The Sims 4: Horse Ranch

 PC
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User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of 1
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 1
  3. Negative: 1 out of 1

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  1. tangledwings
    Jul 27, 2023
    4
    Horse Ranch underpromised and yet still underperformed. Horses are pretty and well animated, but creating a custom horse in CAS is just bad. Instead of giving the player common markings to layer on, like socks, stars, blaze etc., you just get a paint tool to scribble on your horse. There are a few templates on the paint tab, but they inexplicably omitted all the common horse markings. It'sHorse Ranch underpromised and yet still underperformed. Horses are pretty and well animated, but creating a custom horse in CAS is just bad. Instead of giving the player common markings to layer on, like socks, stars, blaze etc., you just get a paint tool to scribble on your horse. There are a few templates on the paint tab, but they inexplicably omitted all the common horse markings. It's bizarre and kind of pathetic. And because they chose this paint system over the layered marking system, they have no way to generate foals that are a mix of their parent's markings rather than simply copies of one or the other. Horses have a "breed mixer" button in CAS, so they clearly wanted to put in a decent genetics system that would mix traits from the parents, but didn't. It looks and feels half-baked.

    Speaking of half-baked, the nectar making skill is a 5 point skill instead of a 10 point. There aren't many varieties of nectar. Instead of the flavor profile system from Sims 3, you just use any fruit. I would like to see all these food and drink making skills thoroughly incorporated into Dine Out, but cross-pack compatibility is again ignored. For an 11-year-old game with tons of expansions, I cannot understand why they keep making these expansions stand-alone rather than using them to evolve and develop the original world. Players who buy most or all of the packs, for hundreds of dollars, deserve a better overall experience rather than an isolated bit of new content that they tire of quickly.

    I find myself waiting to really play this pack because I need mods to fix the genetics and fix nectar making. I know people are already working on it. Then I think, why are unpaid, individual modders doing so much of the heavy lifting for this massive company? If one person can vastly improve a feature in a week, there is no excuse for the dev team not doing it. It just makes no sense. Animations and most art assets are consistently good, but gameplay and functionality is mediocre at best. Same old, same old.    … Expand

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
68

Mixed or average reviews - based on 12 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 12
  3. Negative: 1 out of 12
  1. GamingTrend
    Aug 22, 2023
    40
    The Sims 4 Horse Ranch is unfortunately a wonderful concept rendered almost unplayable due to bugs, and both my Sim and animals getting stuck. The CAS clothing items and Build Mode pieces are fantastic and add a lot to the game, especially if building a ranch or country theme is your jam. Bonding with your horse and the interactions between both your Sim and the animals is heartwarming, and riding is loads of fun. I’d have liked to see more with the Equestrian Center and competitions, not being able to go inside is kind of a bummer and a waste of space. As much as I’d have loved to explore all that Horse Ranch has to offer, I just can’t play it in its current state. I’d love to adjust my review at a later date if things improve.
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  2. CD-Action
    Aug 17, 2023
    70
    The latest expansion pack has a couple of shortcomings but brings a whole lot of fun. It enriches the game’s world, provides many activities, offers different ways of running a backyard business, and gives a lot of freedom in how you handle the horses.
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  3. GAMES.CH
    Aug 15, 2023
    75
    The Sims 4 Horse Ranch does horses right - better even than many horse simulation games. Horse lovers won't care that the rest of the expansion lacks a bit of substance, when horse care and riding is done so well that it almost comes close to the real deal.
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