The Sims 4 is a game about life but for many, it's also about death. While there are Simmers who get attached to their Sims, creating only the very best for them, many more have other motivations in their gameplay.
Killing sims in a variety of crazy ways has become a hallmark of the game. For those who love to walk on the dark side, there are now over twenty different ways to engineer a sims demise in The Sims 4. If you split up some of the categories, such as emotional or temperature deaths, then this number jumps closer to thirty.
With so many choices of how to send your Sims to the afterlife, which is the best way to encourage a visit from grim? Here's our ranking of the top Sims deaths.
10 Poison
The death by poison is actually pretty easy to cure. Poison can be triggered by arrows, gates, or bugs found in and around Selvadorada and an antidote can be purchased using the computer in the museum. The reason it's still great is because of how and why it's caused.
The risk of poisoning and death from temple exploration adds literal danger to your expeditions in Jungle Adventure. It makes them feel more like a real challenge, risking your sims life to loot treasures from temples. It feels like being Indiana Jones or Lara Croft and we're here for it.
9 Rabid Rodent Disease
This death is a reworking of the classic guinea pig disease from Sims 2. It's triggered by a bite from a grumpy small critter, and its final moments can be quite disturbing to watch, which naturally puts it on our list.
A redeeming feature of My First Pet Stuff, this death also gets extra points for being contagious. Once Sims are infected they can pass on the illness, meaning you can create your very own pandemic. Although these days that's sounding a little less fun than it used to.
8 Flies
Eco Lifestyle gave us dumpsters, one of the greatest gifts we've received. They have everything; trash, treasure, a place to nap, loose change, things to recycle and are even a WooHoo spot. They also gave us the return of death by flies.
Dumpsters attract flies and your Sim can try to bond with them. This may go well but it can also go horribly wrong. If you get on the wrong side of these insects then expect a swarm, swiftly followed by a visit from grim.
7 Emotional Deaths
Emotional deaths can be difficult to trigger but there's something incredibly satisfying about them. Not only do they make great storytelling devices but they also create chaos in your game if they suddenly begin to trigger when you weren't expecting them.
The death by anger is perfect for dramatic gameplay. If you want a Sim to feel lasting consequences for their betrayal of another then Cardiac Explosion of the Sim they wronged is the way to go. Death by hysteria is just crazy and the fact you can kill a Sim with a bubble bath and a comedy show is peak Sims. Lastly, the death by mortification has spiced up many an Asylum challenge.
6 Murphy Bed Mechanism
Tiny Living Stuff not only brought us some amazing furniture, but it also heralded the return of the Murphy Bed death. Sims in small spaces need to watch their backs when they get out of bed in the morning as it can quite literally kill them.
Retracting a murphy bed has a chance to kill Sims with each push of the button. If the bed is broken the chance of demise is virtually guaranteed. There's also another similar animation where Sims will just get thrown about, meaning every time the bed is put away you are playing Russian Roulette with your Sims life, all while watching some amusing animations.
5 Temperature Deaths
Seasons added some classic temperature deaths, meaning your Sims can die from overheating or freezing. These are very easily triggered by sending Sims out into the elements without getting them to wear their hot or cold weather outfits.
The ease of triggering these, combined with the human ice cube animation, means they are a firm favorite and yet another franchise classic.
4 Spellcaster Overload
Spellcaster's in Realm of Magic have different spells and abilities and using these generates spellcaster charge. Too much charge will cause your Sim to overload, killing them in the process.
The death is dramatic and fun to trigger since it involves playing with the flexible and enjoyable spellcasting system. There's also a bonus in that Sims will become ghosts. These ghosts are then immune to overcharge, meaning they are free to cast as many spells as they like, as often as they like. Spellcaster ghosts are incredibly powerful and fun to play.
3 Cow Plant
This classic bovine based plant was first introduced in The Sims 2 and has been loved ever since. The Cow Plant is unique, adorable, and triggers a death that benefits others. What's not to love?
After the Cow Plant consumes a sim twice in short succession, they can also be milked for an essence of life, which resets the current life stage of the Sim that drinks it, providing an excellent bonus to this unique and amusing demise.
2 Drowning
Death by drowning is actually pretty horrific to watch, yet it's still a classic. Killing Sims by removing pool ladders is so iconic that it can't stray far from the top of the list.
As the franchise has evolved so has Sim's intelligence and drowning them now takes a little more effort. They have learned to climb out of pools without a ladder but never fear, a fence or wall solves this problem.
For those bored by the standard pool drowning, Get Famous also added a water garden with some interesting inhabitants. If they aren't fed often enough your sim can end up as their next meal, being pulled into and under the water, never to return.
1 Fire
There are so many weird and wonderful deaths in the game but somehow it always comes back to fire. The main reason for this is that the fire-based deaths are variable, fun to engineer, and mostly easy to trigger.
The easiest fire is the cooking fire. Triggered when Sims fail at cooking, a cheap stove and low skill almost guarantee this disaster. Laundry Day Stuff also added fires caused by not cleaning the dryer lint and Fitness Stuff added a firey rock climbing challenge that can end badly. You can even crash a rocket ship to cause a fire. The possibilities are incredible and that's why fire will always be number one.