At its core, The Sims 4 thrives on creativity. The Create-A-Sim (CAS) tool allows you to personalize your characters in incredible detail—from their hairstyles and clothing to deeper traits like aspirations and fears. Want to recreate yourself, your favorite celebrities, or completely wild characters? You can.
In Build/Buy Mode, you can design anything from minimalist studios to lavish castles. Whether you’re an aspiring architect or just love interior design, this feature offers near-limitless possibilities, especially with cheats and mods enabled.
2. Realistic Life Simulation
The game simulates everyday life in surprisingly relatable ways. Sims age, develop relationships, have emotional breakdowns, build careers, and experience key life events. Whether you want your Sim to be a struggling artist, a successful business tycoon, or a vampire detective, the choice is yours.
Thanks to regular updates and a wide range of expansion, game, and stuff packs, The Sims 4 now offers content spanning high school drama, cottagecore farming, magical realms, and eco-conscious living.
3. A Thriving Modding Community
One of The Sims 4’s biggest strengths is its modding community. Platforms like CurseForge and ModTheSims are filled with custom content (CC), including new hairstyles, furniture, gameplay systems, personality tweaks, and even brand-new careers and aspirations.
Mods like MC Command Center or Wonderful Whims bring enhanced realism and control to the game. If you ever feel the game’s base mechanics are too limiting or repetitive, mods breathe new life into the experience and let you tailor the game to your playstyle.
4. Free Base Game = Low Entry Barrier
Since going free-to-play in 2022, The Sims 4 has opened its doors to a much wider audience. Anyone can jump in and enjoy the base game with no cost, and explore what the Sims universe has to offer. While some of the best features are locked behind DLCs, the free version still gives you enough content to play with, especially if you’re into storytelling, casual simulation, or just having fun with character design.
Things to Watch Out For
Expensive DLCs: The biggest complaint from the community is the cost of downloadable content. With dozens of expansion, game, and stuff packs available, the total price of owning all content can exceed hundreds of dollars. Some essential life simulation elements—like cars, open worlds, or in-depth romance systems—are notably absent from the base game and only available through add-ons.
AI Still Needs Work: Sims can sometimes act in irrational or frustrating ways. For example, they might abandon important tasks to chat with strangers or ignore needs like sleep and hunger. While EA has improved AI over time, it still isn’t perfect.
Repetitive Core Gameplay: Without DLCs or mods, the gameplay loop can become stale after several hours. Once you’ve explored the basic career paths and social interactions, there’s not much variety left in the base version of the game.
Final Thoughts: Should You Play It in 2025?
If you enjoy simulation games, interior design, storytelling, or simply want a relaxing way to pass time, The Sims 4 is still very much worth playing in 2025. The game has matured over the years and continues to receive updates. Plus, with a vibrant online community, frequent events, and an ever-expanding library of mods and packs, there’s no shortage of content to explore.
Despite its flaws—particularly around monetization and AI quirks—the free base game, extensive customization options, and strong community support make The Sims 4 a game that can easily suck you in for dozens (or hundreds) of hours.
Rating: ★★★★☆ (4/5)
A charming, flexible sandbox perfect for creative minds and casual gamers alike.