I Started Playing The Sims 3 In 2024 - It's Ruined The Sims 4 For Me

The lowest-rated and most divisive mainline game, , has been a constant thorn in the side of many a fan since it first released a decade ago in 2014, but it wasn't until I picked up its predecessor,, that I truly understood the fandom's many, many issues with the newer game. Now they're my issues too.

My journey began back in 2000 with the release of the original. 2004 saw the release of whichevolved from the first game with new life stages, improved graphics, better social interactions, and pretty much everything else that makes the series what it's known as today. From there, franchise slipped past me until 2018 when I picked up. In 2024 I own most of the DLC and have nearly 700 hours in-game. While I missed out on, it's safe to say I'm definitely a fan of. Or was.

The Sims 4 has more than its share of problems, but even with Sims 5 and Life by You on the horizon, it looks like it’s here to stay. Here’s why.

If you're like me and skipped a release (or have never played it before), you might be pleasantly surprised with . There are a lot of things to love, including the graphics and the fact the base game is free-to-play, which makes it approachable for newcomers. However, the community has been extremely vocal when it comes to their general dislike of, with arguably the biggest being a lack of depth and meaningful gameplay.

Mainline Sims Game

Metacritic Rating (PC)

The Sims

92%

The Sims 2

90%

The Sims 3

86%

The Sims 4

70%

It's true that a lot of features of require a little more imagination than others. Rabbit holes — when a Sim isn't shown interacting with an event or item but instead disappears off-screen — for example, continue to disappoint players. Sims themselves are also arguably too easy to take care of, relationships too easy to form, and money too easy to make. They're also a little predictable in their emotions and wishes, which can make playthroughs feel repetitive. This is a recurring issue as even the game's random events feel scripted