The Sims is one of the most legendary simulation gaming series of all time. The idea of playing God and micromanaging the lives of digital people is a highly engaging gameplay loop that never fails to be entertaining. With The Sims 3 being an absolute masterpiece and a perfect evolution of the genre, fans couldn't wait to see what the sequel to this amazing game had in store for them.
Unfortunately, The Sims 4 didn't live up to the lofty standards of its predecessor upon release. The game was a significant step down from the original, removing many beloved facets of the games while poorly executing half-baked concepts. A stream of free updates and content packs might have improved the quality of the game somewhat, but there's still a long way for The Sims 4 to go regardless. Here are some of the biggest fixes this game still needs to be a worthy addition to the series.
7 An Open World
The biggest complaints that fans have with The Sims 4 are the changes it made to the very structure of the world itself. The Sims 3 was a brilliant title that added an open world, revolutionizing the gameplay of The Sims in a way that no one had ever seen or experienced before.
So, it was a shame that The Sims 4 went back on this structure to allow for the traditional lot-based roleplaying instead. It was a horrible decision that marked the beginning of the end for this franchise's illustrious reputation, with fans deriding the vast amount of cut content in the game when compared to its predecessors.
6 More Emotive And Unique Sims
The eponymous Sims form the backbone of this title and have been a constant and welcome presence across the entire series. These characters are whom players control and help achieve their dreams, making for the most engaging part of this gameplay loop. A big part of why The Sims is so iconic is that these characters genuinely felt lifelike and interesting.
This isn't the case with The Sims 4, where most characters feel like the same with barely any noticeable personality differences. This is quite disappointing since the quality of this title could've been enhanced considerably if the actors felt realistic. As it stands, Sims feel lifeless and robotic, which spells doom for any life simulation game.
5 Adding Proper Autonomy For Sims
In The Sims 4, it honestly feels like most Sims will drop and perish in minutes if the player isn't governing all their actions at every step of the way. This can prove to be quite annoying, especially since it makes these Sims feel less like living characters and more like simple lines of code.
The Sims 4 could've benefited immensely with better autonomy systems that allowed Sims to fend for themselves without the player micromanaging each and every decision they took. As it stands, the wealth of updates this game has received hasn't improved Sim autonomy in the slightest, which feels like a slap in the face of long-time fans.
4 Releasing Worthwhile DLC At Better Rates
The fact that The Sims 4 was released with a lot of cut content has been mentioned on this list. In fact, the sheer amount of stripped-down features is so exhaustive that most players believed that EA wanted to milk as much money from fans by adding this content as DLC.
This is precisely the case with the majority of DLCs for The Sims 4, which feel like shameless cash grabs that don't really feature any worthwhile content. If the quality of these expansion packs can't be improved, then EA should do the right thing and reduce the overall cost of these content packs.
3 Improved Whims
Whims are a unique addition to The Sims 4, replicating the function of the Wants & Fears system in The Sims 2 and the Wish system in The Sims 3. However, in comparison to the two systems that preceded it, Whims seems like an absolutely hollow addition that doesn't really add anything to the experience.
It doesn't even matter what personality Sims have, since their moodlets lead to multiple Sims having the same tired Whims. It's a system that could've worked greatly had it been executed with panache, but it just ended up being another misstep in the disastrous development of The Sims 4.
2 Better Animations
Given that The Sims 4 is a game about emulating itself, focusing on the little details for their characters would go a long way in selling the illusion of this world. However, the Sims present in this game are also wooden at times, and this is mainly due to the corners that Maxis has cut in the development of this game.
Chess pieces aren't moved around realistically, certain animations are reused for different actions, and Sims just tend to move and emote in very similar and uninspired manners. If EA really wants its players to get immersed in The Sims 4, then adding Better Animations would be a great start.
1 More Lively Worlds
One of the biggest complaints about The Sims 4 is that the worlds present in the game feel rather empty and barebones at times. Most NPCs who walk about the map are wholly generic and uninteresting, with the limited playing space making matters feel even worse.
As a result, it honestly feels like The Sims 4 lacks any kind of organic storytelling in its world. It's completely up to the player to spice up the proceedings and craft their own story... even with the game seemingly working against the very concept of fun itself.
The Sims 4 was released on September 2nd, 2014, and is available for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.