The Sims Experience
When I was a middle schooler, I always wanted to play any life simulator game, but the catch was the game had to be free. Eventually, I got bored of the games and discovered The Sims through YouTube videos. I did not buy any of the games until I saw The Sims 3: Pets on the Xbox 360. I loved it. The simulator felt like nothing I have ever played. I wanted more, so I researched The Sims and found out it was on the PC. I went ahead and bought The Sims 3 on Origin. The more I played, the more I paid for the expansion packs.
Just as I started with The Sims 3, The Sims 4 came out. I waited to buy it since I heard negative things about The Sims 4. There were, and still are, some missing details when comparing it to the older Sims games. A great example is cars. The only method of transportation you have in The Sims 4, besides the Sim’s legs, is a bicycle. Then again, with how The Sims 4 was developed, it makes sense why cars are nonexistent. I wish Maxis had thought about cars during the development. It would have made the game feel more realistic like their previous The Sims games.
Slowly but surely, Maxis began improving The Sims 4 with updates and various packs. One of the past improvements was adding toddlers to the game. Before that update, the baby Sim aged into a child Sim, which was weird and not realistic. Going on to the packs, you can choose from expansion, game, and stuff packs. Each pack added a realistic or fantasy setting for the player’s enjoyment. Then came out kits, which had minor game material, such as your Sim vacuuming their home. And last month, two huge things that changed the gameplay happened, The Sims 4 Infant Update and the release of The Sims 4 Growing Together expansion pack.
The Game Changer
For so long, the Simmers wanted infants in The Sims 4. Their dreams, such as mine, came true on March 14, 2023. We all received the Infant update, and let me tell you, it is awesome! Adding to the awesomeness, The Sims 4 Growing Together expansion pack was released on March 16, 2023.
Overview of The Sims 4 Infant Update
The Infant update has been the biggest update since probably customizing your Sim’s pronouns and sexual orientation. Simmers asked for infants since it would make the baby Sim phase more enjoyable. The baby just stayed in their crib and cried for food, bathroom, and social needs. Over time, this became repetitive and boring for Simmers since the lack of interaction was evident. You would have to age up the baby Sim into a toddler to get more interactions. With time and updates, the baby changed.
Instead of the baby being known as Baby, they are now known as Newborns. This makes sense since you will want to age up the Newborn into an Infant to experience the Infant gameplay. The Newborn to Infant phase is realistic because, in real life, newborns are from zero to two or three months old. After that, the child is an infant until they are a year old. Another realistic thing is how Sims can have a baby through science for 1200 Simoleans. Your Sim can have a baby with someone or by themself.
Adding on, it is clear the Sim Gurus wanted noticeable changes so the Newborns have a different voice for their cries. The difference between the original cries and the updated one is the voice actor they chose. They most likely recorded a new voice so the infant Sim could share cries with the newborn Sim. Also, the new voice makes the newborn and infant Sim sound livelier. Before the infant update, all of the baby cries sounded the same for every sort of help they wanted. On top of this, their cries sounded loud and annoying. For example, you would not know what the baby Sim was crying for, whether for food, a diaper change, or a cuddle. You would have to guess and deal with the obnoxious cry until you helped the baby Sim. Now, your caregiver Sim can recognize their baby’s cry and take care of them without you clicking extra buttons. Adding on, the new voice sounds softer and there are minor changes between the cries for certain needs. For instance, louder cries mean food and softer cries mean attention is required from a parent Sim. Although I was thrown off due to the voice change since I was used to the previous one, I enjoy the softer cries and how the parent Sim attends to their baby without my help.
Moving on to the best part, Infants! They are so adorable and fun to interact with. Some Simmers doubted the infants since they looked similar to toddlers. I found that absurd since the difference between infant to toddler should not be drastic. Fortunately, the infants look similar to their toddler form, just smaller (like how an infant is) and with less hair. Your parent Sim can interact with the infant! Yes, an exclamation mark is necessary for this beautiful moment since lots of Simmers wanted this. Your parent Sim can cradle their infant, sit wherever they can with the infant in their arms, and they can give their infant a nap when sitting down. Before the update, none of these interactions were possible. You would let the baby lay in their crib and do so little with them. Now, you can play with infants, cuddle, comfort them, and take them anywhere outside their home. Also, infants have traits that are similar to toddlers’ traits. The six traits you can choose from are sensitive, sunny, calm, cautious, intense, and wiggly. Each trait has its pros and cons. For example, the calm trait. The infant Sim can be calm with people, but they will require their parent’s assistance more often. I like how each trait can shape up the type of infant Sim you can play with. If you want an energetic infant Sim, you can choose the wiggly trait. On top of these, infant Sims can gain three quirks. For example, my infant Sim has a quirk that says she always wakes up happy from her naps and sleeps. I love the quirks since each quirk adds uniqueness to your infant Sim, and the quirks always vary per infant. I have yet to have infants with the same quirk.
Along with the infants, there are new items such as a bassinet, infant cribs, infant toys, and decorations for the kid’s room. Each object is worth using for the newborn/infant room. For example, there is an infant crib that can be modified into a toddler bed. The catch is your Sim has to have the repair skill at level 2 and your Sim needs to pay 50 Simoleans, which is still cheaper than buying a new toddler bed. Another great item is the bassinet. Before the update, the base game only had one bassinet, a white one with different colored ribbons. The only way you could have other bassinets would be by buying other packs. But if you do not want to use the other bassinets, you can use the new base game bassinet that has better color swatches. Also, I think it is a pretty bassinet. Going on, the decoration items are useful when creating a newborn/infant room. With the new items, the room would feel as if the household has a newborn/infant. You can decorate their room with baby wipes, newborn clutter, and many baby-like décors.
Even though the update is free, these glitches need to be addressed.
Other Updates in The Infant Update
There were some other updates. Each conversation was categorized. For example, if you click under “Friendly,” you will see the categories such as “Small Talk.” If you click it on, various discussion choices come up, like “Get to Know” under “Small Talk.” As someone who likes organization, I enjoy this. Even though you must click an extra button or two than usual, you will appreciate Maxis for categorizing the conversions. Adding on, after playing with the expansion pack, the categorizing makes sense, which I will get to later. Going forward, there were a couple of new interactions, such as “Brag About Baby” and “Share Baby Pictures.”
The Sims 4 Growing Together Expansion Pack
If I could recommend a fellow Simmer a pack, it is the Growing Together expansion pack. This pack represents family gameplay the best, such as your Sims finally recognizing their grandparents in a better light. There are other interactions between the family that is included in the pack. I love the new interactions since the family has a stronger bond in the game. They are no longer treated as distant family, as friends, or as acquaintances, but as a family that loves each other. Your Sim would automatically recognize close family members as family.
Anyway, there is a lot to talk about that I do not know where to start. Let’s see…
Family Dynamics: They are a game changer. You have seven settings — close, distant, supportive, permissive, difficult, strict, and jokesters. Each description is mentioned in the game when you hover over them. The dynamics are fun to mess around with. Some factors help make the Simmer decide which dynamic they want their Sim to have with a family member. Yes, the Simmer can choose the dynamics in either Create a Sim (CAS) or during the gameplay when a pop-up box shows up.
The downside is trying to change the dynamics. If you do not want your family members to be close and you want to change it to difficult, you have to work on the interactions and wait for a good amount of time. Another way is there is a box that can be owned by an elder Sim in your family that helps change family dynamics. If you do not have the elder Sim, then you have to work for the change.
Overall, I like the seven types of dynamics since they are the most common ones you can find in real life. For example, I have a jokester dynamic with my younger brother. Also, I thank Maxis for including realistic interactions since in real life you would need to do various things like talking or going out to change the dynamics between you and a person.
CAS Items: For clothing items, there is not a lot to choose from for each playable age. Some of the clothes look similar to base game items. Also, there are now new shoes to match outfits. On the other hand, there are more Full Body clothing items that look nice., but I wish there were different styles.
As for hair, there were inclusive hairstyles such as extra curly short hair. All the hairstyles look beautiful since it captures inclusiveness and they are great styles. For some time, it was hard to find hairstyles that would fit other races. If you wanted some, you would need to download custom content, but Simmers wanted to see if Maxis would change and add more hairstyles. I am glad Maxis is becoming more inclusive through each update and pack. As for accessories, do not worry about them since there are almost none, and the same goes for hats.
Skin Details: There are various skin details! I was excited when I saw the different skin details, such as new patterns of moles, a heart-shaped birthmark, and a chin or forehead scar. You can add the new skin details on your sim to add another touch of realism.
Aspirations and Likes/Dislikes: The “Amazing Compatibility” means your Sim is more likely to build a quick friendship with other Sims. This is due to the characteristics your Sim will find in other Sims. For example, if your Sim likes “Cerebral Sims,” they will be more compatible with Sims that have the genius trait.
The World: San Sequoia is a cool town split into three neighborhoods: Anchorpoint Wharf, Gilbert Gardens, and Hopewell Hills. San Sequoia is filled with activities for family time, such as splash parks, and places to explore. There are 12 lots — six residential lots, one empty lot per neighborhood, one library, one rental, and a recreation center. Even though my Sims stay at home with infants, it is best to explore, relax, and have fun in San Sequoia.
Events: Three events came with the pack, the “Baby Shower” event, the “Family Reunion” event, and the “Slumber Party” event.
In the “Baby Shower” event, you can celebrate with family and friends, have a cannon to celebrate the parent(s) for their upcoming baby, and just interact. When you have this event, new interactions unlock for the event’s timeframe. One of the interactions is about discussing the family’s lineage. Also, the guests can give the parent(s) infant gifts, like a toy rattle. Besides this, you can hire a mixologist for the party. I think this is the best event from the pack since there are various interactions your Sim can do. Also, the gifts are thoughtful for the upcoming family member.
For the “Family Reunion,” only family members can join, hence the event’s name. All you do is interact, like how you do in a real-life family reunion. Your Sim can talk about any conversation topic. It is not as good as the “Baby Shower” event, but it is an enjoyable event when the family has no time to interact with each other.
As for the “Slumber Party,” you can invite friends and family for a sleepover. Also, your Sim does not need to be a teen or younger to throw the “Slumber Party.” My young adult Sim did it, and it was fun. I like how the “Slumber Party” is not limited to teens and younger.
Build Mode: Building items are alright. There are not too many wall and floor patterns. Also, no new plants. I love to decorate outside with plants, so I was disappointed when I made the discovery that Maxis did not offer new floral décor. You can use the new fence, gates, and railings, but it did not come with stairs.
The expansion pack has beautiful windows and doors. You can make a modern suburban home with new windows, doors, and wall patterns. You can also make a cottage. It is all up to you and your Sim’s tastes in decor. I was upset there are no various wall and floor patterns, but I managed to build a house using the base game items. I do appreciate the windows the most since it gives a great amount of natural lighting.
Moving on to the objects, infants won here. They have a changing station, more toys, and other cute decorations. Unfortunately, there are no new cribs, but the base game cribs are good to use. Also, the infants have a trash can since every time your Sim changes a diaper or bottle feeds, the objects show up on the floor, meaning you have to throw them away. This was a part of the Infant Update. Even though having to throw away each item every time is annoying, it is cute there is a dedicated trash can for the items you can put in the infant’s room.
Going forward, there are other objects like comfort, lighting, and activities you would want to check out, such as sleeping bags. Since you can “Plan Stay Over” with any Sim, even the Grim Reaper, you would want sleeping bags for them so they can sleep in the living room. They can also sleep on the couch. I tried the “Plan Stay Over” option too many times, and it works. It feels nice having Sims stay over to help out with chores, such as taking the trash out or making food, since the parents have to dedicate a lot of time to the infant Sim. Also, they sleep in sleeping bags just fine. I think I will use the “Plan Stay Over” option even if there are no infants in the household. The way I see it is it takes stress off of your Sim.
Another cool set of interesting items are the unlockable items. For a new bassinet and two toys, you need to score Gold on the “Baby Shower” event. For new frames, yes, you read that right, frames! We were always stuck with boring picture frames. Now, you can have new frames for your pictures, and hang them up wherever you want. The three types of frames can be obtained by scoring Gold on the “Family Reunion” event. You can obtain different sleeping bags after achieving the objectives of the “Slumber Party” event. The three events are achievable, just complete the objectives within the time frame. I believe the rewards for both of the events are good since I believe you would want more items to play with. Also, the bassinet and the toys are adorable for the upcoming newborn. Honestly, the bassinet looks better than the other two base game bassinets.
Milestones: If you are not good at keeping track of what your Sim has done, such as their job, their partner, etc., you need not worry, my friend. The expansion pack grants you Milestones. There, you can check all of the milestones your Sim has accomplished since infancy, that is if you have played the Sim since infancy. The Milestones can vary, and there are lots of them. Sometimes, the Milestones can help you come up with another one. For example, if your Sim is engaged, it will suggest the Sim get married to count as another milestone. Besides the infants, the milestones are amazing since it helps keep a record of your Sim’s most important times, including cheating. I was shocked when I found out that the infidelity of a Sim was recorded as a milestone. I guess, the more milestones, the merrier your Sim is.
Adding on, discovering a trait is a milestone. Your Sim can discover up to three traits. You can decide if the discovered trait is for your Sim or not. Once you choose, your Sim has another trait or not. Also, discovered traits can replace the traits you gave your Sim in CAS or as your aged them.
Interactions: Many family interactions come with the pack, such as a family member asking your Sim to move in or plan a stayover. Even your Sim can give a “Family Kiss” that is under “Affection.” This can help the family dynamic change to close. Also, you can have a “Chatty Family Call” with close or supportive dynamic family members. Honestly, it felt like a normal call, but a bit longer. It did not feel too exciting, but I guess the Sim appreciates longer calls with close family.
Even though these are new interactions, I wish there were more. It gets too repetitive, and the interactions happen too much. A good interaction would be asking for a family member to take care of the infant. Please Maxis, give us more family interactions.
Another downside is your Sim will not recognize their great-grandparent. I played with my Sim whose great-grandfather is alive, but she does not recognize him as family. I wish the Sims could because even if their bloodline is a bit distant, they are still family. Also, the Sims could inherit traits from their great-grandparents like how my Sim did. My Sim became a magic user at birth because her great-grandfather is a magic user. Adding on to the lack of recognition, in-laws! The Sims have yet to recognize their in-laws, especially for the “Family Reunion.” My Sim’s husband’s parents could not attend the event since she did not recognize them as family. If she could recognize them as her in-laws, it would be a game changer for The Sims 4 experience. I hope Maxis finds a way for the Sims to recognize their in-laws, not as nobodies.
Infants: There is a whole new side to infants. They do not just crawl from the start, unlike the Base Game. Your caregiver Sim needs to help the Infant learn a lot of things, such as grabbing items, sitting up, and crawling. They each turn into milestones. Also, the Infant starts learning how to smile and make noises. This is precious since it simulates life and how parents tend to interact with their infant child.
Overall, this expansion pack involves infants more, it makes sense why certain objects were not added, but if they were, it would make the gameplay much better. I know the expansion pack costs $39.99, so I did expect more items, such as a toilet, countertops, and islands, in the game. Well, that is my opinion. I must say Maxis did an amazing job on the expansion pack. It is enjoyable to play with.
Ending Time
Both the Infant Update and the Growing Together expansion pack adds more life to The Sims 4 experience. You can now play with infants, watch them grow, watch your Sims have milestones, and have the Sims recognize their family as family. While I enjoyed my time with the new expansion and update, I wish more was added to the overall experience. I felt it was missing some key elements such as more interaction options between family. Now, having said that, this is still a step forward, especially if you love creating families and want infants, this is the expansion to get and play with.
