The Sims 4, the latest release of the popular life simulation game franchise, is turning 10 in September. Since its release, The Sims 4 has been one of the most popular life simulation games out there, with about 85 million players worldwide. The Sims offers a fun, diverse and immersive experience that allows you to create a detailed world, down to relationship dynamics and housing, for animated people you design, called Sims.
Over the years, the creators behind the game have received a lot of backlash from fans for not fixing long-term bugs while still releasing new, expensive content on a somewhat regular basis. However, TheSims 4 developers are doing some great work that I think the fandom tends to overlook. With the anniversary of The Sims 4 release date around the corner, it is only right to shed some light on the positive aspects of the game.
With its bumpy release, it seemed The Sims 4 was doomed to have a bad rap. When the game first came out, it was a disappointment to longtime fans of the franchise because it lacked features that past versions of The Sims had, like an open-world format that allows players to traverse the landscape without loading screens, swimming pools for Sims to use, ghosts and — one of the biggest upsets — cars. As the game has aged, some of those features have been slowly added to the base game, such as the ability to add swimming pools to your Sim’s houses, and others have been introduced to players through extension packs and add-ons. So while the game was lacking originally, the developers have been trying to include features sought by the community.
A common criticism of The Sims 4 is that it is not as entertaining in comparison to the other games. Reasons some fans have for this include that the game is solely based on your household and your household only — that the other Sims in the virtual world don’t have back stories — and that the social interactions between Sims are unrealistic, meaning you can become best friends and/or be in a romantic relationship with basically no time elapsing or putting in very much effort. As far as the social interactions go, the fact you can easily seduce random Sims very quickly can be used to your advantage when accomplishing fan-made challenges like the “black widow challenge,†where you must marry and kill 10 Sims. All it takes for the game to be entertaining is a little bit of creativity!
The community of players tends to overlook the strides The Sims 4 has made in creating a more inclusive game for everyone. Since the 2014 release, same-sex relationships have been possible, and as time has gone on, LGBTQ+ couples have been highlighted in many of the game’s advertisements. In addition to that representation, The Sims team has also incorporated updates, like the ability to customize pronouns and, more recently, the ability to have more open relationships in the game. The Sims 4 also has added medical items such as hearing aids and glucose monitors — even gender-affirming care items like binders — which all add a nice layer of realism. The team has also tried to be more mindful of different cultures by adding updates like bindis for Sims to wear, different hair types and styles, and by designing worlds that are inspired by places like Southeast Asia and Japan.
Overall, the game has so many positive factors, like the unique storytelling opportunities and the creative outlet the game brings to many, that are constantly buried in complaints from other players. As the 10-year anniversary is days away, it’s only right to acknowledge those aspects of the game and appreciate the effort the creators behind the game are putting in.
Elizabeth Nickell is a freshman at the New Mexico School for the Arts. Contact her at elizabethgennext@gmail.com.
The ·è¿ÍÖ±²¥ Fe New Mexican observes its 175th anniversary with a series highlighting some of the major stories and figures that have appeared in the paper's pages through its history. The collection also includes archival photo galleries.
