From alien abductions to a giant bunny fulfilling social needs, The Sims has never shied away from being weird and wacky. But for all the players who want their creations to live wild and crazy lives, there is an equal number who want theirs to live as realistically as possible. We’re talking 9 to 5 jobs, wages only high enough to scrape by, and all the dramas and mundanities of real life. But how can you make the Sims more realistic than it already is? Mods, of course! And we’ve got some great ones listed below to deal the dose of reality that your Sims desire.

Updated on February 29th, 2020 by Anastasia Maillot: As far as fans are concerned, most of the wanted The Sims 4 expansions have been released as of 2019. With Discover University now out, it's unclear what's to become of The Sims 4 in this upcoming year.

There's a dire need for content and realism, due to how restrictive many of EA's expansions and packs have been. Since this isn't likely to change until a new game comes out altogether, we've updated this list with five additional mods to give every Simmer's game a nice boost of realism.

15 15. Funeral Mod

Death in The Sims 4 is a pretty strange thing. When a character passes away, everyone in the vicinity gathers around and cries as they watch Grim the Reaper do his thing. After that, the body just transforms into an urn and that's that.

What the game needs is a proper funeral, which is what the Funeral Mod, originally by Brittpinkiesims and revived by Rex, does. Players can now start a new funeral event, where people can perform eulogies and view the body. Sims can also hire a Minister.

14 14. Extreme Violence Mod

Real life is pretty brutal and if there's something that's missing in The Sims 4, it's all things crime and action. There are no weapons, no assaults, no murder in the game, and maybe for a good reason. But for those above the age of 18 who want real crime and real consequences, there's a perfect mod out there.

RELATED: Sims 4: Ultimate List Of All The Hidden Lots You Can Discover

Extreme Violence introduces a ton of new interactions and behaviors into the game. Depending on the settings, Sims can now actually assault one another and if they're witnessed by other Sims the police will be called on them.

13 13. SimDa Dating App Mod

Dating in The Sims 4 tends to be really generic. Sims just sort of meet one another at a random public place, be it a park, a bar or a restaurant. In reality, people seek out companionship actively online through dating apps and dating services. This is something the game needs as well.

The SimDa Dating App mod adds a cool application on every Sims' phone. They can go on blind dates, find a partner for life or just hook up with someone for one night. Whatever their flavor of love is, it's all available in this mod, which is why it's so fun and versatile.

12 12. Slumber Party Mod

Kids haven't received the most attention when it comes to gameplay features. In fact, anything under the age of a teen in The Sims 4 is usually insanely boring to play, and it's unlikely EA will actually spend time fixing these issues before working on projects like The Sims 5.

This is why mods like the Slumber Party mod are so important. It allows for the creation of a brand new event, which basically creates a slumber party with special interactions and buffs. Kids will show up to the event in pyjamas, too, which is pretty cool.

11 11. Life Tragedies Mod

Unexpected and dramatic things can happen in anyone's life, and it's always on the news. In The Sims 4, it's all sunshine and rainbows for the most part, unless the player has the Life Tragedies mod installed to truly alter their experience. A word of warning: this isn't for the faint of heart.

This mod introduces fatal illnesses, car accidents, kidnappings, bullying and even five unique serial killer characters who will prey on the Sims. Depending on the player's settings, some events might happen more often than others, so make sure to tune the mod as soon as it's installed.

10 10. More Best Friends

via: USgamer

Gone are the playground days of ‘Jenny is my best friend, so you can’t be.’ By the time you’ve left school, you will have noticed that the truth is you can have several best friends in life, and it’s time for Sims to grow beyond the singular, trophy-like style of friendship.

RELATED: The 15 Best Sims 4 Careers, Ranked

With the More Best Friends mod, your Sims can have several relationships tagged as ‘best friend’. Neat! It also reduces to cooldown time between ‘Become Best Friends’ interactions, so you can get recruiting besties left, right, and center. Share the love!

9 9. Ultrasound Scan

via: Tumblr

 

One of the wonders of modern medicine is the ultrasound, allowing parents to see unborn babies months before they’re due. If you install the Ultrasound Scan mod, your Sim can visit a gynecologist; they’ll leave in a car and return after a couple hours.

There will be an ultrasound scan in their inventory when they get back, and if you hang it on the wall, your Sim receives a boost to their mood. The description of the scan will provide the gender and the number of babies. A nice touch from real life to help prepare for your digital bundle/s of joy.

8 8. Food = Calories

via: Twitter

Sounds a little too real, right? Well if you really want all the ordinary (and downright difficult) facts of life in your game, this mod will help. It creates a rate of increasing body fat on your Sims after they eat meals. There are three different levels, to make the fact grow very quickly or at a more natural pace, noticeable after several days.

Not only does this add a challenge, but when your Sims need to use the gym, they’ll genuinely need to. No more pointless running on treadmills; you’ll actually see the results as your Sims lose weight.

7 7. Slice Of Life

via: KawaiiStacie

The Slice of Life mod adds crucial appearance changes that reflect what we go through in real life. Now your Sims will have a visible blush when they’re feeling flirty or embarrassed, and a red face when they’re drunk. This mod also adds teary eyes when Sims are sad, and even bruises on their face if they lose a fight.

A notable feature is the addition of acne, giving your Sims pimples; if you want them to have a realistic appearance, pimples are part of the package. Those little details go a long way in making a more relatable experience.

6 6. Explore

via: KawaiiStacie

For all the fun, simple things we do in life that Sims don’t get to experience. With the Explore mod, your Sims can do a number of different things, go to different places under the ‘Explore…’ action menu.

They can go shopping, with options including ‘Shop for Everyday outfit’ and ‘Shop for Formal outfit’; they’ll return with the appropriate new outfit. They can also go to the salon, a comedy club, get ice cream, get henna tattoos and loads more. They can even talk to a therapist, which removes negative moodlets. It’s always good to talk about your feelings.

5 5. Grocery Store Items

via: Tumblr

Like it or not, brands have become a part of our reality, with well-known names like Dove and Lemsip in every household. Now they can be in your Sims’ households too. For a more detailed look into real life, this mod adds a ton of branded items that look like our everyday groceries.

From Nescafé coffee packets to Capri-Sun, Lucozade, and even Gillette – the best a Sim can get. There are Tampax and Bodyform sanitary products, and Cottonelle toilet paper (complete with cute golden puppy). It may be a capitalistic overload in your Sims’ homes, but it certainly makes the game more realistic!

4 4. Stretch Marks

via: Mod The Sims

Some wish they’d disappear, others wear them proudly like tiger stripes, but no matter how you see them, stretch marks are an inevitable part of life and pregnancy. They’re a natural sign of growth, where the skin has stretched rapidly. With the Stretch Marks mod, your Sims can have them on their breasts, tummy, thighs, and bottom.

They appear as tattoos in the game, with a variety of choices to alter where the marks are and how many you want to use. There are also several shades to adjust to different skin tones. Overall, it’s a pretty great mod to celebrate natural bodies.

3 3. Realistic Clouds

via: Mod The Sims

Ever had your Sims stare up at the sky, in a blissful daydream, only to have this serene moment disturbed by weird clouds? The clouds in Sims 4 are obviously not the main feature of the game – most players probably don’t even notice them.

But for some Simmers, these fluffy puffs of vapor are lacking, and our Sims deserve better. This mod is one of many that makes the clouds in the game look more realistic, with more variance and translucence, among other details. Now your Sims can daydream to their hearts’ content, with clouds worthy of a view.

2 2. Simbay

via: Tumblr

One of the names we’ve come to know and love is eBay, where you can sell your old possessions to get some cash, and find gems in other people’s stores while you’re at it. Why should Sims be denied this privilege?

Stick the items you want to sell in your inventory, use any computer in your Sim’s home, and the option for Online Service should appear. Using that option should allow you to submit items – up to four within 24 hours – and get Simoleons back. There’s even a 10% service fee for added realism! Joy!

1 1. Lower Wages

via: Mod The Sims

Here’s a more painful touch of reality. While in The Sims, career wages are decent and your families can be paying bills and hitting the town in no time, in real life this is not always the case.

If you’re one of the folks barely scraping by and you want your Sims to be in the same boat, they can with this mod. It reduces salaries of adult and teen jobs by about 50%, which sounds harsh but hey, you wanted realism, right? Bills will now be a serious issue rather than a quick click fix, adding a decent challenge to the game.

NEXT: 10 Best Cheats For The Sims 4 Get Famous Expansion Pack