. It was created in an effort to diversify Sims and make them more unique, but the feature doesn’t live up to the hype it created upon reveal.
4 City Living’s Apartments Could’ve Been So Much Better
Sims go to the city with City Living. The expansion pack introduces apartments and penthouses, weekly cultural festivals, and three new metropolitan careers: politician, critic, and social media influencer. City Living also adds several lot traits for both household and community lots, including Cursed, Sunny Aspect, and Party Place.
Unfortunately for players who enjoy building, apartments are restricted to the city of San Myshuno and cannot be created or deleted, and only their interiors can be modified.
3 Get Together’s Clubs Improve The Sims 4’s Gameplay
Windenburg is one of Get Together‘s best features. The Northern European-inspired world is the biggest in The Sims 4, with a whopping twenty-seven lots, including a huge sixty-four by sixty-four residential lot. Get Together also introduced clubs, a fairly useful mechanic, especially when the player needs to manage several Sims at the same time. It makes gameplay a lot easier and more interesting now that Sims can hang out with their friends and do activities together.
While the pack didn’t add new careers, it did include the Dance Machine and DJ Mixing skills alongside a bundle of radio stations and party-related items like the Foosball table, the dartboard, DJ booths, and dance floors.
2 Cottage Living Finally Gives Simmers What They Wanted
After years of loud, constant campaigning, Simmers finally got what they wanted. Cottage Living revitalizes the Sims 4, giving it a new perspective with its rural, English-inspired world of Henford-on-Bangley and its living-off-the-land features. Sims can now tend to their own crops, raise and befriend animals, and live their wildest cottage core dreams with this pack.
Cottage Living also brings back a fan-favorite character of past games, Mrs. Agnes Crumplebottom, the tote-wielding elder that won’t hesitate to hit Sims who annoy her. And to top it all off, llamas finally make their first real appearance after years of popping up as easter eggs in the Sims franchise.
1 Seasons Is A Gamechanger
Seasons is a staple pack of every Sims game at this point, but that doesn’t take away from its undeniable popularity and iconic status. The seasonal pack fully changes The Sims 4‘s eternal, sunny skies by introducing new weather, making the game feel a lot more complete and exciting. It also introduces holidays like Winterfest and Death Day, and provides a handy calendar for players to keep up with upcoming events.
The best thing about Seasons is that it affects all Sims 4 worlds, making it the best and most useful expansion pack yet. It retains most of the features that made past Seasons packs successful, and despite not including a new world, the pack still brings a new charm to each and every existing location in the game.
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