The Sims 4has some pretty great additions based on concepts bothnewand old. Added content based on conceptsrooted in realitytend to be the most popular, and work seamlessly withThe Simsgameplay and designs.
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The Sims 4content is a bit different to previous versions of the game. Content packs come in the form of stuff packs, game packs, and expansion packs. Stuff packs are the smallest, cheapest, and most numerous. They are based around a theme, and often come with a small addition to gameplay, with a dozen or so additions to create-a-sim and build and buy mode. Game packs are focused on a single theme, with a new gameplay system added which add significant changes to the game. The biggest packs are expansion packs, which add dozens of new items, systems, and interactions.
10Laundry Day
Laundry Dayis a stuff pack. As the title suggests, it introduces a laundry system where your sims can wash their clothes.
Items range from some cool new clothing items in create-a-sim, a laundry machine, a dryer, and a clothes line. For a game lacking in systems of play, adding new ones is always going to be a good thing. What’s also cool aboutLaundry Dayis that you can choose energy efficient methods to wash your clothes, which means that the systems are compatible with off the grid lots.
9Eco Lifestyle
While some aspects ofEco Lifestyleare disappointing (the litter being purely aesthetic for example),Eco Lifestyleis an expansion pack that adds a lot of interesting gameplay that makes your neighborhood feel like a living community.
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Self-sufficiency is the name of the game in this expansion pack. you may produce your own electricity and collect your own water. There’s also a recycling system, and you can sell your own crafts online.Eco Lifestyleallows your sims to live their lives on their own terms, and gives them the opportunity to live completely new alternative lifestyle.
8Kids Room
Items for kids inThe Sims 4have been woefully lacking, so this stuff pack was a welcome addition.
Although the new system of a card game was introduced, this stuff pack is more useful for the buy mode items that come with it. Decorating kids spaces is a dream with this new pack.The Sims 4has one of the best build modes of the franchise and Kids Room builds on that for one of the best stuff packs in this edition ofThe Sims.
7Cats and Dogs
Pets packs have always been popular (excluding the controversialMy First Pets Stuffpack), andCats and Dogsis no different.
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Although veteran Sims players may feel as if this expansion pack is lacking, as The Sims 3 Petshad horses and other animals added to the game,Cats and Dogsexpands on previous versions of this theme. The create-a-pet system is detailed, and the team has made sure that you’re able to create any kind of cat or dog you could ever imagine. The personalities and independence of the pets are also evident, and that you can’t control them directly addsa sense of realism to the gameplay.
6Dine Out
Dine Outis a game pack that adds a restaurant system to yourSimsgame. The game involves both dining out and creating your own restaurant.
Adding another social aspect toThe Sims 4is always a good thing, and having another thing to do in your neighborhood adds to making it feel more like a living world, rather than feeling like you’re on a lonely island separated from civilization by loading screens. The restaurant system is modern and dynamic, with some great customization options. Menu customization is especially fantastic, and you can even make your restaurant vegetarian-only. Staff in your restaurant wear uniforms, and there’s a critic system to rate your restaurant, which influences how lucrative your restaurant is.
5Tiny Living
If you enjoy playing without cheats, particularly money cheats, thenTiny Livingis incredibly useful. This stuff pack includes everything you need for sims who live in budget-friendly or tiny homes. It’s also great for large families where space is a commodity.
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Tiny Livingalso sees the return of the notorious Murphy bed, a bed which folds up into the wall and also serves as a new way to kill simsif they aren’t careful. Regardless of consequences,Tiny Livingis essential for those sims who want to make the most of the space available to them on a budget.
4Get Together
The best thing about this expansion pack is its club system,a gameplay mechanic completely newtoThe Simsfranchise.Get Togethergets extra points for being fresh and new, which is something sadly rare in a series that just recently celebrated its 20th anniversary.
Get Togetheris all about groups, and to facilitate that goal is its club system. Anyone can be added to a club. Clubs can be customized to fit just about any purpose you can think of, and half of its success is from just how much detail you can put into the customization, from who can be added to club dress codes and club activities. Clubs work well beyond the obvious purpose of going out, and can be used to keep track of large extended families.
3Discover University
University has been a staple ofThe SimssinceThe Sims 2, andThe Sims 4is no different.Discover Universityshakes up the old formula by giving you the option of two different universities: the University of Britechester and the Foxbury Institute. you’re able to choose which university is right for your sim.
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Sims have a wide range of courses available to them, all which correlate to different careers. The more they learn and the better they do in their course, the better they’ll do in their chosen career.Discover Universityadds an entirely different living space for your sim, and is a wonderful break from their day-to-day, while also benefiting their lives once they return home.
2Parenthood
This is a game pack whichadds a layer of complexityto playingThe Sims.Parenthoodgives you all the more control over how your sims are raised and what kind of sims they’ll grow up to be.
Parenthoodintroduces new dynamics to parent-child relationships, and each life stage benefits from it, from toddlers to teenagers. Parents can now influence their children by praising or criticizing certain behaviors, and these influences follow into adulthood. Toddlers, children, and teenagers have a range of new behaviors, and parents now have to level up their parenting skill to become competent parents. This game pack creates a rich and dynamic lived experience for your sims, and adds needed layers of gameplay.
1Seasons
Seasons has always been a popular addition toThe Simsfranchise.Out of all the packs,Seasonscreates a living world in the most nuanced and obvious ways, and changes the way players approach the game. Weather is dynamic, seasons are overt, and holidays truly create the feeling of time passing by.
The neighborhoods change depending on the season, and the effects are truly stunning, particularly in autumn and winter. Sims are affected by lightning storms and blizzards, and every day brings its own new challenges. Of all the packs forThe Sims 4,Seasonstruly lifts the bar.
