The best Sims 4 Expansions, Kits, Game & Stuff Packs as of Crystal Creations (2024)
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Last updated
4th Mar 2024 10:22
Since its launch in 2014, The Sims' fourth instalment has consistently received new Expansion Packs, Game Packs, and more alongside plenty of free updates, so we'd forgive you for not knowing where to start when deciding which one to add to your collection next.
With 74 types of DLC available, that's a huge number, and we'd forgive any new Simmer to the game being sent into a headspin with which ones to pick, so we've put together a list that breaks down which ones we think are the cream of the crop to make that process a bit easier.
Expansion Packs ranked
15 - Get Together
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Get Together introduced clubs to The Sims 4. Many pre-made clubs in the game focus on different hobbies and activities which you can join - you can also make your own! The club feature is pretty useful for gathering several Sims in one place at one time in an easy manner, rather than needing to host an event or call them over individually.
Beyond the club mechanic, the pack offers very little else in terms of gameplay. The new world of Windenburg is European-inspired and offers traditional thatched buildings, in an almost mock Tudor style. Although Windenburg is one of the more beautiful worlds to be added to The Sims 4 overall, beyond the ability to make a Tudor mansion, there isn't as much playability in the pack compared to others.
14 - City Living
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City Living's new urban world, San Myshuno, houses different districts for your Sim to live in. The apartment living feature persuades many to get this pack. The gameplay opportunity to work your sim up from the shabbiest apartments eventually to the penthouse suite is where the value of the pack lies.
The pack also introduced Festivals to the game, which can provide interesting date opportunities or events for your Sims to partake in. However, once you've visited the Festivals once, they can become predictable and there isn't much incentive to go back.
The city also introduced karaoke bars and competitions, however, these too can become tiresome after competing in them once or twice.
13 - Get To Work
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Get to Work introduced three new playable careers for Sims, with that being the Detective, Doctor, and Scientist tracks. With these careers, you can go to work with your Sims instead of having them disappear through a rabbit hole, helping them to perform daily work tasks. However, once you've played through the careers once, they can become repetitive - meaning there is less replayability value.
The pack also introduced the ability to own a retail business, which offers a wealth of gameplay options. With this, you can create any shop you like and earn money this way, offering great 'rags-to-riches' gameplay opportunities. For this reason, the Pack is a worthwhile option if you wish to bulk out career options for your Sims.
Photography and Baking skills were also added to the game along with this pack. Curiously, the pack also added aliens to the game - along with the ability for your Sim to be abducted by aliens - they can even carry alien offspring! It has to be said that the aliens are a bit gimmicky, however, once you've met a few and travelled to the alien world of Sixam, you're unlikely to do so again.
Interactions with aliens are limited, short of seeing their emotions in the auras around them. Sixam would have been an interesting opportunity to have alien buildings and bases for your Sims to explore, however, the world is small with little to interact with there.
12 - Island Living
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Island Living is visually stunning. The new island world of Sulani is a perfect holiday destination for your Sims, drawing inspiration from Hawaii and Bali. With this pack came unique Build/Buy mode items which lend themselves well to beach hut designs and resort builds, allowing for creative opportunities for builders.
The pack also introduced the Mermaid occult to the game, which brought much excitement on its initial release. However, the Mermaids are quite lacklustre compared to the other occult Sims - without any background lore or reasoning for their existence, they feel like they're slightly tacked on.
The Create-a-Sim options for Mermaids can be considered a success, however. With varied tail styles and colours to choose from, the Maxis team has put plenty of consideration into the look of the Mermaids instead of opting for a simpler, Little Mermaid-style tail.
Most of the feedback on this Pack was that there was an incredible potential that fell short, particularly around the implementation and powers of the mermaids.
11 - Horse Ranch
Click to enlargeThere are many things that The Sims 4 Horse Ranch did spectacularly well: The horse animations were top-notch and the world of Chestnut Ridge was stunning to behold. However, the world lacked any activities to do other than ride around on your horse and all communal lots except the tavern were rabbit holes.
The theme of the Pack focused mainly on a Cowboy/Western atmosphere and did this well but failed to deliver a good amount of build mode or CAS items for horses - which was the main draw of the pack.
Horse competitions were rabbit holes too and unless you're a massive horse fan you may feel underwhelmed by the additional expansion additions.
Overall you'll get more for your money from other Packs, but Horse Ranch is still worth picking up if you're an equestrian lover or if the pack goes on sale.
10 - Snowy Escape
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Snowy Escape introduced the Lifestyles mechanic to the game, which expanded on the traits system. Effectively, Lifestyles are attributed to your Sims over time, giving them more of a distinguished personality.
The Snowy Escape Build/Buy items all have a unique Japanese theme to them, which compliments the mountainous areas of its new world, Mt. Komorebi. In a similar way to Island Living, this feels like a destination world where you might take your Sims on a ski holiday.
Unlike more recent Pack releases, Mt. Komorebi features plenty of spare lots to build on. With 14 lots in total (plus three hidden ones), the pack also presents several new activities for your Sim to master, like sledding, skiing, snowboarding, and rock climbing.
9 - Get Famous
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With The Sims 4: Get Famous, you can lavish your Sims in luxury mansions - the pack even comes with a money vault and the interaction for your Sims to bathe in the money! You can start your Sims from nothing and watch as they slowly advance a career in Acting or as an Online Influencer.
Set in Del Sol Valley - effectively The Sims version of Hollywood - Sims can now earn fame, a new mechanic that impacts their interactions with other Sims. The new fame mechanic comes with perks as your adoring fans will send gifts to you in the mail. However, it can become annoying if you're taking your Sims on a date or an outing and a celebrity Sim spawns, often causing an interruption to any plans.
This pack brought new live streaming and social media management interactions on the PC, as well as a new Acting career. The Acting career is completely interactive, too, meaning you can go with your Sims to set and watch them go through the different stages of performance. While there, you'll watch as they get into hair and make-up, practise lines and perform the piece on the sound stage.
The replay value of this pack is high as there are several different types of gigs you can apply for, with the prestige of them becoming higher as you advance through your career. The gig options range from kibble adverts to full sci-fi movies and period dramas.
The costumes that came with the pack are visually appealing, and even if they aren't used outside of the career gigs or Halloween parties, it's incredibly evident that The Sims team put a lot of effort into their creation.
The Build/Buy mode items kit you with everything you need to build a lavish Hollywood mansion. The creative opportunities for this are exciting but perhaps limited, as most Simmers tend to play realistic suburban families, rather than A-lister celebrities in multi-million dollar homes.
8 - High School Years
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The Sims 4 High School Years gave the teen life stage a much-needed overhaul. With the Pack, you could follow your teens to school and help them achieve activities throughout the school day. Gone are the rabbit holes, and now you can have an active influence over your teen's school careers.
Also included were prominent teen milestones like prom, graduation, and new after-school cheerleading and football activities. There was also a great selection of Build mode items for teens like new clutter pieces, wall art and a custom window that allowed teens to enter and sneak out of their homes.
The world of Copperdale is vibrant, with a carnival pier that looks beautiful, but was unfortunately just a set dressing of rabbit holes rather than activities your sim could perform. The Social Bunny app was also included which was The Sims 4's version of social media, allowing them to post statuses and get interactions on posts.
Unfortunately, the pack launched with some bug issues and a big criticism was that the school was too large and empty. While the pack came with some great ideas, its overall execution just fell short. The main draw of the pack is that it gives more activities for your teens to do - something that is especially important if you're a player who loves family gameplay.
7 - Discover University
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Discover University adds some much-needed gameplay to the Young Adult life stage for Sims. You can now apply for university scholarships and choose between two rival campuses. Successfully completing these semesters at university will result in your Sim entering their chosen career at a higher level.
Where this pack lacks, however, is within lecture halls, as when attending classes, your Sim simply disappears into a rabbit hole. This is a missed opportunity for players to be able to interact with peers in class and answer questions to progress through their chosen subject in a more involved way, as was more the case in The Sims 3's University Life pack.
A key mechanic the pack introduced was the ability to have housemates. These are Sims you live with but have no control over. By assigning them a bed/room you can have the gameplay feature of living with Sims without the bother of having to focus on them and their needs.
The pack also introduced more robotic skills and the ability to build robots for friendship, housework or even love. The university pack is a great choice for Simmers who wish to develop the life cycle of their Sims more. Instead of going from teenhood straight to work, The Sims 4 University Expansion Pack fills in that awkward middle step of a Sim's life with the ability to have them strike out on their own and have their first taste of adulthood.
6 - Eco Lifestyle
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The Sims 4 Eco Living is a stylised pack centred around eco-friendly furniture, meaning there's plenty of re-purposing furniture and dumpster diving. The pack emphasised the community clean-up gameplay of either improving or lowering the carbon footprint of neighbourhoods in the new Evergreen Harbor world. Seeing the world flourish around you or succumb to pollution is an interesting gameplay mechanic that has a good measure of replayability.
You can even craft furniture with the new crafting skill and make money by producing fizz drinks and candles. The option for sustainable living was also introduced, with an 'off-the-grid' option for homes to rely on their own power and water production to run effectively. Whilst eco gameplay may not be to everyone's taste, it does add a new dimension to gameplay and added challenge for many Simmers.
5 - Growing Together
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The Sims 4 Growing Together is a must-buy Pack for Simmers who enjoy family gameplay and playing with the same Sims family over multiple generations.
The pack includes expanded milestones and activities for infants, children and to some extent - Elders. Children can now learn to ride bikes, lose teeth and play in their own treehouse.
Infants are also expanded, with an added milestone system which is essentially a progression plan for infants, and monitors how much they have achieved before they age up. These are activities like learning to reach before they can play with toys or learning to sit up before they can be fed food from a highchair.
Elders receive a family keepsake box, and a new recreational centre lot type was added with the included world. The world of San Sequoia was unfortunately rather flat without an extinguishable theme like the other worlds in previous packs.
Likewise, the build mode items didn't have a strong theme either, but the added social dynamics make up for this and make it a pack worth playing if you're a player who likes sticking with the same family across generations.
4 - Cats & Dogs
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The only thing better than caring for Sims is the ability to adopt pets. The Sims 4: Cats & Dogs introduced, you guessed it, pets to The Sims 4.
The CAS options for pets are an impressive selection, with the ability to fully customise coats to include your own designs, allowing for creative results like rainbow pets. There are also a tremendous amount of breed options to choose from.
This pack also introduced the coastal world of Brindleton Bay, a beautiful seaside town complete with beaches and salty taverns. We also got a plethora of new Build/Buy items, all of which complement the rustic nautical theme of the world, and the new Veterinary career, giving a host of new gameplay opportunities.
The only criticism that arose from the release of Cats & Dogs was the fact that it only included those two animals, whereas previous Packs in The Sims series included farm animals and most notably, horses (which arrived in latter Expansions for Horse Ranch and Cottage Living). The animals are limited in how you can control them also, you can't 'play' as an animal in your household as you could in The Sims 3, instead, your Sim interacts with them by calling them to activities.
3 - For Rent
Click to enlargeThe most recent Expansion Pack on this list, For Rent is one that once you've played your game with it, you won't be able to imagine going back. That's effectively what we said in our For Rent review, which with a score of 4/5 is absolutely one that we'd recommend you add to your collection.
Along with the Southeast Asian-inspired world of Tomarang, a brilliant Build/Buy and CAS lineup, and oodles of new Traits and Aspirations to play with, there's a new Lot Type which is the Pack's shining star.
Residential Rentals allow you to have multi-family lots for the first time, meaning you can create fully functional townhomes or apartment buildings to create plenty of drama in. With a 6-unit limit for a lot, there is a cheat to expand it as well to truly let your creativity run wild.
Alongside this, there's a new hopscotch item, squat toilets, functional radiators, pressure cookers and kettles - meaning this is one Pack you absolutely should be adding to your cart (or your wishlist, at least).
2 - Seasons
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The Sims 4 Seasons expanded day-to-day gameplay in a way that few packs previously had. With the added element of holidays and weather, instead of the forever sunny springtime of The Sims, your families could now experience the different seasons in a way that shows the progression of time and makes the game feel more realistic.
Seasons also expanded the gardening skill in a way that made it relevant, planting different seeds now depends on the season and the new flower arrangement skill is a wealthy opportunity for get-rich-quick schemes - or perhaps a new hobby for Elder Sims who enjoy gardening.
Holidays encourage familial interactions; now you can have snowball fights, build snowpals together, go to skating rinks or ice rinks and decorate the house with holiday decorations with your Sim families. Seasons is an essential pack for simmers who enjoy playing out family scenarios. The only drawback to the pack is that it didn't include a new world.
1 - Cottage Living
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Coming in at number one on our list of the best Expansions is Cottage Living. The bulk of the DLC is centred around a traditional English cottage lifestyle, complete with farming and evil chickens.
With this pack, you can now live the dream of living off the land and having a fully sustainable farmer career. With the added sustainable lot challenge, you can limit your household to only eat ingredients grown and produced on your farm, including by-products from your farm animals, preserves made from fruits and vegetables and crops grown by your Sims.
The Build/Buy mode items that arrived with the pack lean into the English countryside tropes of cosy log burners, armchairs and hanging baskets, making it a great complementary pack to Cats & Dogs, Nifty Knitting or Seasons. The items included, although stylised, are variable enough to use in other non-farm buildings.
The pack comes with new farm animals including cows, llamas, chickens, ducks and more. There are also wild foxes, rabbits and birds that you can befriend in return for gifts and help on the farm. Just make sure you're on good terms with your animals - or face the consequences.
Henford-on-Bagley is the new world included in this pack, complete with the iconic character Mrs Crumplebottom. Because of this, the pack just wins over The Sims 4: Seasons, which sadly did not introduce a new world to the game - a huge factor to take into account when getting an expansion.
Henford-on-Bagley is a bright village set in the idyllic countryside. Here, you can compete in crop and animal fares for rewards and a real sense of community spirit. As an expansion, it's one of the ones that offer the most gameplay opportunities and build mode items.
Game Packs ranked
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Rank |
Game Pack |
Notable Features |
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S |
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Dream Home Decorator offered players the chance to renovate the homes of other Sim families within a career. It also introduced the likes and dislikes mechanic. Sims have more personality now, with preferences on colour, music, and furniture tastes. Parenthood facilitated players to be more interactive with their teen sims, allowing them to help with homework projects and impact the choices teens make about their lives, it's a great companion to either the High School Years expansion or The Sims 4 Growing Together. |
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A |
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Most of the occult packs cater to a specific type of Sims player. Not all simmers enjoy occult packs, preferring to play with more realistic families. As it stands, the occult packs have been getting increasingly better with more detailed lore and gameplay. Strangerville is The Sims 4's first narrative-driven pack and will see you playing through 'The Mother' storyline, uncovering the secrets behind a military base's experiments. Although the pack was put together expertly, as it is a narrative-driven pack there is less replayability. |
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B |
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Journey to Batuu received a less enthused response from the fan base. As a Star Wars-Sims cross-over, your sim receives the opportunity to journey to Batuu and either become part of the resistance or the empire. As not all Sims fans are also Star Wars fans this pack received controversial commentary upon launch. Whether you hate it or love it, the pack introduced a multitude of industrial-themed build-and-buy options, and the resistance interactions were fun to play. Batuu did have one too many rabbit holes however and could have done with more explorable areas. As such if you're a Star Wars fan, you'll get some enjoyment from the pack. |
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C |
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As the first foray into the occult, The Sims 4 vampires is the weakest of the occult packs. Forgotten Hollow was a much smaller world introduced, with fewer activities to populate the area. There was a missed opportunity for interesting vampire bars or clubs to also be introduced to the world. Similarly, Outdoor Retreat was the first destination-themed pack from The Sims, as such it feels emptier compared to later packs. |
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F |
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Both packs are founded on great gameplay ideas. Having more involved weddings where you can plan outfits, cakes, venues, and sim participation is great in theory. Dine Out offers the possibility for simmers to build and run their own restaurants and hire employees. Both gameplay aspects are great ideas, however, both packs were unusable at launch with game-breaking bugs. Although Wedding Stories has mostly been fixed, players still report issues, particularly with Dine Out features. Having your sims order food at a restaurant seldom goes smoothly. |
Stuff Packs ranked
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Tier |
Pack |
Notable Features |
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S |
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The Sims 4 Nifty Knitting was the first community-led pack, with all the items of the pack pre-determined and voted on by the fanbase. Due to this, the popularity of the pack is cemented amongst fans. The pack introduced lots of new customisable items including the adorable plush grim reaper, and more hobbies for elders. Tiny Living introduced a plethora of new challenges for Sims builders and 'lets players' alike. With new lot traits and eco-styled furniture, this pack adds a lot of gameplay diversity for a stuff pack. |
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A |
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Crystal Creations is a quirky, addition to The Sims 4, it's true, but that doesn't make it any less fun. Being able to design accessories and jewellery that Sims can then wear is a brilliant addition, and the Build/Buy catalogue is a Dark Academia-themed treat. Laundry Day is a divisive addition to the game. Whilst many may find Sims doing laundry boring, many others felt that this was a welcome added challenge to the game. This is the pack for Simmers that yearn for more realism.
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B |
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Toddlers are severely underrepresented in updates and packs. So, having a pack that solely caters to them and offers new toddler clothing and play areas was a valuable addition to the game. The Moschino pack may be divisive. High fashion is not to everyone's taste, but it did also introduce the freelancer photographer career, with new photo interactions for your sims which makes the pack worthwhile. |
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C |
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Perfect Patio introduces hot tubs to the game which arguably should have been included in the free swimming pool update. The Packs in this tier are lack-lustre and tend to only feature one new interaction or machine such as the ice cream machine in Cool Kitchen, or the Popcorn Machine in Movie Hangout. Apart from a few cosmetic items, the packs here are limited. |
|
F |
My First Pet Stuff |
This pack is only accessible by also purchasing The Sims 4 Cats and Dogs expansion. Having a prerequisite like this caused much controversy amongst the Sims community, with most feeling that paying for DLC for a DLC was a poor business practice. |
Kits ranked
Click to enlargeKits are the smallest of DLCs you can buy for The Sims 4. They usually include a selection of either buy mode or create-a-sim items and revolve around a theme.
What's more, these Kits are the cheapest of the DLCs, and it can be an appealing addition to your game, especially if you don’t wish to experiment with mods and custom content.
The following kits are ranked, based on theme and how well they executed it with the items released. This is subject to opinion, however, as some Sims players may favour build mode items over CAS.
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Tier |
Pack |
Notable Features |
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S |
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Maxis has finally listened to the call for more clutter. Sims players universally agree that houses look more like homes when we have clutter to place. The Everyday Clutter Kit and Basement Treasures Kit offer more items to make the houses feel lived in. The Blooming Rooms Kit completely expands the available plants in the build/buy catalogue. There are 24 different plant options, ranging from wall ivy, hangers, plant shelves and an adorable dog-shaped pot. The Book Nook Kit is one of the more recent kits to come out, with much approval from fans. The kit offers 25 build-mode items including modular shelving which players can customise to build the office/library of their dreams. |
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A |
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The Grunge Rival Kit is stylised in nature, so it won't appeal to everyone. For the goths as heart, however, the pack offers some great designs – 25 in total – for Sims players to dress their angsty teens in. The Little Campers Kit revolves around the idea of children building forts in their backyards. The kit comes with 25 build-mode items intended for backyard use including an outside TV projector! There are some fun gameplay aspects to this kit if you're looking for more activities for your Sims kids. The Goth Galore Kit is a fantastic piece of DLC, because it adds a whole host of gothic-themed for Simmers to deck their characters out in. It's got lots of leather and darker palette options, so if that's your vibe, or you've got a Sim that'll rock these pieces, it's an obvious choice. The Castle Estate Kit adds a taste of the Medieval by bringing in gorgeous, intricately designed items, with stained glass windows and stone-based assets to create the stately abode of your Sims' dreams. |
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B |
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The Fashion Street Kit helped bring more diverse CAS items to the game. It included 26 items including two new henna tattoos. The clothing features bold, colourful and flowery prints in a mixture of streetwear and contemporary styles. Pastel Pop has some vibrant pieces that won't appeal to everyone. It features heavily stylised furniture pieces in a retro 90s - mid-2000s style. The Industrial Loft Kit is also stylised, this time to feature modern furniture in an industrial meets eco theme. There are a total of 26 furniture pieces which is substantial for a kit. However, not everyone will get use of industrial pipes and large factory lights. |
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C |
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Most of these kits contain CAS items and are stylised around a certain theme. Whilst some people may love the styles, they may be divisive. It's always good to have more clothing options, especially for the male and children Sims. The Simtimates Kit added new underwear options to Create-a-Sim, where before we had the standard pink briefs. Some people may love the kit but most players don’t really take note of the nightwear their Sims wear. |
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F |
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The Courtyard Oasis Kit has a stunning selection of Moroccan-style furniture items. The items themselves have an appealing design but they look like they should have been part of the Jungle Adventure game pack, instead of sold separately. Similarly, both the Greenhouse Haven and Country Kitchen sets come with appealing build items but look as though they belong to other expansions. (Greenhouse Haven could easily blend into The Sims 4 Seasons and Country Kitchen looks like it belongs with Cottage Living). Unlike most other Kits, the Bust the Dust Kit comes with few build mode items, instead it introduced the mechanic of cleaning and 'dust bunnies' into the game. Unfortunately, at launch, the kit was plagued by bugs. Beyond that, few players want to roleplay cleaning in a game. |
NOTE: Some Packs may not be listed here yet due to not having had much play time with them. This list will be expanded and updated over time once we have - so keep your eyes peeled for any updates!
For more guides, head over to our homepage for The Sims, where you'll find Werewolves cheats, a Doctor diagnosis list, and how to enter CAS Full Edit Mode.
