10 Best Sims 4 Content Packs, Ranked

It has been over 10 years since EA initially launched The Sims 4 in 2014, and with the announcement that it will continue to be the core game in The Sims franchise, it’s interesting to speculate what may lie ahead. The Sims 4 has been arguably the most aesthetically pleasing game in the franchise, with a brilliant Build Mode and a Create-A-Sim mode that is constantly improving as the years go by. However, the game’s life simulator elements have been lacking in what has made the game a success over its lifespan, as its Live Mode gameplay features have fallen short with their lack of unpredictability, spontaneity, and charm.

For the last decade, The Sims 4 has accumulated millions and millions of players who have enjoyed playing the game. Despite its lacking Live Mode features, the game’s generous and continuous stream of content add-ons is what has kept the game alive. In fact, many of the content add-ons that have been released for The Sims 4 have not only enhanced and elevated the gameplay, but introduced features that make the base game much more exciting. No matter a player’s preference between occult packs or packs that simply improve day-to-day features in The Sims 4, among all the content packs released over the last decade there’s been something for everyone.

10 Launch Your Career With Get To Work

2015

When Get To Work released back in 2015, interactive careers became available for the first time in The Sims 4. These careers included Doctor, Detective, and Scientist, with numerous duties for Sims to participate in. One of the gameplay elements that Get To Work introduced was the retail business ownership feature, where a Sim could own a retail store or bakery for a fun management experience.

In addition to the interactive careers that Get To Work introduced, aliens were also brought into The Sims 4 for the first time. Get To Work has proven to be timeless as its retail system offers endless gameplay opportunities, though the pack does fall short with its lack of interactive careers that are in more creative industries.

9 Explore Your Wild Side With Werewolves

2022

Released relatively recently in 2022, The Sims 4‘s Werewolves game pack has been one of the best DLCs the game has produced. Appealing to fans of occult Sims, Werewolves introduced the ability for a Sim to transform into a werewolf, with fully customizable options in Create-A-Sim.

In addition to the aesthetic creativity Werewolves brought to the game, players are able to choose unique traits like enhanced senses for a Sim. Something that continues to make The Sims 4 gameplay exciting thanks to Werewolves is its feature of unpredictable temperaments that affect werewolf Sims during werewolf form, as well as their Lunar Cycle, which impacts their abilities according to the phases of the moon.

2020

Released in 2020, Eco Lifestyle was a successful expansion pack for The Sims 4 because of all the gameplay features and systems it introduced. Featuring a variety of interaction opportunities based around a player’s choices, Eco Lifestyle offered activities like using renewable energy, reducing waste, and participating in a community effort to keep the industrial neighborhood of Evergreen Harbor green and clean.

Another feature in Eco Lifestyle that still enhances gameplay in The Sims 4 today is its Fabrication skill, where players can have a Sim upscale items using eco-friendly materials. Eco Lifestyle to this day improves the overall gameplay experience of The Sims 4 due to its abundance of interactive features based on choice and consequence.

7 Experience Super Stardom In Get Famous

2018

The Get Famous expansion pack was released in 2018 and was based on Los Angeles and Hollywood. Get Famous introduced an abundance of new interactive gameplay options based around performance-based jobs, where a player could participate in a clear career progression path for Sims.

The introduction of the Acting career was a welcome addition to The Sims 4, as players could follow a Sim to work in a more creative role, working on building fame. The element of fame quirks and perks provide an interesting gameplay experience where players can have Sims work on their reputation as they become famous, which makes for some unpredictable gameplay options, hence enhancing the gameplay of The Sims 4.

6 Strengthen Your Sims’ Relationships With Growing Together

2023

Released in 2023, The Sims 4: Growing Together introduced more life simulator elements to the game, enhancing its core themes. Family dynamics became more developed with customizable milestones and relationship preferences, with new interactions like family reunions and better opportunities for family bonding.

More activities were introduced to childhood and elder Sims to make each stage of a Sims life more impactful, and the overall storytelling of the game became more enhanced. Arguably, Growing Together introduced many life simulator gameplay features that should probably have originally been in The Sims 4 base game already, but the addition of these was better late than never.

5 Get Spooked With Paranormal

2021

Although it is only a Stuff Pack, Paranormal provides a lot of bang for players’ bucks in The Sims 4. Exciting fans of the occult elements The Sims 4 can offer, Paranormal introduced a number of haunting gameplay features that make the game just that little bit more interesting.

A beautiful vintage aesthetic was introduced to the game in both Build and Create-A-Sim mode, as well as Haunted House Residential lot types, ghost interactions, and the nostalgic return of Bonehilda. What made Paranormal really stand out is its Live Mode feature, where a Sim can become scared because of a house’s haunts, allowing for unpredictable reactions and gameplay.

4 Experience The Hustle And Bustle With City Living

2016

Elevating the gameplay of The Sims 4, City Living arrived as an expansion pack for the game in 2016. Introducing the city of San Myshuno, the expansion pack provided the addition of apartment living, which added gameplay features like rental constraints and a variety of lot traits.

Festivals were introduced with City Living, as Sims can attend events like the Spice Festival or GeekCon where they can participate in numerous interactive activities. City Living also added careers in Politics and Social Media, providing a little bit more depth to the gameplay in The Sims 4.

3 Unleash Your Witchy Side With Realm Of Magic

2019

Scratching an itch for fans of witchcraft, Realm of Magic was a very welcome addition to The Sims 4 in 2019. Introducing The Magic Realm, a beautiful floating world akin to Diagon Alley, Spellcasters were welcomed into The Sims 4 along with a roleplaying system.

Sims could learn spellcasting abilities and improve their skills while collecting new magical items, while the expansion pack introduced a variety of new Build and Create-A-Sim mode items. For players of The Sims who enjoy dabbling in the occult, Realm of Magic still provides endless gameplay as a Spellcaster in The Sims 4 between its timeless furniture and clothing items as well as its enchanting world and gameplay features.

2 Vampires Has A Timeless World Of Darkness

2017

One of the most interesting gameplay additions to The Sims 4 was Vampires, which was released in 2017. Not only did the expansion pack introduce some of the most beautiful furniture and clothing items ever in The Sims franchise, but its interactive gameplay features were some of the best to be seen in the game.

For supernatural enthusiasts, Vampires offered detailed gameplay surrounding vampire lore and included the spooky neighborhood of Forgotten Hollow, as well as the beloved and iconic character of Vladislaus Straud. Still to this day, Vampires enhances The Sims 4 with its beautiful decorative items but also its very clear vampire progression path, with the ability to eventually reverse it all if a player desires.

1 Embrace Living And Beyond With Life & Death

2024

After 10 years of The Sims 4 and with many content add-ons released over the years, it was time for an expansion pack to revive the game – and this is exactly what Life & Death has done. The newest addition to The Sims 4 and released only recently on October 31, 2024, Life & Death has truly enhanced the gameplay of The Sims 4 with its generous amount of brand-new content and features.

Because The Sims is ultimately a life simulator game, its gameplay is based around the core theme of life and death, but it wasn’t until the release of this expansion pack that these features of the gameplay were truly represented in a meaningful, impactful way. Life & Death has introduced a brand-new world containing three neighborhoods as well as a broad variety of new clothing and furniture items, but its new gameplay features are what makes it stand out as an expansion pack.

Funerals, customizable tombstones and urns, and memorial gatherings have been introduced, as well as two new and exciting careers, as a Reaper and an Undertaker. As if these new features weren’t enough, Life & Death has also introduced the option to play as a ghost, create a ghost in Create-A-Sim, a new Bucket List as well as a four-stage grieving system, enhancing the emotional depth of The Sims 4 and ultimately elevating the gameplay to a whole new level.

Over the last 10 years of The Sims 4 being the core game in The Sims franchise, an evolution has been seen throughout its add-on content releases. It’s fair to say that the game’s supernatural content packs seem to enhance The Sims 4‘s gameplay the most, though packs like Growing Together, Get Famous and City Living have provided fundamental life simulator features that have made The Sims 4 more exciting.

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