Game Review: The Sims 4

The latest instalment in the popular life simulation series contains some welcome improvements, but is missing some key features as well.

By Wong Wenbin

PHOTO: Electronic Arts

The Sims 4

The Sims Studio, Maxis
Life Simulation
Microsoft Windows, OS X

My Sim flailed his arms in panic as the stove caught fire — maybe he should have improved his cooking skills before attempting to cook a gourmet meal for his family. As his wife put out the flames, he surveyed his dwindling finances (working as a TV extra didn’t exactly pay the bills) and had a hard choice to make: should he replace the now-broken stove with a cheaper one, or sell the widescreen television that he had just bought?

Games in the acclaimed Sims series strive to give players a virtual slice of life, and it is relatable scenes like this that make The Sims 4 such a compelling game to play.

For the uninitiated, The Sims is a life simulation game where players take control of virtual characters called Sims. Games in The Sims series lack any clear goals — players can choose whether their Sims lead meaningful or destructive lives by manipulating their actions and the environment around them.

There is no winning or losing, and much like in real life, the game goes on no matter what happens.

One major improvement of The Sims 4 is its “Create A Sim” mode. As the name implies, players can now use this feature to customise the appearance and personality of their Sims, and The Sims 4 offers a far more streamlined system as compared to previous iterations.

However, a notable absence in the new release is the “Create a Style” feature. Introduced in The Sims 3, this allowed players to change the colours and patterns of their Sim’s clothes.

Players can now only choose from a limited set of predetermined colours and styles, and this omission — which applies to home decorating as well, will disappoint some fans on the creative front.

Unlike previous games, the confusing multitude of sliders have been replaced with a much cleaner direct manipulation system. When customising their Sims, players simply push and pull on a region or feature until the desired look is achieved. It’s a much more accessible method of customisation that will be appreciated by both newcomers and veterans alike.

Veteran players will also be quick to notice the jarring difference in The Sims 4’s world map. The Sims 3 introduced the open world concept where residential, commercial and recreational areas spaces were located in one expansive map.

This feature, which allowed Sims to travel to other destinations without encountering any loading screens, was one of the more lauded features of the third instalment.

In The Sims 4, players are now limited to one area at a time during gameplay. If Sims wish to travel out of their residential lots, players will be brought back to the overall map and have to wait through a loading screen, which breaks the illusion of an organic, connected world. This zonal structure is reminiscent of the system used in the first two Sims games, and feels more like a step backwards.

On a more positive note, the new release introduces an emotion system where Sims feel a certain emotion based on their personality, actions and surroundings. Sims can now feel inspired after viewing a piece of artwork, or flirty after sharing a kiss with another Sim.

There are a multitude of emotions ranging from being embarrassed to energised, making gameplay much more dynamic and varied.

Sims can now also multitask when the need arises. However, they take a longer time to complete their actions when multitasking, and this, in addition to the emotion system — creates an added sense of realism to The Sims that has been missing from previous editions.

Despite possessing some welcome improvements, The Sims 4 still feels basic when compared to its direct predecessor, which has received a steady stream of additional content since its initial release.

The Sims 4 is certainly a good starting point for a new generation of Sims, but will probably require several more expansion packs before the game can reach its true potential.