“The Sims 4” is never going to be perfect.
Of course, that’s true for every video game — there’s always going to be something that was missed, something to improve on or a bug here and there. This is why many games update after they’re released: the developers aim to add new aspects or fix old errors for their players, which most of the time results in a better experience and a happier user base.
That’s not the case with “The Sims 4.”
It seems as though the game renders itself unplayable with nearly every update. For example, take the time Sims were autonomously mean to each other, resulting in them trying to fight everyone in their household. Or, most recently, a brand new jewelry kit caused gradual body distortion when Sims tried putting on jewelry (which is, you know, the whole point of the kit). Or the time when you literally could not play “The Sims 4” at all through the Electronic Arts, or EA, app.
In fact, some of the game’s own downloadable content, or DLC — the content that players have to pay for — causes gameplay glitches. One example is the infamously buggy High School Years expansion, the long-awaited pack that would allow the player to control their teen Sims while they attended high school. When the pack was first released (with an almost $40 price tag), the patch accompanying it made gameplay a nightmare for every Sims player, like rapid aging that resulted in death for sims within a few minutes. Meanwhile, those who had downloaded High School Years faced NPCs constantly dying within the school.
These buggy DLCs are sold at incredibly high prices. In fact, if a player were to purchase every single DLC at full price, their total would come out to over $1,000. Many of these add-ons include a paltry amount of content that, for any other game, which just be included in a regular update. Players must pay exorbitant prices if they want their Sim to eat at a restaurant, join a club or do laundry. And with EA rushing to cash-grab, no wonder every update destroys the game.
Even with all the DLC, “The Sims 4” has left long-time fans of the franchise wanting more. EA has yet to implement features found in previous games, like the ability to create one’s own world as they had in “The Sims 2” and “The Sims 3,” or the more charming elements of previous games such as the Social Bunny, burglary and cutscenes. Even the more basic features of previous installments took months or years to be added to “The Sims 4” base game, such as hot tubs, pools or family trees. Toddlers also weren’t present upon the game’s release; newborn babies would directly age up into grade school children.
Video games will always have bugs, even after several updates. However, when a game like “The Sims 4,” which has been out for nearly ten years, develops new, game-breaking bugs seemingly every other month, there’s a problem, especially when the game cumulatively costs more than a grand and still lacks several basic features. “The Sims 4” is never going to be perfect — with so many errors and such an empty base game, it’s going to continue staying roughly the same, save for its self-destructive updates.
Lillian Barry is a sophomore studying journalism at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnists do not reflect those of The Post. Want to share your thoughts? Let Lillian know by tweeting her at @lillianbarry_.
