The Sims 4
TS4
The fourth installment in the best-selling life simulation series – The Sims. The Sims 4 was developed by Maxis Studios, also known for SimCity and Spore. The player, once again, controls the lifes of a virtual family.
developer: EA Maxis / Maxis Software publisher: Electronic Arts Inc. Official website
The Sims 4 is the next instalment of the popular worldwide series of life simulators. As in previous parts of the cycle, it was developed by an American studio Maxis.
The first The Sims was released back in 2000. Its creator was Will Wright, the founder of Maxis and the author of SimCity and other related games with Sim in the title, which were the most successful in the 1990s. The Sims quickly surpassed in popularity the other games from the developer's catalogue, becoming a phenomenon and one of the most popular brands in the electronic entertainment industry.
Gameplay
The Sims 4 doesn't introduce any revolutionary changes in gameplay model. In the course of the game the player takes care of the family of virtual Sims, taking care of all their spiritual and material needs, as well as providing a place to live, designing a house and a garden.
The entire game begins with the creation of your Sims. In The Sims 4 it was decided to remodel the character creation system. This time the face modification system was extended - sliders for changing a given element were replaced with mouse movements, at the same time increasing the scope of changes. The possibility to edit the entire character body was also added. The ability to freely customise hair and clothing colours has been removed, returning to predefined sets.
The character of the Sim also plays a huge role. Players choose a few of the dozens of personality traits available, as well as the character's long-term goals. These affect the character's subsequent behaviour and are part of the improved artificial intelligence system introduced in the game. Thanks to this system, Sims behave more naturally and react in a much more varied way to situations around them. Also new are the emotions felt by the virtual heroes. They are influenced not only by the needs currently fulfilled or not, or social interactions, but also by the household equipment used or clothes worn. Experiencing specific emotions will unlock new dialogue options, among other things.
After creating the Sims, the player has to bring them into the house. He can leave it in the form prepared by the developers or completely redesign it. This is because the game offers an extensive tool, allowing you to build and furnish your own flats. Compared to previous parts, the interface of the constructor has been improved. Among other things, ready-made rooms were introduced, which can be placed with a single click.
The Sims 4 also introduces the "Gallery", which allows sharing created houses and characters with other players.
DLC and add-ons
Over the years, The Sims 4 received a lot of additional content: from micro-add-ons introducing one or two novelties and packs of clothes (usually titled Accessories), to full-fledged expansions offering story campaigns and new attractive locations, and significantly expanding the gameplay. Full list of The Sims 4 expansions can be found here.
Mods
Paid expansions are not the only option for players who want to diversify their play. The Sims 4 also supports fan modifications. List of the most interesting mods we gathered here.
Last updated on 21 March 2023
Game mode: single player
User score: 6 / 10 based on 6397 votes.
Pre-release expectations: 7.5 / 10 based on 2850 votes.
PEGI rating The Sims 4
The Sims 4 System requirements
PC / Windows
- Minimum:
- Intel Core 2 Duo 1.8 GHz
- 4 GB RAM
- graphic card 128 MB GeForce 6600 / Radeon X1300 or better
- 17 GB HDD
- Windows 7/8/8.1/10 64-bit
- Recommended:
- Intel Core i5 2.33 GHz
- 8 GB RAM
- graphic card 1 GB GeForce GTX 650 or better
- 18 GB HDD
- Windows 7/8/8.1/10 64-bit