By Dylan Bradley/editor-in-chief
The Sims 4 may meet expectations, but it definitely doesn’t exceed them.
The Sims franchise has been around for 14 years, and the core of it hasn’t changed. Essentially, the game is a complex, engrossing and interactive dollhouse.
The big change introduced in this installment is emotions. Sims now “feel” emotions that can affect their social interactions, job performance and skill progression. Sims can now be focused or bored, happy or sad, energized or exhausted. The prevalent emotion depends on interactions and environment.
Create-a-sim has been vastly improved. Concepts started in The Sims 3 are now fully realized. New sorting allows for quick outfit design, and drag-and-drop features make sculpting sims fast and easy.
Build mode got some major changes. Foundations can be added or removed with a click, the drag-and-drop features have been greatly improved and windows can be added rooms at a time instead of individually. Pools no longer exist, and neither does the auto-roof function. It took time to learn how to do roofing, but once players become adjusted, the changes can be preferable.
Buy mode was disappointing and the reason this game doesn’t exceed expectations. The sorting is terrible and frustrating and ruins the experience of decorating a house. Limited to a room sort or drop-down item menu, gone are the days of quickly going from lights to electronics.
One function of items that adds to the gameplay is that some objects must be unlocked by completing career challenges to purchase. From hidden bookcase doors to better rocketships, the feature shows the player a benefit to trying different career paths and skills.
Aspirations made the jump from The Sims 3 and, once understood, are incredible. Instead of choosing one lifetime aspiration, it can be changed anytime. Each aspiration has tiers of achievements, and an additional trait is unlocked for the sim once all tiers have been completed. Players can also stop one aspiration, begin another and pick up where they left off without losing progress.
The social aspect has greatly improved group interactions and a quick-pick menu that lets players choose options from the multiple social-menu choices quickly. Sims can also multi-task, which can save time.
The game has a multitude of new skills affected by the sims’ emotions. As progress is made, the sim is rewarded with items that can emit an emotional aura, giving the skill a boost.
The sims are smarter, better-looking and just as quirky. Veteran players will appreciate the retro items and interactions sprinkled throughout the game.
And yes, “rosebud” is still around.
