The Sims 4 Reviews
The Sims 4 is a very complex game. This shouldn't be surprising, the series is known for it and the various possibilities in character creation alone more than indicate this. In the course of more than seventeen years a lot has changed, the AI is quite good and the possibilities, as said before, enormously diverse. Like in real life there are many connections to consider. If the player creates a lazy Sim, he shouldn't be surprised if he loses his job after three days. If the Sim is phobic about commitment, it will be difficult to start a family. After a certain settling-in period, not least because of the controls, the Sims are quite entertaining. The player can determine the characters and their actions himself and realize his fantasies in the game. Something to fight the Sims games always have with the extreme extent of the predecessors by numerous published extensions. For example, if you have played The Sims 3 with some expansions, you will miss some things in The Sims 4, although the basic game The Sims 4 itself offers things that were not available in The Sims 3. Nevertheless The Sims 3 was in some respects a bit more extensive and well thought out. But for newcomers Die Sims 4 offers a successful entry into the series, especially on consoles. The one or the other consolero might be overwhelmed by the numerous menus (in the beginning). But don't be put off, that's the motto here.
Review in German | Read full review
Only die-hard Sims fans should go anywhere near this and even then you should strongly consider sticking with The Sims 4 on PC — or better yet, The Sims 3.
The Sims 4 attempts to bring genuinely happy moments throughout your Sim's lifespan; occasionally, you will even find yourself smirking. However, those moments are quickly bogged down by tedious goals, a terrible HUD and menu navigation, and gameplay that is outright boring. Life events like a date or wedding put less emphasis on the occasion and more on completing monotonous objectives. These goals wouldn't be too dreadful if the commands given to the Sim would actually follow through. However, there were too many times where the Sim would completely ignore what I wanted them to do. All of these gameplay problems are bundled up in a poor performing port that chugs more than it should. The Sims 4 is an unsatisfying experience right from the start.
The Sims 4 is just like a dollhouse: it's pretty and polished and there are all sorts of possibilities, but in the end, it's really quite empty.
The Sims 4 is basically The Sims 3, but shrunken and sterile. While some tweaks and enhancements are nice, none of them can offset the overall lack of engagement provided, and the looming promise of DLC is no compromise.
The graphical staleness that is presented as an update, slight overhaul to building mode, and new sim creation system don't make up for the wholesale removal of content and features that are now expected to be mainstays of the series.
While the game took a few steps forwards, it also took a few steps backwards by abandoning features that were very helpful and appreciated in the previous versions.
There is still something decidedly relaxing if not therapeutic about creating Sims characters and letting them live out their fanciful little lives in this virtual environment. And so there is still fun to be had here, but I suspect newcomers will be more accepting of what The Sims 4 has to offer than fans of the earlier iterations. Currently The Sims 4 feels more like groundwork that has been put down for future DLC packages. There is nothing wrong with that. Fans of the series have come to expect and even look forward to those releases because of the enormous amount of options and personality that they inject into the core game. However, The Sims 4 leaves me feeling like the potential for greatness is there, but at this point we will have to wait and see if it ever gets realised.
The Sims 4 will be worth it. Right now, it's too hamstrung by EA's need to make those expansions worthwhile to be a solid standalone title.
A fair attempt to bring the game to consoles, although after first deleted save you'll probably move over to PC. It's still an amazing title full of content and challenges, but it's missing finishing touches in some crucial parts.
Review in Polish | Read full review
The Sims 4 is an enjoyable life simulator, and looking beyond its omissions is a fantastic game that keeps you entertained, for a bit. Ultimately The Sims 4 showed much initial promise, but the inclusions do not outweigh the omissions in this game, and the total package leaves us wanting.
The Sims 4 is a visual and mechanical upgrade, but it's missing many of the things Sims fans are used to.
The Sims 4 takes a step forward in some ways, while taking two steps back in others.
The Sims 4 has room to grow, but right now you're better off continuing to play its predecessor. While certain features were axed in the name of progress, those features were a large reason why many have come to love the series in the first place.
The Sims 4 is beautiful and charming, but its constricted structure makes it disappointingly limited.
While The Sims 4 is a good first effort that will entertain goal-chasers and fan creators, it lacks much of the variety and humor that defines The Sims.
It's these sorts of missing gameplay pieces, often inexplicably so, that leave The Sims 4 feeling incomplete. While what does exist makes for a fun game, as a long-time fan of the series I found myself constantly looking for tools and items that don't exist. The Sims 4 feels barebones, and unusually so even for a base game. One can only hope Maxis and EA make up for it with the inevitable line of expansion and stuff packs.
While there are certainly some things to like about The Sims 4 such as building a custom mansion, or being visited by the Grim Reaper, the entire experience feels like a starter kit for bigger things in the future. If you had The Sims 3 and its multiple expansions, The Sims 4 will feel stripped down. If you have never played a Sims game, it might be a better option to hold off until The Sims 4 flourishes into a more complete package.
Even in virtual worlds, variety is the spice of life. The Sims 4, for all its polish and cleverness, simply isn't very spicy.
At the end of the day, The Sims 4 is a core game, pure and simple. It is made specifically so that more content can be pumped into it via DLC. The overall functionality of the game is fine, with no real breakthroughs, just a little simplification and minor tweaks. Nothing groundbreaking here. It wasn't entirely unenjoyable, even for someone like me who doesn't really play The Sims normally. But it didn't convert me either. The Sims 4 is certainly not deserving of the fan backlash it's currently receiving on the internet, but it's not the revolutionary leap forward you would expect from a game that has had years to develop.