Review — The Sims 4

Live life the way you want it in The Sims 4, now available for Xbox One and PlayStation 4.

The first The Sims game was released 17 years ago and while I have played the first game I haven’t touched a Sims game in years. For me, it was fun to see how the essence of the game was still the same, but it evolved with its time and there is just so much more to do now in the life of a Sim.

The Daily Grind

The Sims 4 is still about the daily life of your characters. Just like in real life, you need to feed and entertain them, get them a job so that they get money, make sure they rest, and most importantly, have them socialize. Making new friends, falling in love and have children is all part of the game. The times where you were restricted to your own house are long gone, as you can have your Sims explore different locations and have them socialize in public spaces.

We talk a lot about open world games, but The Sims 4 is a game that we can truly classify as being open-world. There is no end goal and you can do with your Sims whatever you want. You can have them live their lives as good as possible, or you can be a skip being Mister Nice Guy and do terrible things with them. It might sound sadistic, but in a way it is fun to experiment with the says to torture your Sims. I’m sure I’m not the only one who locked up a Sim who needs to go to the restroom in a sealed off room.

That’s Just the Way You Are

While there might be no end goals, the game does present you with a Legacy Challenge, where you have to keep your lineage alive for 10 generations, and various life goals for your Sim. These depend on the characteristics you give to your Sim. A romantic for example, will need to find a soulmate to fulfill a possible life goal. So when creating a Sim, it’s not only important to make him look how you want, but also to give him the behavioral attributes you want as this will have a big influence on the needs of your Sim and how he interacts.

Managing the daily life of your Sim is just one part of the game however. The builder mode, where you can construct your ideal house for your Sims to live in, is an equal important part of the game. Here the game also offers you endless possibilities, and don’t be surprised that you’ll end up spending hours and hours in the building mode, designing the perfect house and decorate it the way you want. It’s funny, but managing your Sims’ lives and building their dream house can be stupendously addicting, even if you’ll end up doing the same boring tasks as you do in real life!

Console Port

Of course The Sims 4 isn’t a new game as it has been available since 2014 on PC. But it only recently got ported to Xbox One and PlayStation 4. This means the game does show its age as the graphics do feel somewhat outdated, despite having a certain visual charm. It doesn’t look as polished or details as you’d expect from a title being released at the end of 2017.

Another issue is that The Sims is a menu heavy game with a point & click focus. While this works perfectly on PC with a mouse, playing the game with a controller feels less then ideal. I’m sure the creators did the best they could given the situation, but there were times where I really had trouble selecting certain items or actions when using the thumbsticks. While the controls do work, they do miss the fluidity of a mouse.

Finally, I’m also disappointed that the game doesn’t come with any of the expansions. Sure, The Sims is know for having a notorious amount of expansions and stuff pack. But console owners had to wait 3 years and don’t get compensated with the full experience for their wait. Even worse, it was launched with several expansions you can buy being promoted on the start screen. Why weren’t these already integrated in the base game to begin with? In all honesty, this did feel like being cheated a bit. But if you don’t mind this and you’re a console player who’s dying to play The Sims 4, you can’t go wrong with this game.

3.5/5

Reviewed for Xbox One