The Sims 4 (TS4) has over $1,000 worth of expansion packs available to buy. We’re here to make sure you put your Simoleons to good use. From worst to best, here’s every single The Sims 4 expansion pack, ranked.
16. Horse Ranch
Introducing horses, a highly anticipated addition to the game, Horse Ranch was destined to sell. Unfortunately, the gameplay and new world feel empty and lackluster.
The new Create A Sim (CAS) items follow the Western theme of Chestnut Ridge, providing adult sims with a lot of fun cowboy attire. Confusingly, children and toddlers are left out despite there being endless outfit opportunities. Horse CAS allows you to pick from thirty-five horse breeds, mix and match to create new breeds, and even paint designs on your horses. After a while of playing around with a horse and leveling up its skills – which happens quite quickly – you can enter rabbit hole competitions at the Equestrian Centre and get results from text boxes. Adding no new career options, that’s pretty much all the notable gameplay of Horse Ranch.
Besides the new animals including adorable mini goats and sheep, Chestnut Ridge will leave the average Sim player scrambling for things to do after a few hours.
15. Get Famous
As a rags-to-riches player and an Urbz fan, I had high hopes for Get Famous. Unfortunately, it fell short in every aspect of what makes a strong expansion pack.
The new world Del Sol Valley is inspired by Hollywood and includes two lounges, a museum, a national park, and a film studio that can only be found through the Acting career. It’s largely regarded as the worst world by the Sims community, and it’s not hard to see why. Compared to the beauty and creativity of some other TS4 worlds, Del Sol Valley feels flat and lifeless.
The new reputation and fame systems are interesting to an extent. Building a good or bad reputation will make other Sims treat you accordingly, and any gameplay that has a long-lasting effect on interactions with other Sims is a plus for me. However, operating a famous Sim makes TS4 almost unplayable. At every lot, paparazzi and fans spawn and make tasks like completing events near impossible. The active Acting career is fun at first, but it is ultimately shallow.
Get Famous had a promising concept but was executed poorly.
14. Island Living
Giving us the beautiful world of Sulani, Island Living is the successor of The Sims 3: Island Paradise and shares elements of the spinoff console Sims game, Castaways
The Polynesian-inspired islands of Sulani are beautiful to explore, and learning about the culture through interactions with the locals is engaging, as opposed to exposition dumbing through chunky text boxes. But exploration is limited as so much of the world can’t be interacted with. The lifeguard, fisherman, and diving careers are rabbit holes, adding to the immersion-breaking feel of the pack.
Mermaids are a cool new Sim type, and the CAS adds pretty clothing inspired by Polynesian culture, but I find myself rarely using this expansion pack.
13. Eco Lifestyle
Eco Lifestyle is a step out of the status quo for The Sims franchise, and I appreciate the uniqueness of an expansion pack focused on environmentalism, but it feels a bit too gimmicky to warrant the forty-dollar price tag.
Centering on the environment of the new world of Evergreen Harbour, your Sims can directly affect the world around them. Being more eco-conscious makes the world cleaner and brighter, while pollution brings smog and litter. This also comes with the new Politician career, and your Sims can vote on new policies that also help change the environment of the world. But once you’ve completed the main storyline, Eco Lifestyle stops being useful, as there’s limited cross-pack compatibility.
Eco Lifestyle is fun to play through but ultimately doesn’t add much to the average player’s gameplay, making it one of the less interesting Sims 4 expansion packs.
12. High School Years
The first ever high school-focused expansion pack in The Sims history, High School Years built up a lot of hype when announced. It certainly makes playing as a teenage Sim more interesting, but once again, it doesn’t include enough content to warrant its status of expansion pack instead of a game pack.
Copperdale High School is an impressively sized but sparsely decorated building. From the cultural osmosis I’ve absorbed of what American high school is like, the empty corridors and polished floors don’t reflect the high school experience. Also, the gameplay is repetitive and doesn’t feel rewarding. Pushing my Sim to study every night and work hard in class still kept them as an average student, and my game skipped the Graduation event entirely.
The new CAS editions for teenagers are a great addition to the game, as the base game has very few trendy outfits for teens, and body hair is a needed layer of realism. This pack is worth snatching on sale, but otherwise, it won’t revolutionize your gameplay in the way an expansion pack should.
11. For Rent
If you’ve always dreamt of being a virtual landlord, For Rent is the pack for you!
The Landlord career in this expansion pack is fun to play with and quite thorough. You can rent out houses or sublet rooms and even basements. Players have pointed out how the system is flawed as a money-making scheme. Being a Landlord in TS4 may leave you poorer than before you started, but gameplay-wise, it’s entertaining.
The highlights of For Rent are the vibrant world of Tomarang and the extra content it adds to community play. The Pool Party and Potluck events make socializing with neighbor Sims easy. For Rent also brings dirt and grime into apartments, which I’ve always wanted. When I’m playing a rags-to-riches storyline, not every house and apartment needs to be squeaky clean.
Altogether, this expansion pack is enjoyable but not the most impactful on daily gameplay.
10. Snowy Escape
My favorite of the vacation-themed packs, Snowy Escape allows your Sim to explore the rocky slopes of Japan-inspired Mt. Komorebi.
The architecture and interior design of this world are strikingly different from the others. If you’re a fan of Japanese architecture like me, the Build/Buy that comes with this expansion pack will provide everything you need to build a fully decorated Kagoshima-inspired home.
The snowboarding, skiing, and rock climbing skills are fairly fun to play, as your Sim visually gets more confident through animations. For players who like to let their Sims live autonomously, Sentiments and Lifestyles are new gameplay additions that help Sims feel more personalized and help them make decisions consistent with their personality type.
Snowy Escape provides a fun adventure for your Sims to experience, making it one of the worthwhile Sims 4 expansion packs.
9. Cats and Dogs
TS4: Cats and Dogs is a great pack for family players. Pets add an important element to domestic life and the highly detailed CAS makes them truly feel like yours.
Take your dog, or even your cat, on a walk through the new world of Brindleton Bay, a pleasant seaside town with a veterinary clinic, a lounge, a museum, and a park. The new veterinary career is active, which means you can watch your Sim treat and tend to sick animals. An amusing aspect of this pack is the ability to breed raccoons and foxes by mating cats and dogs together.
Cats and Dogs isn’t as strong as the earlier Sims games’ pet expansion pack, but it’s a fun edition, especially for family players.
8. Lovestruck
If you find base game romance flat and boring, Lovestruck is the expansion pack for you.
Adding a real element of challenge to relationships, Lovestruck introduces turn-ons and turn-offs, attraction, and autonomous decision-making to your Sims love life. Through the CAS menu, you can choose your Sim’s turn-ons and turn-offs from six broad categories, which will directly affect their attraction levels to other Sims. Base game relationship-building often feels like a game of spamming interactions thoughtlessly, but with this pack, your Sim’s love life becomes a whole lot more interesting.
With the vibrant world of Ciudad Enamorada to explore, Lovestruck is great for fleshing out the romance-building side of The Sims 4, which is something the other expansion packs don’t do.
7. Growing Together
For my fellow legacy Sims players, Growing Together is an essential pack that adds much more depth to family gameplay.
Just like in the real world, the new feature Milestones means events from childhood continually affect you from young adulthood to elderly age. Every stage pre-adulthood gets new CAS, items, gameplay additions, and interactions. Infants especially get a much-needed wardrobe revamp and have more interactions.
Familial events like Baby Showers and Family Reunions are great for maintaining bonds between your Sims and their families, even after children leave the nest. My favorite feature is the Treehouse, where children and teenage Sims can hang out and fully customize.
Growing Together adds that extra sentimental content that family gameplay needs.
6. Get Together
Create a cult- or a book club- in Get Together!
Building on the social aspects of the base game, Get Together gives your Sim’s social life a boost by introducing clubs. Clubs are a fun way to change up gameplay and interact with various NPCs. Where they truly shine is the endless customization options. As the group leader, add any traits, interests, or even style as a requirement for your club, and your flock will follow. Build/Buy contains two sizeable empty lots where you can build your perfect evil headquarters for your club to congregate.
No matter what sort of club you create, Get Together is sure to liven up your Sims’ social life.
5. Get To Work
If you’re a rags-to-riches player and enjoy watching your Sim progress in a career, Get To WorkI is the pack for you.
Get To Work was the first expansion pack for TS4, and over a decade later, it still holds up. Ditch the rabbit hole career options and follow your Sims to work as a Detective, Doctor, or Scientist. Scientist is the most interesting career, as it adds Aliens and their hidden planet of Sixam. My favourite Get To Work feature is the addition of businesses. Your Sim can now open a business and sell anything, including items from any other expansion pack.
This, combined with the general CAS update of business and casual attire, makes Get To Work one of the best Sims 4 expansion packs.
4. Cottage Living
Live out your Cottagecore dreams with Cottage Living.
Dress your Sim up in pretty pastel outfits from the Cottage Living CAS and explore the cosy village of Henford-on-Bagley. This pack allows your Sim to own a farm where they tend to chickens and cows and, in typical TS4 randomness, a llama. The Simple Living lot type complicates the simplistic cooking mechanics by requiring your Sim to have all ingredients before a meal is made. I enjoyed this challenge as it added a welcome sense of realism to gameplay and made me think about what my Sims are eating more rather than simply cooking whatever is quickest.
Grab a drink at the village pub, The Gnomes Arms, and talk with the lively NPCs of Henford-on-Bagley in this pleasant, comforting expansion pack.
3. City Living
For my fellow city dwellers, City Living gives your Sims the true metropolis experience.
San Myshuno is a city packed full of exciting additions, like a fashion district, spice market, Arts Quarter, and even an Uptown. Place your Sim in a range of apartments, from small budget flats to high-rise penthouses. The City Living Build/Buy items reflect the apartment styles. You can deck out your Sim’s apartment with flashy décor or opt for a cheap, easily breakable microwave that consistently leaves food cold in the middle. Whatever your play style, City Living is a pack worthy of your consideration.
Standing out against the mostly suburban worlds of TS4, City Living is an essential for players who prefer apartments and lively nightlife.
2. Discover University
A far cry from the hollowness of High School Years, Discover University elevates the enjoyment of playing as a young adult Sim and quite accurately reflects the highs and lows of the university experience.
The world of Britechester stands out among the repetitive templates for Sim worlds and reminds me of the quaint and cobbly streets of Cambridge. Sims can cycle around town, making the world feel bigger and immersive.
Sims attending either Britechester University or Foxbury Institute can live in dorms or off-campus. The communal feeling of living in dorms and the challenge of balancing your Sims social life and academics brings a fun dynamic to the gameplay. Additionally, the CAS of this pack is an excellent upgrade to Young Adult attire.
Play with robots, party with your friends, and achieve high grades to enter your dream Adult career in Discover University.
1. Seasons
A key expansion pack across The Sims series, Seasons for TS4 is a staple for any player. No matter your gameplay preferences, this pack immediately makes daily life more interesting for your Sims.
The seasonal changes across the worlds make a subtle but impactful difference in the lives of your Sims, with each season having key events and relevant activities. The events are customisable, meaning you can incorporate any kind of special day into your Sims lives with individual customs and traditions.
Seasons is one of the best Sims 4 starter expansion packs, as it essentially overhauls the base game with a general upgrade palatable to all players.
My ranking may be different from yours – you might love horses and hate cities! But this overview will help you decide which TS4 expansion packs best fit your play style.
The Sims 4 is available to play on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Steam.
Published: Oct 2, 2024 07:51 am