The Sims 4is notorious for having a ridiculous amount of DLC and packs for players to purchase, with expansion packs often costing the price of a full game. A lot of these packs bring staple functions toThe Sims 4experience, and many players would consider them must-haves to have a truly fulfilling Sims game.
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With the announcement and current development ofThe Sims 5, and the increasing contribution of Simmers toThe Sims 4, it’s only natural that players are already speculating on features that could potentially be found in theSims 5base game, as well as what features they think should be there from the get-go. Here are just a few of the most popular options.
7Playable School (High School Years, Discover University)
Regardless of how many packs a Simmer has, their youngSims have to go to school! Whether that’s elementary school, high school, or university, school and homework are a core part of the Simming experience. University-based expansion packs have been a staple of the franchise since it was released as the firstSims 2expansion pack back in 2005.
However,High School Yearswas the first pack inThe Simshistory to give players a peek into what school life was like for their teenage Sims. IfThe Sims 5is going to launch with the ability for players to have a teenage Sim live by themselves, then this feature should also be part of the base game functionality. It adds so much dimension to the lives of younger Sims, and base game integration means that players could potentially attend different schools depending on what world they live in instead of commuting to Britechester every morning.
6Pets (Cats and Dogs, My First Pet Stuff, Cottage Living)
Pets have always come in the form of an expansion pack, butThe Sims 4committed the heinous act of having DLC…for DLC.My First Pet Stuff, while containing a lot of fun items, annoyed a lot of Simmers, as there were completely unusable items in the pack that players couldn’t utilize unless they ownedCats And Dogs, which seemed completely contrary to the point of packs and kits.
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IfThe Sims 5wants tocapitalize on the love of petsand include more DLC for them, then they should be included in the base game! That way every player has access to pets and DLC specifically catered to them makes way more sense.
5Seasons
Seasons-based expansionshave been a staple ofThe Simsfranchise for a long time, but perhapsThe Sims 5is when Simmers will finally get this basic feature as part of the base game. Admittedly,Seasonsalways comes with a lot of unique features that really make it stand out from other expansion packs, like the decor items or the ability to celebrate holidays.
However, the in-game holiday celebrations, and seasonal changes, have become so synonymous with the franchise thatThe Sims 5would feel incomplete without it. IfThe Simsteam wants to deliver a product that can stand on its own as a viable and fun game, then seasons being incorporated into the game from the get-go is an absolute must.
4Fame & Social Media (Get Famous)
Whenever fame mechanics get added toThe Sims, there’s always a little bit of backpedaling that needs to be done for other careers and actions to increase fame, like selling books or paintings. However, the same treatment wasn’t given to the social media functions ofGet Famous. While social media careers can be very fun, it makes absolutely no sense that super-famous Sims have basically no followers on social media, even if they barely post.
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To ensure more realistic fame and social media mechanics,The Sims 5should include functionality for these features in the base game. This doesn’t stop them from doing fame-centric packs in the future, whether they want tofocus on specific careersor some other fame features (like the quirks or skill tree), there’s still plenty of room for possible packs while keeping fame and social media in the base game.
3Family Dynamics (Growing Together)
With the latest expansion pack, Simmers were introduced to a bunch of new features that were designed to make family gameplay more realistic. Undoubtedly, most people playingThe Simsare gamers who enjoy the ins and outs of family life, whatever that may entail. The introduction of these relationship dynamics inspires a lot of creativity from Simmers and encourages people to try out different dynamics in the name of a good story.
BecauseThe Simshas always been centered on family gameplay, this small feature fromGrowing Togethercould really make all the difference for players starting out inThe Sims 5, allowing players to create nuanced and intricate relationships right off the bat. Family-based packs have been a staple of the franchise for a while, but it would be nice to see some of that energy in the base game too.
2Pimples, Loose Teeth, Birthmarks & Freckles (High School Years, Growing Together)
These small features do a lot to make the world and the Sims feel alive and real. Unfortunately hidden behind packs, these tiny slice-of-life details make a world of difference for players who are seeking a down-to-earth, realistic experience. When any thought is put into these decisions, it makes no sense why they should be closed off behind packs and why they couldn’t have been introduced with base game updates.
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Small details like this should be a staple part ofThe Sims 5base game, especially if they hope to keep people invested, and don’t want their fanbase constantly annoyed at all the little things that are hidden behind paywalls.
1Active Careers (Multiple Packs)
While Simmers can certainly expect to see more careers with work-from-home options inThe Sims 5, since the successful introduction of this mechanic inThe Sims 4, what players crave most areactive careers. This defines careers that involve actually traveling with Sims to a different lot where Simmers play through the workday, completing a few tasks to ensure their Sims perform well.
While some active careers inThe Sims 4are unfortunately very broken, that doesn’t mean they aren’t fun! By introducing active careers into the base game,The Sims 5could fine-tune the intricacies of active careers, while still introducing more active careers in future work-based packs.
The Sims 5is still a long way off and Simmers can only hope that EA will listen to their wants and desires for their new game, and actually bring in a few fan-favorite features that will make a world of difference for their players.
The Sims 4is available to play for free on PC, Mac, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
