The Sims 4

Even with the missing content, The Sims 4 delivers a gameplay experience that is highly-entertaining and addictive for both series veterans and newcomers.

The Sims 4 moves away from its predecessors, but the result is cool and fun.

Besides the hugely improved Build Mode and Create-A-Sim and the fact that the game runs very smoothly this time around, this is the weakest base-game in the Sims-series. But luckily not by a great distance. Burrowing deeper than the first, somewhat disappointing hours, players will find that a lot of the missing features (basements, toddlers, pools and a ‘open world’ village) are compensated by lots of animations, objects, collectibles and other fun stuff that only Sims-lovers can truly appreciate.

And yes, it is another Sims iteration, but at the same time this one feels clean and fresh. The emotional interactions are really interesting, and the combination of these with different Sims' personality traits and aspirations can make for some great unpredictability. Despite what’s been left out, The Sims 4 feels like it’s heading in the right direction.

The Sims 4 is once again a new beginning. Needs more content and soon, please. [Oct 2014]

If you are a Sims veteran that hasn’t picked up Sims 4 straight away, do it. There is an improvement in a lot of areas to the game, mainly the build modes and the introduction of the moodlets, and it is only going to get better as they patch and add more content to the game.

The Sims 4 is a weird encounter, it feels upgraded but at the same time it feels chopped down in favor of future DLCs. No doubt the loyal fans will enjoy the new member in the Sim family but some more hardcore players will feel that they are moving a step back and not a step back to prepare for a leap.

The Sims 4 has lost some appeal as a total life simulator, but on the other hand it has won much as a role playing game.

The way they interact with each other, the way they can eat, watch TV and chat about underpants or spaceships at the same time is a marvellous technical achievement that puts the rest of the game, with its missing pools and open worlds, into context. I wish we could have it all in the same package – perhaps The Sims 5 will – but for now, I’m happily and frankly unexpectedly willing to trade those bells and whistles for characters that feel, well, real.

How does The Sims 4 measure in the grand scheme of things? It’s an excellent stepping stone for what could be moving forward, although this comes at the cost of numerous add-ons and expansions raiding our pockets.

The Sims 4 provides an intimate and varied experience; being as a god over sprites, to then adopt the perspective within creation, and to, with empathy, become another person, to observe a whole family, or any number of people, as frequent and as seriously as one chooses. For what it is, a simulation game of life, relationships and interior design, I give it an [80].

The Sims 4 simply has core-features. No pools, no garages and other important stuff... Expansion Packs are coming. The Sims 4 has weak content, AI is problematic and it's definitely the worst The Sims game ever.

The Sims 4 has solid foundations, but it feels like it isn't finished yet. Having said that, new gameplay qualities open fresh possibilities for the player.

The Create-A-Sim and Build Mode systems are much more accessible yet offer a lot of depth for those that desire it. Sims are smart, can multitask, and interact in lots of nifty ways. However, there are still plenty of missing core items while the existing set of options are limited, to say the least, no doubt to ensure that the upcoming expansions bring lots of highly desirable things.

The Sims 4 has solid foundations. We love the new focus on the Sims but we can't understand why there's a loading for every damn house, when The Sims 3 was a little open world.

The Sims 4 certainly doesn't reinvent the wheel and is not as comprehensive as its predecessors, but at the same is an accurate revision of almost every unbalanced gameplay aspect of the series.

The Sims 4 is unique in its genre and this new release is perfect for both fans of the series and beginners. The new features such as emotions are exciting and completely renovate the gameplay, but the game suffers from a brutal lack of content. It's a great game that needs more content as soon as possible.

Series veterans are also going to realise that despite the various improvements, The Sims 4 is not in any way as robust as The Sims 3. The core game is magnificent and well designed for the most part, but there are a ton of missing extras, which will presumably be filled out with various DLC packs.

Once more with feeling: this is a fine if familiar base game with great creative tools.

The Sims 4 is a fresh new start for the franchise. This means that we have to accept some deprivations and sacrifice a few gameplay elements. Maybe we won't have the same amount of content as the previous games (there will be add-on and DLCs), but the new CAS, the Interface and social interactions are greatly improved.

On its own it's an entertaining game, but compared to The Sims 3 it's a step back and a lesser game.

Without its open world and many beloved features from its predecessor, Sims 4 loses some of the series’ charm. Fortunately, the concept of Sims works so well that none of this dulls the fun in a significant way. The new emotion system is a little superficial, however, and could use work in the future.

Sims 4 would've been a really good game if it'd had another six months of production time, and I thinkit has the potential to be great after a few expansions fill in the holes.

The Sims 4 is a fantastic game at its core, but with its tiny neighborhoods and many features simply missing, it holds itself back from Sims greatness.

I think it is a better foundation to build on than The Sims 3 had at launch.

The game is empty and expensive, unable to evolve in such a way as to let us speak of "new generation". We are faced with a technically valid, incredibly pleasant product, that is at the same time inexplicably unable to bring those elements that, after fourteen years, all the players would have taken for granted.

It’s a good start to what may eventually be expanded into a great Sims game, but it’s not there yet.

The Sims 4 is a game taking a big step forward and then two steps back. A new emotions system is a breath of fresh air, creating your sim and your home have been improved, and it's all good. Unfortunately: frequent loading screens, a not-so-open city, a dull neighborhood, few careers and lack of many things known from previous games create an overall muddy image of the game. It's good, but not that good - fans could be disappointed.

The Sims 4 is a good game marred by a dire lack of content, the - albeit solid - foundation for a never ending stream of DLCs.