User Score
4.0

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 315 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 59 out of 315
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  1. Feb 22, 2018
    0
    The controls are undeniably the worst thing in this game. I would love this if the controls would actually work. It is incredibly frustrating and makes it difficult to get into the gameplay.
  2. Mar 7, 2018
    4
    I am still a loyal fan, but holy hand grenades is this installment cramped. With the removal of open world capabilities that the previous title had, It cut exploration by 82%, and that it just lame. There's not much to do since EA took a step backwards with The Sims 4.

    They better make The Sims 5 regardless of sales and they better fix it so it doesn't suck, or I swear, I'll jump ship
    I am still a loyal fan, but holy hand grenades is this installment cramped. With the removal of open world capabilities that the previous title had, It cut exploration by 82%, and that it just lame. There's not much to do since EA took a step backwards with The Sims 4.

    They better make The Sims 5 regardless of sales and they better fix it so it doesn't suck, or I swear, I'll jump ship to Mike Hibbert's La Vida. https://www.patreon.com/lavida/overview
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  3. Sep 15, 2019
    2
    Solid game but way too much overpriced DLC, it's ea but it's still sad to see you need to spend hundres of dollars to get a full experience.
  4. Dec 5, 2017
    0
    EA missed completely what The Sims is all about. There is no The Sims player out there that play only with Maxis/The Sims stuff or even just play it as a simulation Game it's also a Construction/Decoration Game and doing that on console it's horrible.
  5. Apr 1, 2018
    3
    Don't waste you're money until game is fixed. I've been an avid sims player since the 1st game and I get that sims has always had performance issues but this iteration is ridiculous. Game has many problems, my sims don't listen to commands, sometimes they just stand there doing nothing and just waste time, I have to micromanage them just to keep them alive. I could live with it if it wereDon't waste you're money until game is fixed. I've been an avid sims player since the 1st game and I get that sims has always had performance issues but this iteration is ridiculous. Game has many problems, my sims don't listen to commands, sometimes they just stand there doing nothing and just waste time, I have to micromanage them just to keep them alive. I could live with it if it were just those problems but after playing for 30+ hours, the game suddenly crashes all of the time now. I can't even load my household anymore without it crashing. And in addition to all of those problems, the game has far less content then all of the previous games, it's as if they moved backwards rather then forwards. Worst sims game so far. Expand
  6. Apr 16, 2018
    0
    Oh. My. Gosh. This game is just terrible. Like honestly terrible.
    The PS4 controls render the game totally unplayable. It lags on my PS4, the "cursor" jumps from side to side - you can't even properly place your objects in the spot you wanted them because everything's so jumpy and laggy.
    I love the Sims, and I've played many other Sims games on consoles - but this is by far the absolute
    Oh. My. Gosh. This game is just terrible. Like honestly terrible.
    The PS4 controls render the game totally unplayable. It lags on my PS4, the "cursor" jumps from side to side - you can't even properly place your objects in the spot you wanted them because everything's so jumpy and laggy.
    I love the Sims, and I've played many other Sims games on consoles - but this is by far the absolute WORST iteration of it. I'm returning this game and getting a refund.
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  7. Jul 10, 2020
    7
    I purchased this game mainly for the purpose of creating houses and simulating a family. The disappointing factors of this game besides the extremely lengthy loading screens, is the MICRO-TRANSACTIONS. So much of the fun add-on contents are locked behind a pay wall (DLC), and they are not cheap either!
  8. Jul 11, 2018
    0
    I've been sat here for 20 minutes trying to come up with a single reason why you would play this especially at the ridiculous price to get the full game, when you could go and get the sims 3 which comes more complete, for a cheaper price.

    EA you're ruining your own franchises. Please stop.
  9. Feb 10, 2020
    2
    Honestly stick with sims 3. Besides the revamped conversation mechanics, and character customization this is a major step back, and you will be required to spend 500 $ CAD for the full experience on the dozens of dlc packs, which are basic features ripped from sims 3 and sold back to us in sims 4. This might of turned me off ever playing the sims again. Which is disappointing because IHonestly stick with sims 3. Besides the revamped conversation mechanics, and character customization this is a major step back, and you will be required to spend 500 $ CAD for the full experience on the dozens of dlc packs, which are basic features ripped from sims 3 and sold back to us in sims 4. This might of turned me off ever playing the sims again. Which is disappointing because I spent a large portion of my childhood playing this series. Expand
  10. Dec 29, 2017
    0
    Don´t have to say much here. EA just EA the mark that shows you should not buy or play this money grab of a game.
  11. Nov 20, 2017
    3
    It's the same as PC in terms of gameplay and graphics but the UI is a mess the controls are abysmal it will drive crazy luckily I just tried it on my friend's PS4... avoid this one and stick to the PC version!
  12. Dec 17, 2017
    0
    DLCs simulator in console after 3 years of the PC launch...
    The game is not even full with all the DLCs, it's the worst Sims ever.
    You got smaller expansions than previous Sims...
    Instead gettting "Animals Pack" you can buy "Cats and Dogs"
  13. Dec 6, 2017
    7
    Finally console players get to live their dream of playing The Sims the same way people on PC do. Sort of. The content is the same and graphically it is similar. My time with The Sims 4 was fun, I enjoyed watching my sim work and live, fall in love, die and his kids and grand kids grow. The controls weren't bad, but they weren't as good as on PC and they did take some getting used to. IFinally console players get to live their dream of playing The Sims the same way people on PC do. Sort of. The content is the same and graphically it is similar. My time with The Sims 4 was fun, I enjoyed watching my sim work and live, fall in love, die and his kids and grand kids grow. The controls weren't bad, but they weren't as good as on PC and they did take some getting used to. I must admit, I don't regret this purchase, but I see how many would. Expand
  14. Feb 14, 2018
    0
    Difficult to play without experiencing a bug every minute; anyway this is the old sims, nothings chancing, only the number on the right of the title.
  15. Feb 24, 2018
    5
    The Sims 4 was just good enough to not make me regret buying it but nowhere near good enough for me to recommend that anybody else should. As you can see from the other user reviews the UI is very, very poorly implemented. The touchpad switches between the use of the menus (to observe your Sims needs for example or their inventory) and the actual game (directing your sim what to do). ItThe Sims 4 was just good enough to not make me regret buying it but nowhere near good enough for me to recommend that anybody else should. As you can see from the other user reviews the UI is very, very poorly implemented. The touchpad switches between the use of the menus (to observe your Sims needs for example or their inventory) and the actual game (directing your sim what to do). It simply doesn't work. Often you'll react to an event on screen only to realize that you are in "menu" mode not "play the game" mode and whilst it's not the hardest thing to rectify it will happen again and again and again and it soon gets very old.

    The gameplay itself isn't bad, they have neutered the challenge compared to the past games, you will advance in your career with very little effort and tbh using my Sim as a writer seemed almost broken with there being no limit to the amount of books you can publish and each book taking maybe 4 or 5 hours to write. Before you know it your sim has something like 30 books published rolling in 3 grand a day on top of their salary.

    However this reveals another issue, there isn't a great deal to buy with said money. The library of things in buy mode isn't as expansive as I'd hope and is probably about the same as previous iterations. What is there to buy isn't terribly interesting or varied either. There are perhaps 8 TVs but the only difference is their grade in "Fun" and the difference between a 5 Fun TV and an 8 Fun TV isn't really worth worrying about. Home design can be fun as it always has but it is ultimately unfulfilling.

    It also doesn't perform very well on the PS4 whatsoever. There is graphical lag as well as input lag, when put on the highest game speed the game clock will freak out and go backwards for a short amount (maybe 20 minutes in game time). Your skill bar can get stuck so it is always on and doesn't change for different skills. Your sim won't respond to commands on occasion and generally it just doesn't feel well made. It feels clunky and unresponsive.

    Sims will also ignore commands or commands will be immediately deleted on occasion and it gets very annoying. I only played with a 1 sim household and it felt really about the limit of what I could realistically control given the above issues and the poor UI.

    It doesn't look bad or great but the lagging is truly awful and gets worse the more sims are on screen. Sound design is your standard Sims bouncy Disney music and gibberish speech nothing particularly good or bad about it.

    Really I think this series has ceased to be relevant or interesting now. It was a stunning idea when it first game out and each iteration afterward has watered down the experience that much more. Not to mention EA locking stuff behind paywalls and DLC purchases, which is nothing new with the Sims and it's boggling amount of DLC expansions but still pretty reprehensible. As others have pointed out the packs are hilariously pointless selling you things like patio furniture for your little virtual drones.

    I got about 10 or so hours out of the game so I don't really feel cheated and it was playable for the most part but what was there was distinctly average. This afternoon as I played and my Sim reached level 9 of his career it dawned on me that I wasn't really having any fun, I was grinding to move up the career ladder but not spending any of the money I was earning because once your sims basic needs are covered there is little reason or need to spend further. Buying a house (that isn't already populated) is far, far too expensive and faced with the prospect of navigating the poor UI to spend a couple of hours designing a new house from scratch on a bigger lot I put my pad down and aren't likely to pick this game up again.

    There is nothing here that you don't have from playing an older, cheaper, probably used iteration of the game. You could go get The Sims 3 (currently being sold on Amazon for around £5 delivered) and get pretty much the same experience as this but likely running better on a relatively decent PC. The console has never done The Sims any favors and this time is no different but even beyond the issues with the running of the game the content is lacking, thin and un-inspired.

    Avoid. I'm just glad I managed to get some playtime out of it before it got unbearable because for all other intents and purposes this was a waste of money which isn't something I often say about a video game.
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  16. Feb 23, 2018
    0
    The controls are chaotic, it's unplayable! If you want a real sim on consoles, I recommend the sims 2 on consoles. Why not have direct control as in sims 2 ? Go your way, the controls are void !
  17. Nov 18, 2017
    3
    This could be a good game if not for the control issues. I dont mean the control scheme is ported bad. It works fine. Or to be more precise it would be fine if it worked. The game is ignoring my commands half of the time. You tell sim to to feed the kid, he goes to to do something else. You tell him again, he ignores it again. You try again and maybe you soceed. This is happening all theThis could be a good game if not for the control issues. I dont mean the control scheme is ported bad. It works fine. Or to be more precise it would be fine if it worked. The game is ignoring my commands half of the time. You tell sim to to feed the kid, he goes to to do something else. You tell him again, he ignores it again. You try again and maybe you soceed. This is happening all the time. This leads to extreme micromanagement because you dont need to just command your sims, but you still need to check all the command queues and reissue them all the time because the game just deletes them for no reason. In few hours, you will hate this game. Until this is fixed, the game is barelly playable and I dont reccomend it. Expand
  18. Nov 18, 2017
    1
    This is by far the worst Sims game I have ever played. The interface is simply unusable - there is no way you can get used to it or understand the logic behind it. The interface is so bad it has s button dedicated to show you the controls, and that option is always highlighted on the screen. And the problem lies beyond the control scheme. The interface itself is a poorly made job - it's noThis is by far the worst Sims game I have ever played. The interface is simply unusable - there is no way you can get used to it or understand the logic behind it. The interface is so bad it has s button dedicated to show you the controls, and that option is always highlighted on the screen. And the problem lies beyond the control scheme. The interface itself is a poorly made job - it's no match compared to UI in SIMS 1,2 and 3. There's no art involved, no design. It's so bad it actually feels like an insult to the player. And the fact that the game has been cut into a million of stupid DLCs doesn't help. Say, that DLC that adds "super cool animals hats" - who the hell needs them? Yeah, so when you launch this game it offers you more DLCs and the interface is designed in a way that confuses you so you press the button you don't want to buy a DLC you don't need for a game that doesn't care if it's playable or not. This is lame. I strongly recommend to keep away from Sims 4 for Playstation 4. Expand
  19. Mar 9, 2018
    9
    The game is amazing apart from the glitching from time to time.
    There is so much to do on it, addicted!
  20. Nov 19, 2017
    2
    i say just one thing; you can not save the game. there is a huuuuuuuuge bug.

    the control scheme is bad. content are poor. must be updated very very soon.
  21. Nov 17, 2017
    9
    As a primarily console user and avid sims fan, I'm use to getting watered down ports of the sims. In the past sims ports, the games often have major features missing and crazy build limitations among other things. This is not the case here, as this is the first one to one Sims port ever. I don't think that should be understated. Now I should mention there is no mod support or access toAs a primarily console user and avid sims fan, I'm use to getting watered down ports of the sims. In the past sims ports, the games often have major features missing and crazy build limitations among other things. This is not the case here, as this is the first one to one Sims port ever. I don't think that should be understated. Now I should mention there is no mod support or access to custom pc content as made by pc users, but honestly I wasn't expecting there to be. Many pc users have also made the argument that the controls are atrotious and that your better off sticking to the pc version. That is fine and dandy if your a pc gamer with the right pc to play but is entirely a moot point for us console gamers. With that being said the controls are not that bad, they are for the most part how you would expect them to be with a game designed for a keyboard and mouse. There was a pretty steep learning curve to them but after about an hour both me and my girlfriend had very little problems, in fact at this point the controls are second nature. At the end of the day I'm having a blast with it, well worth the price and I can tell you this is absolutely the best console port of the sims yet. Expand
  22. Nov 22, 2017
    7
    Sims 4
    Addictive Simulation
    Sims 4 is a simulation game where you live out the life of your created sim.. Though sims 4 introduces a genetics system to allow your sims to have babies that borrows traits from their parents.. I chose to live my sim life as a husband with my son and wife.. You start out by choosing 1 of 3 areas to live in, you then purchase a plot of land and get to
    Sims 4
    Addictive Simulation
    Sims 4 is a simulation game where you live out the life of your created sim..
    Though sims 4 introduces a genetics system to allow your sims to have babies that borrows traits from their parents..
    I chose to live my sim life as a husband with my son and wife..
    You start out by choosing 1 of 3 areas to live in, you then purchase a plot of land and get to building with a small but decent budget, enough to get a house going with your essentials..
    Its then up to you to fulfill your sims needs based on their characteristics and traits you choose at the start…
    I was an athletic romantic husband with a smart and crazy wife, and a charming toddler..
    Eventually my wife and child would signal they needed certain items so it was up to me to get a job to afford entertainment for them to keep them preoccupied and happy..
    As my mai n character didn’t need too much.. he just needed to workout to keep his mind clear..
    But my wife needed mental support, she needed help with our child, cleaning the house, repairing items, while she took breaks to be with herself.. hide from the world a little bit, talk to herself to calm herself down, she had a need to make friends and discover, she has a dork so she needed to play video games to stay happy, another thing for me to take care of…
    I was surprised how invested I ended up being in my sim family, of making sure my wife was happy, that I gave her just the right amount of attention and free time…
    That I took her on dates and cheered her up by being dumb…
    Ending our days occasionally making sweet love…
    Which brings me to baby making.. your sims can get pregnant and have babies..
    And youll check on your wife constantly, feel her tummy, make her feel beautiful and wanted while you you wait for the baby to come out…
    this is how I chose to live my sim life, but you can live yours any way youd like.. you can start out single and go out into the world.. just focus on earning cash to build a massive house…
    Its all up to you..
    And you can go back and forth between the different members of your family and interact with eachother any way youd like, you can roll play, make them fight, or keep them happy… or just let the sims do their thing on their own..
    I enjoyed my first sims experience..
    I get why so many people get addicted to it..
    I got my fill of the sims in about 5 hours of fast forwarding and managing everyones needs
    but it was an enjoyable 5 hours
    I give the Sims 4
    a 7/10
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  23. Oct 30, 2019
    10
    I love this game I'm addicted to it plus it takes my mind off my **** life at the moment the game has alot of bugs but other than that I really enjoy it I just wish the game had 0 bugs like my game crashes heaps and my sims freeze when I try to do things and sure it doesn't have a open world but I approve this game is my number one favorite game right now plus I own all it's dlcs aswell II love this game I'm addicted to it plus it takes my mind off my **** life at the moment the game has alot of bugs but other than that I really enjoy it I just wish the game had 0 bugs like my game crashes heaps and my sims freeze when I try to do things and sure it doesn't have a open world but I approve this game is my number one favorite game right now plus I own all it's dlcs aswell I have been playing the sims since I was 6 I'm 25 now I was born in1994 so I played every sims game and loved all of them Expand
  24. Feb 28, 2018
    8
    Very addictive, as are all Sims games. I thought this was a good console transfer (obviously not as a good as PC) but still enjoyable.
  25. Jun 3, 2018
    8
    The Sims 4 doesn't have a story mode but you can create your own. For one of my sims, I chose to give him the geek, genius, and perfectionist traits as well as a job in the tech guru career. My goal with him was to work his way into the professional gaming branch. Using a combination of skill leveling and mood management, I was able to get my sim to the top of his field. Now all that simThe Sims 4 doesn't have a story mode but you can create your own. For one of my sims, I chose to give him the geek, genius, and perfectionist traits as well as a job in the tech guru career. My goal with him was to work his way into the professional gaming branch. Using a combination of skill leveling and mood management, I was able to get my sim to the top of his field. Now all that sim does is livestream games and go into the office occasionally. Right now I have four different saves and they all have different goals I want them to complete. The one I am playing right now is the Grand Vampire, Best Selling Author, Criminal, Mother sim. This is the first sims game where console players can play as a vampire, at least from my knowledge, and it definitely Improved my experience. There are so many pros to being a vampire that I find myself making all of my sims vampires now. When you are a vampire there is no bladder or food needs. So your main focus is hygiene, social, fun, thirst, and your vampire energy. Social, hygiene, and fun can become no issue when you level up your vampire high enough to purchase the vampire traits that would keep those needs filled, leaving you with only thirst and vampire energy. This frees up tons of time for your sim to level up their skills uninterrupted aside from the occasional “drink.”

    As far as the gameplay goes, it is pretty much the same as the previous Sims. Compared to The Sims 3 on console, they have added a number of new skills and that does change the game up some. The different neighborhoods is also nice because each neighborhood has its own personality and feel to them. When it comes down to the gameplay as a whole, it feels like the previous versions of The Sims that I grew up playing and that is not necessarily a bad thing. Like the old saying, "if it ain't broke, then don’t fix it" and I personally think what the developers are doing with The Sims is working just fine. If there is something that I do not agree with, it is the prices of the expansions. When you look on the PSN Store, you will see that getting all of them will cost you over $100. But then again, that's just me when it comes DLC and expansions in general. I have no issue with people spending additional money on a game if they are enjoying it and can afford it.

    There are multiple games that I have yet to play in my backlog but I still find myself playing The Sims 4. Even though I am enjoying myself with this game, there are some issues with it. The main issue I have is that there are various glitches. Some glitches that I encountered while playing were tasks getting stuck in queue, the choice wheel not coming up when selecting an object, and traveling as a bat. When trying to cancel a task, it would get stuck and not remove from the queue. The task would just sit there no matter how many times I tried to cancel or overwrite it by selecting a new task. As for the choice wheel not coming up, it would happen at random times and there did not seem to be any specific actions that would trigger it. In order to get past these two issues, I would have my sim travel somewhere using their phone. When it comes to vampires, they have three alternative ways of getting around. I experienced no issues with the super speed or mist form, but when it came to moving as a bat there was one major problem. My sim would fly to work during the day and when they arrived it was like they were still standing outside because their energy would continually drop. Luckily my sim did not die, but it was annoying to have to hibernate to get all that energy back. One extra thing I have an issue with is the loading screens. There is a loading screen for everything. I can understand them needing a  loading screen for visiting different neighborhoods but there is a loading screen for visiting your neighbor that lives on the same street. These are just some of the issues I came across while playing. I found myself keeping my sim at home and buying things just to avoid a loading screen a lot of the time. Hopefully in future iterations they find a way to reduce the number of loading screens, I do not recall The Sims 3 having so many loading screens but maybe that is just because I have not played the game in a long time.

    I do enjoying playing The Sims 4 because there are so many different ways that you can play. The base game alone gives you 10 different careers to choose from and the expansions only further those options. From being able to choose your career path to creating different backstories and looks for you sim, I would say that The Sims 4 is definitely worth a play. Even with the various issues I came across during my playthrough, I would say the good definitely outweighs the bad. So if you are a fan of The Sims franchise or just someone looking for a casual simulation game, then I would say that The Sims 4 is a game worth picking up.
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  26. Feb 12, 2020
    0
    THIS GAME DOESN'T HAVE AN AUTO SAVE FEATURE.

    I REPEAT, THIS GAME DOES NOT HAVE AN AUTO SAVE FEATURE.

    I was so hyped when we got Sims 4 as a free game through PS+ but this game brought me nothing more than stress and 0 enjoyment.

    Not sure if you read it, but the game DOESN'T HAVE AN AUTO SAVE FEATURE.
  27. Sep 7, 2020
    10
    En cinco minutos lo voy a platinar, y os digo, este juego parece que no fue hecho por EA. Con eso lo digo todo. Después de 2 años de haberlo comprado, lo voy a platinar. Juego familiar y divertido. Me encanta.
  28. Jul 5, 2020
    8
    While it isn't my favorite sims game (that going to sims 2), I'm quite happy with Sims 4. I prefer the camera over Sims 3 camera and build mode has highly improved. Live mode is fun, though there is room for improvement in that area. All in all, I spend much time playing this game.
  29. Jan 4, 2019
    8
    I can only assume that they have fixed a lot of issues since some of these reviews come out as I haven't encountered any problems with saving my game, not experienced any game breaking lags. Sure, the controls are clunky and take a while to get used to, and the camera is not always your friend, but it's a gently paced game and isn't as big a deal as it would be with a fast paced actionI can only assume that they have fixed a lot of issues since some of these reviews come out as I haven't encountered any problems with saving my game, not experienced any game breaking lags. Sure, the controls are clunky and take a while to get used to, and the camera is not always your friend, but it's a gently paced game and isn't as big a deal as it would be with a fast paced action game. If the camera isn't being co-operative (which tends to be while I'm moving it away from my main Sim to locate another Sim to interact with in another room), I simply pause the game and that way I can take my time, make my selection and then resume play. It's a mild inconvenience, not a game breaker. The tutorial is especially clunky, with pop-up message boxes sometimes staying on screen getting in the way. But stick with it. Get the tutorial out the way and it's no longer a problem. The controls do become second nature after a while, and you get used to the camera. After a few hours in, you'll be utterly hooked.

    If it had the Karma feature of Sims 3, as well as better controls and camera, I wouldn't hesitate giving this a 10, but as is it deserves an 8. It's fun, addictive and like all Sims games, utterly charming. All the cons I mention are mildly annoying and certainly don't get in the way of a great game, especially at the price it currently is in the January sale.
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  30. Sep 4, 2020
    0
    Nothing but a cash grab for this game over and over ea will never too much dlc for this if you want everything in the game it will cost you well over 700.00 not worth the money
Metascore
66

Mixed or average reviews - based on 27 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 27
  2. Negative: 2 out of 27
  1. Playstation Official Magazine UK
    Feb 6, 2018
    60
    On its own merit, The Sims 4 is enjoyable enough, particularly with its rich customization. Compared to its predecessor, though, it's a life simulator that...well, lacks life. [Jan 2017, p.86]
  2. Nov 30, 2017
    60
    As a whole, The Sims 4 can be a great game to lay on your couch and sink hours into, but many things hold it back from being the great game that is is on PC. From bugs and technical problems, to a horrible control scheme, there is a great game buried beneath problems.
  3. Nov 28, 2017
    65
    A decent port, that nevertheless suffers from a number of technical issues, chief among which a number of framedrops, long loading times and a cursor that doesn't exactly work as intuitively as it should.