The Sims franchise is still going strong after twenty years. Their latest game, The Sims 4, already has 36 DLC, and EA already has some more in the making. Still, there are no official plans to release The Sims 5.
When you have a franchise many people grew up with, casual players evolve into a dedicated fandom that only expects the best from your games. Over the years, The Sims' team has been in the middle of many dramas, leaks, and controversies. While most Simmers have a unified opinion when the drama starts, other players just think differently and want to share their thoughts with other people who might feel the same way.
10 Hyper-Realistic Sims Look Worse Than Default Sims
For years now, Sims-players have enjoyed a multitude of custom content at their disposal, that goes from hairstyles to game mods; there isn't a limit for what you can find out there. However, Reddit user u/SquirmleQueen feels this CC can do more harm than good as sometimes they make sims look worse.
On one hand, custom content makes sims look realistic, on the other one, hyper-realistic CC makes them look fake because the sims end up all looking the same. "When this -custom content- is put on toddler or child sims, it just looks even weirder" u/SquirmleQueen adds.
9 The Open World Is Overrated
When the Sims 3 released back in 2009, it introduced a groundbreaking game mechanic: an open world. In this installment of the franchise, you could get from point A to point B without any loading screens, follow your sims on their way to work and even teach them how to drive so they could move in their game world. While all of this seems fantastic, it came with the price of a laggy and unstable game.
When EA released The Sims 4, many fans rejected the open-world mechanic being excluded. For many, this felt like a step back. Not for Reddit user u/Yoloyolanda92, who didn't like the open world in the first place and doesn't want to see it in The Sims 5.
8 Jungle Adventure Is The Superior Game Pack
Whenever there's a new sims' game, you know there will be tons of DLC that will add to it. However, EA went one step further with The Sims 4, as this time they're not only coming out with expansion packs but with game packs and stuff packs. By now, The Sims 4 has ten expansion packs, nine game packs, and 17 stuff packs.
Some of this extra content is very well received by The Sims' community, while others, like The Sims 4 - Star Wars: Journey to Batuu, face an incredible amount of backlash. The Jungle Adventure Game Packs falls somewhat in the middle, it didn't add core features to gameplay, but it had a decent amount of content to keep you entertained. To Reddit user u/hedgehogfanatic this stuff pack is better than many others due to the addition of traditional food, dancing, clothes, and items from other cultures.
7 Buy Mode Could Be Better
Another core feature introduced in the Sims 3 was a color wheel. With this, you could change the color of anything you bought in-game to make it look just the way you like it. Sadly, The Sims 4 doesn't have this feature.
Instead, Buy Mode in The Sims 4 makes players choose between a pre-established number of swatches. Like Reddit user u/popsodaza points out, these limitations end up with rooms with whites that don't match or kids' stuff that have not-so-pleasant color combinations.
6 Katy Perry's Sweet Treats Had Cool Stuff
Back in 2012, The Sims 3 team collaborated with Katy Perry. At the time, the singer was promoting her album "Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection," so it felt natural to include the peculiar aesthetic of her single "California Girls" into The Sims' world.
From pastel-colored hair to trees made of candy, this pack's aesthetic was certainly something, so it comes with no surprise that it divided players' opinions. Not for the Reddit user u/kaechan1989 who loves the clothes that come in Katy Perry's Sweet Treats thanks to the pastel and colorful color palette.
5 It's More Fun To Watch Others Play The Sims Than To Play It Yourself
The Sims is a sandbox game where you can create your own story. While this mechanic of endless possibilities appeals to many, some players found that watching others take the wheel is more fun.
As u/siennapotat points out, playing the game in "vanilla mode," aka without mods, can quickly get old. However, content creators make the game so appealing you can spend hours watching them playing or building something.
4 The First Game Is The Best One
It's been almost 20 years since the release of The Sims. In that time, Electronic Arts have seriously pumped up the franchise. Nowadays, you can enjoy basic features, like sims that age or genetics, that weren't a thing back in 2000.
While u/elevenwaffles21 acknowledges the improvement in some areas, like graphics, this user feels The Sims is far more superior than its contemporary counterparts. The first game presented more challenging and complex gameplay. Also, this game had lots of little details that made the world feel unique, like Gabby the Mime or the Tragic Clown.
3 My First Pet Stuff Pack Is Good
With 17 stuff packs currently available for The Sims 4, it's only natural that most of them are a hit or miss in simmer's eyes. However, few Stuff Packs faced a high amount of backlash as My First Pet. Simmers had some strong points as this pack needed The Sims 4: Cats & Dogs expansion pack to work, making it a $10 DLC for a $40 DLC.
However, Reddit user u/painttoolsy thinks it's unfair to rate this stuff pack so low, as it has redeemable things like bright furniture for kids' rooms, animal theme stuff, new pets for your sims.
2 EA Builds Aren't That Bad
Recently it became a known thing between The Sims' community that the latest EA builds weren't that great. Players found houses with missing doors in one of the Game Packs. This issue had so much buzz between simmers that EA invited YouTubers from the community to create new buildings in TS4 latest expansion pack.
For u/Perca_fluviatilis this issue wasn't that big of a deal to begin with, "...There are some hits, some misses, but they are just average, some were actually even good!" the user adds. However, even u/Perca_fluviatilis can't deny something happened between getting Famous and Realm of Magic that made some of the builds so bad even though things started to get better when EA released The Sims 4: Discover University.
1 The Sims 4 Is Better Than The Sims 3
While The Sims and The Sims 2 have nostalgia working on for them, TS3 and TS4 were torn apart by simmers for years. The still going debate tries to settle which one is better; usually, the bar tills towards TS3 due to one crucial feature that sets it apart from the other games: The Sims 3 had an open world.
For u/noduckshere94 this isn't the case. This Reddit user points out some characteristics that place TS4 as the superior game. Features like improved graphics, faster loading times, and the TS4's online community are some strong points challenging to disagree with. "I'd be fine with never getting to TS5. Just keep expanding upon -The Sims- 4." u/noduckshere94 adds.