The Sims 4continues a long-standing life simulator franchise that has a habit of including small details and features that don’t always make a lot of sense. As a series that is full of quirks already, a lot of features that are unusual or odd escape notice. Butthe more attention that’s put into the gameplay, the more questions start popping up.
Although it’s a life simulator,The Simsoften includes humor in its design through small details, and to be fair, life isn’t only composed of serious moments. Plus, the limitations of video games make it tough to create a simulation game that’s completely accurate. The result is an in-game world that’s full of little things that make no sense, and that can be either humorous or frustrating.
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10The Time Required To Complete Tasks
Can Be Too Long
Mornings can be hectic, whether the household has a single person living in it, or a whole family. In practice, this can mean that some mornings include a shower, bathroom break, and breakfast all in under thirty minutes in real life. However, Sims take a much longer time to complete those tasks, and that means thatif they have multiple low Needs before a shift at work, they likely won’t be able to improve all of them before it’s time to leave.
There’s also no option for a rushed shower, or to request that the Sim eats faster because they don’t have a lot of time before work.
This often ends up being frustrating, andthere’s no way to give Sims a sense of urgency without using mods. There’s also no option for a rushed shower, or to request that the Sim eats faster because they don’t have a lot of time before work, and they’ll be miserable if they leave with so many low Needs. Then, they end up missing promotions, sincegetting a promotion inThe Sims 4involves the Sim going to work in a good mood.
9A Sim Can Be Set On Fire Every Day
And Still Be Fine
Starting a fire while cooking has always been a risk inSimsgames. However,fires from cooking used to be a lot more serious in the earlier games, usually resulting in multiple items being scorched and possibly a Sim dying. InThe Sims 4, Sims almost seem to be immune to dying from fire, given how they’re able to start them regularly and just damage the oven, and maybe a kitchen counter or two.
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Even without the perk of being fireproof that can be purchased through completing Whims,Sims inThe Sims 4are shockingly resilient to dying from fires. It’s rare for a Sim to die in a fire, so even if they start one while cooking, they generally just need a shower to remove the soot, and a bit of time to deal with the stress of having been on fire. While it doesn’t make a lot of sense, it’s also a feature that makes the game easier, which can be a positive or negative depending on the player.
8Sims Leave Dishes Around
In Some Strange Places
Even if they have traits that mark them as neat,Sims have a tendency to be messy when it comes to leaving dishes around the house. This isn’t unique toThe Sims 4, and in past games, it was sometimes an issue because of their pathing. InThe Sims 4, Sims still have pathing issues that might cause them to leave a dish on a random table or nightstand if they aren’t able to reach a sink to wash it.
However, it isn’t just pathing problems that lead Sims to leave dishes all over their house.There’s often no reason for a Sim to decide to put plates on the floorinstead of on any of the many available surfaces. Not only that, but Sims have a habit of putting dishes on the floor and leaving them there to the point they start smelling, then complaining about the environment. It’s a problem that Sims create for themselves, and it makes no sense.
7Sims Have Magic Closets
With Infinite Space
This wasn’t the case in every mainSimsgame, but it is the way that clothing works inThe Sims 4. Sims can change their outfits at any time, andthey have access to all the clothing options available in the game and any purchased packs in their closets. While highly convenient, it’s not exactly realistic, and it makes managing finances in-game perhaps a bit too easy.
In past games, Sims would have to purchase new clothing options from stores before they were available at home when Sims were planning new outfits. Of course, this is great when it comes to convenience and customization, since it’s easy to create new outfits for Sims at any time and make them a new style. However, it also makes it a lot easier to make money inThe Sims 4when it doesn’t have to be spent on extra clothing options, whichtakes away what could’ve been seen as part of a more challenging experience in the past.
6Travel Time To Destinations Is Always The Same
No Matter The Distance
Whether Sims are going to a neighbor’s house, the nearby shopping district, or heading for an island vacation,the time it takes to go to their location is always the same. Just like closets having all the clothing options available at once, this feature is highly convenient, and its convenience is most likely the driving reason for this set-up. However, it also takes away some unique opportunities for gameplay content.
The Sims 4 that also makes traveling make a bit more sense, at least when it comes to travel time.
Although long flights and drives might not be the highlight of a vacation, there could be interesting content added toThe Sims 4that also makes traveling make a bit more sense, at least when it comes to travel time. Like some careers, and now high school thanks thanks to theHigh School YearsExpansion Pack,traveling could turn into a more active event. It could even be separated into various vehicles, such as an RV for road travel and airplanes for flight.
5Time Durations On Moodlets Make No Sense
Being Moody For The exact 8 Hours
Moodlets can affect what a Sim is willing to do at different times, as in an angry Sim won’t want to do activities that are on the calmer side. For the purpose of gameplay mechanics,these moodlets have durations on them, so they don’t last forever or result in Sims getting stuck in one moodlet indefinitely. However, the idea of moodlets having durations is rather funny, and it wouldn’t make sense in real life.
The most realistic part of moodlet durations is perhaps the fact thatcertain activities can reduce how long negative moodlets last. As an example, having a Sim who’s stressed take a bath can help reduce the duration of whatever might be stressing them, which then resolves the moodlet earlier. In the end, the part that makes no sense is the idea of being told that a Sim is going to be upset for a solid eight hours, but telling them to go cry in bed should help.
4Everybody On A Community Lot Joins A Date
There Is No Privacy Whatsoever
Imagine planning a nice meal with somebody, setting up reservations, and then showing up to have everybody else present at the restaurant come join the conversation. This is exactly what happens inThe Sims 4when Sims go on a date at a community lot rather than a private date at one of their households.There’s no reason for Sims to flock to a couple arriving for their date at the lot, and it’s instead frustrating to deal with a bunch of extra people while trying to improve a relationship.
Imagine planning a nice meal with somebody, setting up reservations, and then showing up to have everybody else present at the restaurant come join the conversation.
At least in this case, there’s a solution available thanks to the modding community. TheRemove Sims From Conversationmod by thepancake1 and MizoreYukii on Patreon does exactly as it says and provides the ability to remove Sims from a conversation in-game.As a result, going to community lots for dates is much more bearable.
3The Sims Economy Is Confusing
Prices Are Super Random
The economy in real life tends to make some amount of sense, at least to the extent that the price difference between small items like a pizza and large items like a car is understandable. In-game,this is not at all the case, andthe pricing of items ends up feeling rather random, even after accounting forinflation inThe Sims 4. It’s almost ridiculous how expensive small purchases like a meal are, while a rocketship costs 10,000 Simoleons, which seems incredibly cheap for a vehicle that goes to space.
However, the biggest indicator of this strange economic situation is the in-game housing market. All the houses inThe Sims 4would be considered exceptionally cheap compared to real world standards, and this has been the case for all mainSimsgames.Some houses that are massive cost maybe 100,000 Simoleons or less, which makes no sense, and it makes it so that Sims can be considered rather wealthy without having what would be a decent amount of money in real life.
2Reward Traits Make The Fourth Game Too Easy
In Relation to The Past Games
Like a few other features that don’t make sense inThe Sims 4,Reward Traits exist as a gameplay mechanic meant to make the game easier,and offer incentive to complete tasks that a Sim wants to do. Although Whims have been replaced by the traditional Want and Fear system, they used to be the primary way to gain points that could be used to purchase Traits, alongside completing aspiration milestones. However, the idea of how Traits work is rather nonsensical in a humorous way.
Rare Sims 4 Interaction Is Just Wrong In Every Way
The Sims 4 has many interesting interactions and decisions to make while a Sim is at work, and one specific one is so wrong is every possible way.
Traits that are purchased with points as a reward tend to fall into two categories. One is a potion that refills a Need once, and the other is a permanent effect.Being able to become a savant or accumulate hunger slower from following Whims is a bizarre idea, at least if it was applied to real life equivalencies.
1Animals Can Fit In A Sim’s Pocket
Basically Magic Inventories
This odd feature mostly applies toThe Sims 4: Cottage Living, since it adds a number of animals to the game, such as cows, chickens, and even llamas. Usually, animals would have their proper living structures on the lot and be kept there, but there’s another possibility that is, at the very least, space-saving.Sims are able to keep animals like llamas and cows in their inventory, which is essentially the same as putting the animals in their pocket.
Somehow, this isn’t the only funny feature that’s found as part ofCottage Livingand makes no sense. Like cats and dogs,animals like horses take up a resident slot for the household, which can’t go above eight without the use of cheats or mods. As a result, a Sim might get kicked out of the house to make room for an animal.
Although it’s a life simulator,The Sims 4includes a lot of features that don’t make sense, especially when looked at in the context of if they would work in real life. However, many of these features fulfill a function that’s useful in terms of actual gameplay, even if that means it’s not exactly logical. With the series' history of including little quirks,hopefully the next mainline game will continue the trend when it takes the place ofThe Sims 4.
