The Sims 4: Growing Together is the thirteenth expansion pack for The Sims 4 franchise. It introduces a new world with many new gameplay features and will be available for players to access from March 16, 2023, onwards. Growing Together is highly anticipated as it focuses heavily on family gameplay and introduces features that Simmers have long been waiting for. Along with a new world to explore, this expansion pack offers unique features that make it stand out from other packs that players have had access to for a long time. The release of Growing Together follows the Infants Update, a free update to the base game, which also introduces new gameplay features for Sims of all ages and more importantly the Infant age state. With this expansion pack, players can expect to explore many meaningful interactions between Sims of different ages and important aspects of growing up, and further interactions with infant Sims as well.
Although this pack is unique within The Sims 4 franchise, it shares similarities with The Sims 3: Generations, as it emphasizes family gameplay, growing up, and intergenerational activities. While The Sims 4: Parenthood also focused on parenting, Growing Together expands beyond that by highlighting that growing up is not solely about parenting. The pack includes many small activities that add to the realism of Sims' daily lives, making Growing Together distinct in that it does not solely focus on a particular activity or feature but rather seeks to make the life simulation more true-to-life, similar to the intent of the Seasons pack.
Sources for this article and its images include EA.com and Growing Together Trailers and Official Livestream.
Everything New In A Nutshell
- New World (San Sequoia)
- Milestones
- Family Dynamics
- Infant and Toddler Quirks, Child Confidence Level
- Self-Discovery
- New Social Events (Baby Shower, Family Reunion, Slumber Party) and Stay Overs
- Work - Adult Related Situation Events (Burnout, Lay-offs, Midlife Crisis, Workplace Rivals)
- New Child Aspirations (Creative Genius, Mind and Body, Playtime Captain, Slumber Party Animal)
- Social Compatibility and New Likes/Dislikes (Conversation Topics, Sim Characteristics)
- New CAS, Build/Buy Items
San Sequoia
San Sequoia is the new world that comes with Growing Together, offering a breathtaking environment with a variety of activities for Sims of all ages. The in-game description states that San Sequoia was once a small fishing town that has since expanded into a city, but still features cozy streets, beautiful gardens, and suburban neighborhoods that are perfect for raising a family. The world is inspired by San Francisco's landscape and name, and while it only has 12 lots, it is beautifully designed with contributions from Sims content creators such as lilsimsie.
San Sequoia is divided into 3 neighborhoods, each consisting of 4 lots, resulting in a total of 12 lots. Nine of these lots are residential, with 4 of them already occupied by new pre-made families. Additionally, there is a rental lot for vacations, a library, and a Recreational Center. The Recreational Center is a new lot assignment that enables Sims to engage in new activities together. It is possible to build these centers in any other Sims world, provided that the requirements are met. The new activities, such as board games, puzzles, and splash pads, are not limited to Recreational Centers. The pack also features a new rabbithole lot, a Cinema, which provides another activity for Sims to do together, even though players cannot follow them inside.
Milestones
The Milestones feature in The Sims 4: Growing Together is reminiscent of memories from The Sims 2 franchise. Although Sentiments, introduced with a free base game update right before The Snowy Escape expansion pack, is somewhat similar to memories, Milestones differ significantly as they focus on first-time occurrences and achievements rather than long or short-term interaction-based feelings between Sims. This makes Milestones more akin to a memories' system, and they are unique for each life stage, enabling players to immerse themselves in their Sims' growing-up process and achieve a sense of accomplishment.
For example, for a child, first day of school, or learning to bike is a milestone, while getting married is one for young adult or adult Sims. Milestones are divided into categories like Firsts, Life, Cognitive, and Social, and they can be either positive or negative. Some milestones unlock new items for Sims to display and earn moodlets. This addition not only enhances gameplay for Sims but also allows players to reflect on their Sims' milestones, introducing an entirely new level of gameplay.
Family Dynamics
When playing The Sims 4, it is clear that family members treat each other similarly to how they treat non-family Sims, except not being able to engage in romantic activities with siblings or offspring. To address this, the new family dynamics feature adds depth to family interactions beyond those with non-family Sims. Players can select various family dynamics in the Create-a-Sim screen, which affect how different family members interact with each other.
For example, siblings can have dynamics such as close, distant, jokester, or supportive, while parents can have dynamics such as strict or nurturing towards their children. This feature also extends to extended family members like grandparents, aunts, uncles, and others. The ability to see how family members form different relationships based on these dynamics adds realism and storytelling opportunities to the game.
Infant And Toddler Quirks & Child Confidence Level
In The Sims 4 Growing Together, similar to how famous Sims receive random quirks based on certain interactions in Get Famous, infant and toddler Sims can now acquire unique quirks to make them stand out beyond just their traits. Both infants and toddlers have access to 18 new quirks, some of which are the same, but can only have three at a time. While some of the quirks may seem trivial, others can add challenges for their caregivers. Examples of Infant quirks include Gassy, Good Appetite, and Early Rise, while Toddler quirks include Picky Eater, Little Singer, and Loves Water, among others. As players engage with their Sim families, they will notice subtle differences in behavior between Sims with different quirks, even if they have the same traits. Outside the new quirks, the pack also unlocks new infant focused food recipes.
Children Sims do not get any new quirks, however, as they transition from Toddler to Child, they are granted a confidence meter in the form of a trait. This meter is affected by the child's success in various activities such as schooling, skill acquisition, and interactions with objects and other Sims. As the child reaches their Teen years, they will receive specific reward traits depending on their confidence level.
Self Discovery Traits
In The Sims 4, adult Sims are typically limited to three traits outside the reward traits they can obtain via completing aspirations or from the reward shop, which can only be changed using a Re-traiting potion. However, the Growing Together expansion introduces a more immersive way of obtaining traits for Sims, beyond simply using a potion or the CAS screen. Sims will now occasionally be prompted with a choice screen, indicating that they can gain an additional trait if the player chooses to do so. For example, if a Sim has been skipping work and engaging in sedentary activities, the game may prompt the player to give the Sim the Lazy trait. These prompts occur randomly, but certain activities can increase the chances of a prompt appearing. With this feature, Sims can gain up to three additional traits, making their total trait count six.
Additionally, this feature allows for conflicting traits to be changed to their opposite. For example, a Sim who is a slob may be prompted to change to the Neat trait if they continue to perform cleaning activities. This way, as Sims grow up and experience different situations, their personalities can change over time. This feature is similar to Lifestyles, which provide moodlets or benefits when certain activities are performed, but self-discovery traits are more permanent. Overall, this feature adds a new level of immersion and depth to Sims' personalities and the gameplay experience.
New Social Events
This pack not only introduces new interactions between Sims but also includes 3 fresh social events that involve both adults and children. These events - Baby Shower, Family Reunion, and Slumber Party - offer plenty of opportunities for gameplay and storytelling in the Growing Together, much like how the My Wedding Stories game pack intends to enhance marriage-related events. All events can be set as a Goaled Event, allowing Sims to earn rewards such as collage photos from the reunion or a bassinet for infants upon achieving a gold medal. It's worth noting that the Sim doesn't even need to be pregnant to organize the baby shower event.
Growing Together introduces the Stay Over event, which enables Sims to stay temporarily at their friends' or family's houses and engage in certain interactions. A stay over can last up to six days, with a minimum stay of one day. There are two ways to initiate the event: via the calendar, like any other event, or through a random invitation from an NPC or another played Sim. In the latter scenario, players can accept or decline the offer after receiving a phone call and a pop-up choice screen. If initiated via the calendar, players can view the number of days Sims are staying and attend other events simultaneously, such as work or festivals. To make Sims feel more at home, they can help with house chores, cook, or even sleep without being perceived as inappropriate by other Sims. Additionally, Sims can bring a suitcase with them, which also works as a dresser for changing or planning outfits.
Midlife Crisis And Work-Related Events
In addition to the many new activities for children and young Sims, this pack also introduces unique situations that add a sense of realism to adult Sims' lives. The most notable of these is the Midlife Crisis, which functions like a mini-aspiration. This feature is similar to the Midlife Crisis feature from The Sims 3: Generations. As Sims reach adulthood, they may receive one of the different Midlife Crisis options with its unique tasks. Players can choose complete related tasks, or wait for the timer to pass without pursuing these tasks. If players complete the tasks, the midlife crisis will last shorter, and the Sim will also receive positive moodlets.
In addition to the Midlife Crisis, Sims may face other events related to their work lives. For instance, Sims may encounter a Workplace Rival that needs to be addressed before they can be promoted. There are several ways to handle this situation. Although this feature was not present in previous Sims games, some players may find it similar to needing to having (work) friends to complete promotion tasks. Growing Together introduces a Burnout system that can affect career or skill performance. Burnouts are not limited to careers and can occur in any activity, for example after painting extensively. When a Sim wants to take a break or focus on something else, it can negatively impact their mood if they are forced to continue working or practicing a skill excessively. Additionally, Sims may face the risk of being laid off from their job. While working hard can help prevent this outcome, if it happens, Sims will have additional opportunities presented to them after receiving the bad news.
New Child Aspirations
The base game already includes four child aspirations that relate to the primary skills they need to work on before focusing on adult skills. Growing Together introduces a unique approach by grouping all four aspirations under one category named Multiskill. As the name suggests, this aspiration encourages children to explore and focus on multiple skills instead of solely mastering one.
This new category features four different aspirations: Playtime Captain, Creative Genius, Mind and Body, and Slumber Party Animal. Although these aspirations are designed for children and are relatively easy to complete, they offer a fresh set of challenges and reward traits for young Sims to enjoy.
Social Compatibility And New Likes/Dislikes
The Likes and Dislikes feature in The Sims 4 added a bit of character, but it didn't have much impact besides some moodlets and helping the interior decorator career. However, with the Growing Together pack, Likes and Dislikes have two new categories: Sim Characteristics and Conversation Topics, which greatly affect the Social Compatibility between Sims. These two categories are available from childhood, but some related to romance are locked for children.
The Characteristics' category has 18 options that aren't traits, but a combination of traits, lifestyles, and likes and dislikes from the activity category. This unique combination results in a specific category, which adds depth to interactions. Additionally, the Conversation Topics category has 16 different topics, to be liked or disliked, which adds more depth to relationship-building, as certain interactions may be perceived well by some Sims and not by others.
New CAS, Build/Buy Items
Growing Together expansion pack for The Sims 4 offers players a diverse and functional selection of Create-a-Sim (CAS) items for all ages and genders. In addition to various clothing options, there are also new hairstyles, skin details, and accessories available to further customize and enhance each Sim's appearance. While infants already received a significant amount of clothing through a base game update, this expansion pack includes additional options for them as well.
Growing Together pack adds over 190 new build items to the game, including typical objects like windows, flooring, and wallpapers, as well as unique and interactive family oriented items like suitcases, infant carriers, keepsake boxes, and treehouses. The pack also includes infant changing stations, which were surprisingly not added in the base game update.
The Sims 4 is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S