Aliens were brought into The Sims series in The Sims 2 and kept as a component throughout the series. In The Sims 4, they were originally just a small decorative pet that could be acquired by using a rocket to explore space, but they returned to their full glory (so to speak) in The Sims 4: Get To Work. Unfortunately, Aliens were a fairly weak occult type, even when they were first introduced, and that has only grown more and more apparent over time. We've seen Vampires, Spellcasters, and even Mermaids (which have problems of their own) showing signs of having much more thought put into them. RELATED: 10 Sims 4 Expansions We Need In The Game ASAP Aliens in The Sims 4 feel like they were added in as an interactive part of a Scientist Sim's story, with no thought put into how they would fare as a standalone game feature. However, they had a lot of potential, if only they were actually given a decent amount of care.

10 More Clothing Choices

Vampires and Spellcasters each came with several different thematic clothing choices, and even Mermaids have a handful of mix and match tails and tops to choose from.

Aliens, for some reason, only come with one outfit per age group. It's sort of cool that they glow, but they're also really clunky and limiting. There are no shoes or accessories. Even Sims in the Scientist career received more focus with a few different high tech and futuristic items.

The fact that aliens can wear clothing meant for any occult or non-occult Sim does little to soften the blow. Space-themed and futuristic clothing made with Aliens in mind should have been a priority for a pack using Aliens as a selling point.

9 More Logical Reactions From Non-Aliens

Upon discovering an Alien, a Sim will receive one of a few different moodlets, ranging from angry to confident. The fact that Sims actually care about Aliens existing is cool... Or at least it is in theory.

In reality, there's no rhyme or reason to which moodlet a Sim gets. It doesn't make much sense for that feature to be randomized when each Sim has their own personality traits that should logically influence the way they react to things. Sims with the hot-headed trait getting angry makes perfect sense - but why would a genius or geek become angry when they discover something so huge? The reaction that a Sim has to an Alien should be influenced by their traits, period.

8 Relevant Build And Buy Mode Items

via Twitter@AnchesenamonSim

The barely touched upon lore for Aliens in The Sims 4 implies that their goal is to hide out among Sims and blend in as much as they can, so it's almost excusable that there aren't many special items for Aliens found under Build and Buy mode. Or at least it would be, if not for the fact that Aliens have special bassinets and graves that set them apart, so it seems a bit silly that there aren't any other special things.

It could've even been just a single item as simple as a functional pod for sleeping in, a futuristic-looking bed, or a star field wallpaper. The fact that living, active Aliens use nothing but human things just doesn't make any sense.

7 Full Access To CAS

Among all of the other shortcomings that befall Aliens when it comes to their physical customization, it's important to mention that they're actually restricted from certain sections of CAS, for seemingly no reason at all.

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Aliens can't use Skin Details, so they can't have wrinkles, freckles, moles, etc. They also can't wear any outfits found under Styled Looks, which is pretty illogical since they're supposed to be trying to fit in with Sims, so it would make sense for them to emulate fashion trends.

6 Different Needs

Most occults in The Sims 4 have a slight variant on their needs in comparison to normal Sims, even if it's only minor. Mermaids, for example, have hydration instead of hygiene, and Vampires have thirst instead of hunger. Spellcasters don't have anything, but that's because they're basically just normal Sims with magical powers, so it makes sense that they'd be limited like that.

Since Aliens are meant to be a separate species, it would be nice to see that reflected somehow. Even if none of their needs were renamed or removed, it could have been affected in a more simplistic way. For example, maybe their hunger can only be satisfied by eating Alien-related fruit or cooking the game's Alien-related recipes, or their disguise could be a drain on their Energy. Instead, they're basically just regular Sims.

5 Optional Abduction Pregnancies (And No Abductions of Other Aliens)

If you really think about it, there are a lot of questionable things about the whole Alien pregnancy trope in general. The inclusion of it in The Sims 4 isn't really necessary because it's better left in the past, but if it was really that important to keep flogging that horse, it could've been done better.

The fact that Alien pregnancy happens with or without consent from the receiving Sim is the main issue, so adding a simple pop-up box that made it optional would add in some semblance of a Sim maintaining their own bodily autonomy. It would also be great if the UFOs could stop picking up earthbound Aliens to forcefully conceive a child with them since that blurs the lines of morality even more.

4 Automatic (Or At Least Easier) Access To Sixam

sixam from a distance

Aliens have to work their way through the Scientist career and unlock a portal to take them to Sixam just like regular Sims. That might not be such a bad deal, if not for the fact that it's literally the home planet of the Alien species, so it seems kinda messed up that they've lost all access to it without jumping through the exact same hoops as any old human Sim.

Maybe even just an easier time with gaining access by being allowed to use the Scientist objects without actually being in the Scientist career would have been enough since they're allegedly a futuristic species with advanced technology, so the idea of them not understanding human inventions seems silly.

3 Special Interactions With Other Aliens

Aliens socializing in a group

Aliens can use all of their special powers on one another with varying degrees of success, but it would have been nice to have some genuinely unique interactions between them. Vampires and Spellcasters can duel with one another, so maybe that would have been a good idea to implement with Aliens somehow.

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It also might have worked to have them be able to communicate with each other without actually having to speak out loud or even just to give them a special greeting that comes from their mutual home planet of Sixam.

It just seems like a swing and a miss that Aliens interact with each other exactly the same as other Sims, except for being more comfortable without their disguise.

2 Aspirations

If there's one thing that drives The Sims 4 in terms of gameplay objectives, it's an aspiration. It gives some sort of guidance for what to do next, and it can also give lore to occult Sims.

Like basically every other aspect of the game, Aliens were completely ignored here, too. There are no Alien-related aspirations for humans or Aliens, making them basically unimportant in the grand scheme of things. The only other occult that doesn't have a dedicated aspiration are Mermaids, and it's interesting to speculate on how both were added as features of an expansion pack, rather than the focus of their own game pack.

1 An Experience-Based System With A Skill Tree

One of the things that makes playing as a Vampire or a Spellcaster so compelling is that they have an experience-based system that leads into a skill tree. By using their abilities or studying, they can gain experience points that eventually add up into power or talent points, which are exchanged for different powers. Vampires must also take on a weakness to balance them out and keep them from becoming over-powered, but even that serves to add some depth and dynamic to longterm gameplay.

Aliens fall flat in this regard, as every Alien comes with the same stock abilities that can't be expanded or improved upon at all. Every Alien is exactly the same as the last, so once you've played with one, you've played with them all, and might as well just go back to normal Sims.