Open World
While it’s all well and good seeing our Sims go about their everyday lives as we spruce up their home and plan what they’ll do upon their return from work, the lack of an open world for our Sims to go and explore feels like a huge step back from its predecessor. The Sims 3 allowed us to go around and explore the neighborhood, checking out where our friends lived and giving us a change of scenery from the inside of the house.
This freedom is gone in The Sims 4. Granted, it seems that the open world aspect of The Sims 3 seemed to have contributed to a number of lag issues for some players, but with the advancement in tech, you’d think similar issues could be ironed out for the fourth entry. Although it’s unlikely, we can cross our fingers and hope that a huge open world expansion will come to The Sims 4, and maybe add in a couple more places to go and explore, too.
Memories
Memories was a really sweet addition in The Sims 3. These basically captured the moment that you’d do something for the first time, or a significant life event, and put it into a little scrapbook for your Sims to reflect on in their later years. These even played a part in how your Sims were seen by other people. For example, a long-term marriage absent of any spells of cheating could result in your happily married couple being considered faithful by others.
It was a small feature, but it was cool to see the evolution of your Sims and it made you feel a little more compassion toward your characters. After all, you don’t want the rest of your neighborhood thinking your Sims are horrible people, right? You want them to be known as the cute couple down the road.
Toddlers
In its current state, The Sims 4 has a weird transition when kids grow up. All of a sudden they go from being little babies to children with no logical toddler in-between step. In previous Sims games, not only was this the first time you’d get to see their personality and interests, but it also made your older sims much busier considering they relied on them for just about everything.
The toddler stage was also a nice early stage to have your Sims learning different skills such as painting, writing, and handiness. Not only would this phase help to make the transition from baby to children in The Sims 4 that little less jarring, it’d help keep things interesting and frantic for the parents, too.
Weather
We’re all for nice, clear days that let our Sims enjoy the great outdoors, but it can all get a little too boring too quickly. While previous entries in the series have benefited from different weather conditions in expansion packs, such as The Sims 3’s Seasons, The Sims 4 sees your virtual family living their lives in a static weather system of blue skies and sunshine.
Of course, going out in the sun and melting from the heat isn’t worth it if you aren’t gonna get a tan, so seeing our Sims with bronzed bodies would be an appreciated addition. Although, the temperature modifier to regulate your Sim’s internal temperature will also be a necessity after the number of Sims that spontaneously combusted in the baking sun like they did in The Sims 3.
Pets
Humans are great and all, but let’s be real… nothing compares to a furry companion to keep you and your Sims company. Having been an expansion for Sims games in the past, and a popular one at that, it seems like a logical addition for The Sims 4 to receive.
The Sims 3 got it right, with the expansion allowing players to have anything from a dog to a horse, all with their own traits and skills. These weren’t just cute skills to give the pet’s some personality, either. Cats could learn to hunt and dogs could find collectible items. We can only dream of having our beloved pet zebra back, though. After all, who doesn’t want to take one down to the local Equestrian Center for some racing?
Vacations and Special Occasions
Even though The Sims 4 has Granite Falls as a vacation location already, we’re after some places for our Sims to visit that allow them to interact with new and exciting things. Granite Falls was a good first step, as it allowed us to get a change of scenery, but it didn’t quite go far enough.
And for those special days in every Sims life, like their birthday, wedding day, or they find out they’re having a baby, these need to be made into a more real-life affair. Parties should be thrown, Sims should be laughing, and good times should be had by all, rather than it just being a notification on your screen. It may not be the biggest addition to the game, but it’d certainly help break the monotony of the everyday life of The Sims.
Body Hair
We think it’s fair to say that by now, technology is powerful enough to put some hair on your Sim’s chest, legs, and arms. After all, not many people have completely hairless bodies reminiscent of action men and barbie dolls.
With there already being a bunch of mods for The Sims 3 that offer varying degrees of customization when it comes to body hair, it’s about time that it just became a standard option within the game itself. It’s only a slight addition to the game, but one that’d make our virtual beings look that little bit more realistic.
Cool Ways to Get Around
While you may have a fancy house, complete with swimming pool, huge games room, and enormous master bedroom, the lack of a cool mode of transport will always niggle at the back of your mind.
With the likes of flying brooms, canes, cars, and motorcycles all having been available methods of transport in The Sims 3, their absence in The Sims 4 has left us wanting. I mean, who doesn’t want to see their Sims adopt the ‘Southern Gentleman’ style as they walk with a cane just as they did in The Sims 3? Be it the cane, or a sweet new ride, each helped to make the simple act of getting around that much more personal to your Sims.
Magic and the Supernatural
While there may be some elements of the supernatural already at large in The Sims 4, the standard ghosts, and grim reaper visits mixed in with the very occasional alien abduction isn’t quite scratching the itch for some strange goings on.
Considering The Sims 3’s Supernatural expansion allowed players to play as witches, wizards, werewolves, and vampires, as well as cast spells and brew elixirs, the lackluster offerings in the base game of The Sims 4 could definitely do with a sprucing up.
An Island Paradise
The Sims 3’s island paradise allowed you to get away and truly enjoy a thorough vacation, not like the aforementioned Granite Falls of The Sims 4. Being able to head off to the island once again, own a resort, explore underwater, and live on a houseboat is just the change of pace that our Sims need from time to time.
Exploring underwater and discovering new types of fish and marine life was one of the most different things we’ve done in The Sims, and so we can only hope we’ll be able to return to an island paradise in The Sims 4 soon enough.
Go to the Future
There’s nothing quite like a little bit of time travel to keep things interesting; that’s exactly what The Sims 3 had, and what The Sims 4 is still missing. Into the Future had players exploring a new world and seeing how future technology helped reinvent the way Sims lived forever, before taking these new-found skills back to the present day. Not to mention that whatever you did in the current day could completely change your life in the future world.
With The Sims 3 allowing players to go into the future, perhaps The Sims 4 could take it one step further and allow for an even more in-depth time travel mechanic, allowing you to determine how far ahead you go each time.
More Choice in Professions
As much as we love the professions in The Sims 4, the fact that there are fewer of them than there were in The Sims 3 seems like a backward step for the series.
With the likes of Journalist, Games Developer, and Architect all absent from the roster, there’s plenty of avenues blocked off from our Sims. A change in career path always helps to keep your Sims’ lives exciting, offering bigger salaries, additional challenges, and most importantly, life fulfillment. And what kinda player doesn’t want their Sim to have a fulfilling life?
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