The Sims 4: The Best Ways To Improve The Game

Img. provided by TheGamer

Anastasia Maillot, Writer
March 14, 2023

The Sims 4 came out all the way back in 2014 and over time has grown with a wide range of DLC. Features have been added, both through expansions and via free updates, and the game is now more in-depth than ever before.

However, with Sims 5 still a few years away, many players are feeling bored with the current game. It can be difficult to find new things to do, which is where our list comes in handy.

The Sims 4 continues to grow, and as infants are added to the game, it’s a good time to take a look at the different ways you can make your gameplay more interesting. So here are a few ideas for anyone feeling bored with The Sims 4.

See What’s New

If you’ve not played for a while there’s a good chance that you’ll find something new in the game that you didn’t know was there. Over the years huge additions have been made to the base game including pools, ghosts, toddlers, bunk beds, ladders, and a gardening overhaul to name just a few.

The latest update is the addition of the infant life stage, scheduled for mid-March 2023. This is one of the most major updates in a long time so why not see how it affects your gameplay?

Play As An Occult Sim

Over the years, there have been a bunch of new life states introduced into the game, which are alternatives to just playing as a regular Sim. Many of these supernatural life states introduce unique gameplay features and challenges that most players end up never discovering.

Vampires, Spellcasters, Werewolves, Aliens, and Mermaids were all added in DLC. However, you can play as Plant Sims and interact with Ghosts just using base game. Why not see what supernatural mischief you can get up to?

Learn A New Skill

No, this isn’t about Sims learning new skills, although that’s a great way to spice up the gameplay as well, but rather honing your skills within the game itself. Do you always use pre-designed styles for your Sims? What about homes from the gallery? Or maybe there are gameplay elements you never explore?

Building, in particular, is something that many players fail to get into due to how daunting it feels. However, the freedom of expression that comes with it is well worth investing some time into learning the basics, and we’ve even got some tips to help.

Make Sims Unpredictable

Sometimes you just have to shake up the norms. The Sims 4 is known for generating some interesting fashion for its townies but what about taking this a step further? What happens if you mix traits that you wouldn’t normally find together? Or have evil and good Sim twins?

Since the game doesn’t really introduce any real chaos, sometimes you have to be the chaos. Go forth and pick chaotic traits, clothe your Sims in bizarre fashion, and add weird tastes. Sometimes Sims need to be extra.

Develop A Story

Those who want a bit more control over their gameplay will definitely appreciate coming up with a set story, rather than creating chaos deliberately. Come up with a concept and a storyline, or use the stories added to Sims already in the world as a starting point.

You can also use the new scenarios to guide a story and give you a place to work from. Just make sure to regularly save. You may want to rewind time a little if you get invested in a family and then disaster strikes!

Create Some Neighborhood Stories

Neighborhood Stories are essentially an improved version of The Sims 3’s Story Progression. You can get involved in the lives of the Sims that are closest to you and, in future updates, this will extend to more distant Sims as well.

You can now influence Sims that have interacted with your household, directly and indirectly. There are even two new aspirations that are related to this new feature. It allows you to better control multigenerational save files by making it possible to have a say in relatives’ lives and keep in touch, even after they’ve moved out. To know more, check out our article on Neighborhood Stories.

Make An Entire Save File

Related video: The Sims 4: Growing Together | Official Gameplay Trailer (Dailymotion)

Many Simmers have been creating their very own save files in the past few years. It’s a long, grueling process that involves re-building or renovating every single lot in every world you have unlocked and creating custom inhabitants for each one. Basically, it’s a start from zero.

This is a long project, but it’s so worth the time and effort. Those who really want to challenge themselves will enjoy traveling from world to world and redesigning them to be just as they visioned. Even if it’s just making sure the lots all have toilets…

Play Someone Else’s Save File

If you think creating your own save file seems like too much work or if you’ve already done it and want something different, why not try playing in someone else’s world?

This is a great way to avoid running into townies you’ve been interacting with for years, and experiencing a world that has been built with a purpose and in which every person has their own extensive background story. These save files are an amazing experience to play.

Go Custom Content Shopping

What better way to get inspired about The Sims 4 again than to go on a custom content shopping spree? If your computer can handle it, adding some fan-made objects and cosmetic mods will definitely give the game a whole new look and feel.

The best part is that CC is mostly free, and there’s a ton of it out there. Everyone’s guaranteed to find something they’ll like and that will fit their playstyle.

Try Gameplay Mods

On top of custom content that provides hairs, clothes, and objects, players can also go on the next level and actually download free gameplay mods. These are made by talented fans, but since they’re not supported officially by EA there is some risk.

Mods can change the way The Sims 4 is played drastically. They can add additional depth and interactions, as well as new activities the game desperately needs. This is the perfect way to add immersion, for free.

Play A Challenge

Players finding themselves always doing the same thing over and over again might want to try something a bit more competitive.

There’s a whole host of really creative and difficult challenges created by the community that people can attempt. Some of these challenges include the famous Legacy Challenge, 100 Baby Challenge, Asylum Challenge, and more. Players can even design their very own challenges.

If you prefer, there are also challenges made by the Sims team now – they’re called scenarios. Some of them are temporary and will come and go, but there are some that will stay, so you don’t have to worry about running out of time. And, over time, more scenarios will surely be added.

Try Unused Features

For those who have only a few expansions, the best way to add more excitement is to wait for sales and get any missing packs from there. However, if you already have everything available, you may not be taking advantage of all the gameplay features.

Next time, try something different, like opening a business, starting an active career like a detective career, or becoming a spellcaster. There’s so much to discover, and yet many players often stay in their comfort zones. Why not explore parts of the game you don’t normally touch?

Rotational Play

It might be easy to load up a world and just transplant a single household into it. However, this isn’t the way the game was meant to be played. It’s a much better idea to start a save file with the intent of having numerous households in the world.

By having a bunch of different families in different neighborhoods, you can rotate from one family to another to spice things up. This can be done every three days or so to keep things even more interesting.

Play A Pre-Made Household

Most of the pre-made content for The Sims 4 might not look very exciting, but it can be a surprising amount of fun to jump into an already existing household and take it from there. Why not play as the Pancakes, and try to fix their marriage?

Alternatively, why not jump in the shoes of the Goth family and stage Bella’s epic disappearance once again, repeating the past? There are so many fun storytelling options waiting to be explored.

Try A Different Game In The Series

If nothing just does it for you in The Sims 4, it’s probably high time to revisit some of the earlier games that maybe initially made you fall in love with the franchise. With The Sims cheaply available, and The Sims 3 sold on Steam, two of the previous games are pretty easy to get.

The Sims 2 is a much more difficult game to get one’s hands on, but asking around for old CDs of the game or checking online resellers is a great start.

Allow Imperfections

Too many Simmers are hung up on creating the perfect happy family. Unfortunately, this is super easy in The Sims 4, which makes it pretty simple for Sims to be happy all the time and work through their negative emotions rather quickly.

Instead, why not embrace drama and misery? This is what makes the game interesting, and cuts through the routine. Even if it feels wrong, try doing something extreme for once and see where that takes the family.

Watch Others Play

As a last resort, the best way to get into the mood for the game is to go out there and watch streamers or YouTubers play the game. They do this as a job, and so their approach to the game might just be the perfect strategy to bring the excitement back.

YouTubers and streamers will also attempt tons of storytelling and gameplay challenges, so it’s a perfect way to find out more about them.

Next: The Sims 4 – A Complete Guide