This review was originally posted on September 24th, 2014. We are reliving some of our greatest hits from old days, but now with a modern twist.
I play the Sims like everybody else, I make myself, my closest friends, family members, build them a beautiful house, and then slowly murder them one by one in the most creative way I can think of. It’s relaxing really, almost therapeutic. Previous sims games have led to countless hours spent crafting and woohooing all through the night. But something really seems off to me in the Sims 4.
I’m not going to punish the game for what it doesn’t have though. I don’t understand how that counts so heavily in some reviews. It’s a bummer that there aren’t pools or toddlers (yet, that did come…a WHILE later), but that is not why we play the Sims. And they will be added back at some point in the future as paid DLC…probably. But if you’re going to pay full price for a base game you might as well pay full price for the expansions too, right?
I love not being able to fully customize everything in my house. It allows me to focus on the blandness of the rest of the game. Like the loading screens. Good gravy I almost forgot loading screens existed. I’m glad a classic game like the Sims brought them back with such pizzaz.
The sad truth about this game is that it IS exactly what real life is like. Random, fully of whiney people, lots of waiting, and limited options. I think the reason there aren’t more game like this is because it reminds us of how terrible our lives really are. But hey, at least here, you can delete walls and trap your irritating neighbor inside a room with no doors. In real life, that’s considered “a felony.” A bit unfair, really.
And let’s talk about emotions. This entry claims to bring an advanced emotion system, because nothing says realism like your Sim having a mental breakdown because their grilled cheese wasn’t aesthetically pleasing. If only life’s problems could be solved with a quick “Angry Poo” and then kicking over your neighbors trash can.
So, dear reader, why bother going outside, talking to real humans, or chasing actual dreams when you can embrace the void that is The Sims 4? Life imitates art, and unfortunately, both seem equally as tragic.
