The Sims franchise has evolved over the years, with four successful main titles and various spin-offs released since the year 2000. The latest in the series, The Sims 4, has gained immense mainstream attention and become a major moneymaker for video game developer Maxis and its parent company, EA, given that DLCs for The Sims 4 can cost as much as forty dollars per expansion pack.
Enter game Packs, a half-priced, smaller option that promises to spice up the game without breaking the bank. As of mid-2021, The Sims 4 has released ten game packs with various themes, making it the first entry in the franchise to have a mid-tier DLC between expansion and stuff packs.
10 Journey To Batuu Is Rather Empty And Repetitive
Journey to Batuu is perhaps the most controversial pack in The Sims 4's history. It arrived at a time when players were jaded by the game's latest releases and were hopeful for a new addition that would revitalize it and keep them coming back. Many were asking for more family-oriented gameplay or the inclusion of hotels, but instead, they got a poorly planned, poorly executed advertisement for a Disney World Star Wars attraction.
Not even the most promising aspects of the pack — like the new alien features, which turned out to be mere costumes — got Simmers excited, and it was heavily criticized even before its launch. In the end, Journey to Batuu is a boring, repetitive mess that neither fans of The Sims nor Star Wars could fully enjoy.
9 Dine Out Falls Short In Comparison To Similar Packs
Dine Out is the poster child for a terrible recurring trend with The Sims 4's DLCs. In an attempt to make more packs focused on a single theme, the Sims team ultimately makes them more bland than equivalent packs from previous entries in the franchise. Being a restaurant owner or customer might seem appealing, but given that The Sims 2's Open For Business allowed players to do that and much more...well, it just puts things into perspective.
Aside from its lack of content, Dine Out is notorious for its many annoying glitches. Waiters take ages, customers never get everything they order, and the kitchen is perpetually understaffed because the chef is outside flirting with a random Sim. Not even Gordon Ramsay can help this restaurant out.
8 Outdoor Retreat Could've Been So Much More
As the first Sims 4 game pack, Outdoor Retreat was both promising and disappointing. It introduced the first vacation world of the game, Granite Falls, but the camping aspect of the pack wasn't attractive enough to all players, making it seem rather dull despite the many new interactions and traits it provided.
The game pack also lacks hotels and resorts, which could've been easily incorporated given Outdoor Retreat's theme and have yet to make their debut in The Sims 4. Adding a Resort Manager mechanic could've immediately taken the pack from mediocre to good, making it indispensable for fans who enjoy that sort of gameplay.
7 Spa Day Isn't As Exciting As Other Packs
Sims can achieve peak relaxation with Spa Day, The Sims 4's second-ever game pack. It introduced spas, activities like yoga and meditation, and new objects like aquariums and incense. Sims who max out the new wellness skill can levitate and even teleport to the hidden world of Sylvan Glade.
Despite adding many day-to-day items that fit into different types of gameplay, Spa Day just isn't as exciting as other packs with more appealing, better-defined themes. If it had been merged with the Fitness Stuff pack, Spa Day could've had a stronger motif and felt more complete.
6 StrangerVille Lacks Replayability
StrangerVille was The Sims 4's first attempt at introducing story-based gameplay. The game pack includes the new Military career and the desert world of StrangerVille, a town full of secrets, conspiracies, and odd inhabitants. The player must investigate the bizarre phenomena taking over the townies and find a cure before it's too late.
Given its story-driven gameplay, StrangerVille lacks replayability. As a one-time experience, the pack can be quite fun, but once the linear storyline is over, there's nothing much to do but enjoy its accompanying new world. Perhaps the town of StrangerVille should've been included in the Get to Work expansion pack, since both deal with aliens and strange occurrences.
5 Jungle Adventure Makes The Sims More Diverse
Jungle Adventure takes Sims on a mosquito-infested vacation to the Latin-inspired world of Selvadorada. Sims can rent cabins, explore the wilderness, unlock their archeology skill, and even meet skeletons at the Omiscan temple in the heart of the jungle. The game pack also includes the new Latin and Latin Pop radio stations, along with several new collectibles.
Selvadorada and its Latin culture are arguably the best features Jungle Adventure has to offer. The Sims 4 has long suffered from a "suburban America" issue that limited the variety of its worlds, but EA took a step in the right direction with this game pack. The colorful Spanish architecture and Latin textiles certainly spiced up the game in ways it desperately needed.
4 Realm Of Magic Reinvents Sim Sorcery
Sims can learn to wield and use magic with Realm of Magic. The pack includes the Magic Realm — which can be accessed by crossing a portal in the small world of Glimmerbrook — the new spellcaster life state, familiars, and potion-making, among other magic-related features.
Realm of Magic is a completely different take on magic for the Sims franchise. It transformed magic-users into spellcasters rather than witches, giving them a stylized aesthetic more akin to Harry Potter than Elphaba from Wicked. Despite being the only pack in The Sims 4 to come with two worlds, both are too small to be a standout. The Magic Realm is definitely the most interesting of the two, but not being able to live in it tremendously limits its appeal.
3 Parenthood Makes Family Gameplay A Lot More Interesting
After asking for family-oriented gameplay since the game's inception, Simmers finally got Parenthood, a game pack about parenting and raising Sim children. Now Sims can enjoy more activities with the whole family, help their kids with their homework, teach them manners, and give out punishments.
Parenthood borrowed several features from fan-favorite Generations, and while it doesn't quite live up to the beloved Sims 3 pack, it remains one of the best game packs in The Sims 4. It focuses a lot more on the parents than on the kids themselves, but the mechanics it adds to toddlers, children, and teenagers make them a lot more interesting to play with than they would be otherwise.
2 Dream Home Decorator Was A Long Time Coming
Dream Home Decorator gives fans some hope in the form of the much-requested flexible furnishings. Sims can now hire a professional or decorate their own space with sectional sofas, toaster ovens, modular wardrobes, and built-in stovetops. They can also join the Interior Decorator career and take on jobs redesigning other Sims' rooms.
Simmers have been asking for sectional seating for ages. The feature had been available as early as The Sims 2 but had yet to make an appearance in the latest Sims game until Dream Home Decorator. The game pack's modern aesthetic might not be everyone's cup of tea, but there's no denying that the new objects will completely change the way players decorate from now on.
1 Vampires Is Still The Best-Executed Game Pack
Vampires marks the return of the plasma-sucking creatures to the franchise. As the second occult life state to be introduced to The Sims 4, vampires can sleep in coffins, compel humans, turn into bats, and even learn twenty-five different vampiric skills. The game pack also includes the five-lot world of Forgotten Hollow, a foggy residential area with old houses and even older house owners.
The eponymous game pack made vampires the most fleshed-out occults yet. Since they can't go out in the sun and have different needs than ordinary Sims, playing with them makes for a much riskier and exciting experience. Furthermore, Vampires also includes a large range of Victorian-inspired furniture and objects that have become a favorite of builders.
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