I find it SHOCKING how empty the new world is. Even for EA it's unbelievable. Why even bother designing such a nice looking café, dock and subway if there's no reason for players to be near them in game? Why not make the subway a way to travel between the worlds? Even putting a food stall near the café or a fishing spot at the dock- hell throw a tree house or a chess table somewhere- anything would have been better than it being completely barren
My personal theory is that they were only given so much time to develop the pack and spent more of that time on the gameplay aspect and the infants rather than worry too much about the world or the cas/build assets (mind you this is not me saying it's bad because it's very nice stuff it's just less than we get with normal EP's) this may or may not be true but it's just what I could gather as a legit reason why the world is SO empty
@@coltondean2709 so basically, EA is greedy and the gurus are incompetent. Honestly though (and this is more directed to OP), name 1 world in The Sims 4 that doesn't feel empty. It's all a backdrop. There is barely anything to do on any of these worlds. And what's even more annoying is that AI for the sims 4 is extremely stupid, just trying to start a conversation with passers-by is frustrating.
@@ember9361 it's so embarassing, and this stupid "they need to make money!!" when a complete version of the game is 1000+ dollars. I don't understand why people are so desperate to defend a 30 billion dollar company that is famous for being awful.
@@moonfish3638 fr, the sims was pretty much the only game I could play throughout my teens since I couldn't afford a good computer and my parents were very strict with what I was allowed to buy and play, so my concept of how much money games should cost was very warped for a long time. It was only after I got a good computer and downloaded steam in college that I became absolutely horrified by ts4 prices. I used to think that the EP-GP-SP build your bundle for 60 was on the pricy side but worth it but it's freaking ridiculous and a straight up scam!!! You know what else is 60? Elden Ring, The Spiderman games, Resident Evil 4, all fully fleshed out games that have been praised to hell and back. On top of that the amount of Indie, non Triple A and older titles you could get with 60 could last you a year of pure gameplay, it honestly can't sound anymore ridiculous to pay for DLC the same price as multiple full games just to make ts4 playable. I don't even buy games over 15 anymore unless I have a really good reason and It's insane to me just looking at how much I spent on ts4. Growing together is a pack I'd love to play with but it is NOT worth 40, heck even 20 is too much, I could buy 4+ fully fleshed out games I've been putting off with that kind of money. A game should never reach a point where DLC goes anywhere near the 4 digit territory, heck you've already messed up if you need 200 in DLC just to make a 40 game worth playing.
Exactly! I see this sentiment in fan bases among artists and also here with gaming companies or companies that produce tv shows, it’s weird parasocial delusion, they’re giving you a product for your money, they want your business, they’re not your friend or doing you a favor like you’re paying them for this lol
Exactly because what's the point of Parenthood when they threw an expansion pack like this? I feel like Get together, parenthood, and this pack should ahve been combine, buts that's EA greedy ass.
I mean, I don’t think it makes any sense if parenthood got an update, which is a growing together I mean you could say it does but if I’m not wrong, I think parenthood is about emotions than more about family
What annoys me about this pack, apart from the underwhelming world, BB and lack of shoes, is that they designed a changing table to match the base game crib! Makes me think it was meant to be in the base game update but they changed their mind.
The world being so barren is a huge letdown. Looking at the pier area, it looks like it would be such a nice spot for a seasonal festival. Perfect for something like a craft fair -- I was picturing there being a long row of vendor stalls, and Sims could shop there, or crafty Sims could rent a stall and sell their Nifty Knitting merch, or their woodwork, or their cupcakes... but alas. :(
I miss seasonal festivals, meet and greets, grill a thon's, chess tournaments. I can't stand the flea market!!!! There's so many things that would make S4 more fun. I'm not sure if it was summer 20 or 21, for one week in Willow Creek Magnolia Blossom park there was a concert in the park where tents were put up NPC stars would perform! It was kinda fun and cute but they took it away.
Exactly! The pier could've had a seasonal craft festival and a menu-popup style ice cream shop. Those are both simple additions that we already have coding for and it would've made all that pretty decoration actually worth it. And popping in just a couple more fishing spots and park items randomly throughout the world would've made a big difference. Honestly they could've just added the new lots and townies without the world. I'm definitely getting the pack soon because of the gameplay but I do think the world is pointless bullshit.
Festivals, rotating outdoor markets, usable boats/boat tours/fishing excursions, usable subway (SINCE THEY PUT IN A STATION FOR CRYING OUT LOUD), thrift shops, an aquarium to learn about the seaside/marine life, "historic walks" with signposts pointing to important locations, heck a freaking haunted house or ghost tour, candy-making shops, glassblowing artists - LITERALLY ALL THINGS that you find in a coastal town that they have the EXISTING PROGRAMMING to use and implement. And they RELEASED AN EMPTY PIER. ; . ;
Does anyone else feel like tweens would have made more sense as a new life stage? Like, babies needed to be more interactive, but going from baby to toddler was way less weird than going from a child of about 6 or 7 straight to looking basically like an adult as a teen. They obviously chose infant because it meant they had to make waaaaaay less new animations for a little baby. If they'd made tweens there would have been sims of a new height and size to animate for, for every single object in the game
feel the same they could at least adjust the hight of teens its just wierd that they look like young adults. But of course that would mean adjusting the cas clothes!
I’ve been thinking this. I feel like they should have just updated the babies and the new life stage could be pre teens. But it would be less work doing infants cause really there’s only so much they can do and they just had to resize the toddlers lol
Yup. I think a majority of gameplay additions should be free... It's shocking we have to pay for stuff like weather, laundry, pets and stuff like baby changing tables. Paying for stuff like Get Famous or Jungle Adventure makes sense... but ordinary life stuff? No If laundry was free they could just made a kit revolving around it to get some profit at release. And then we also could have gotten new laundry items from future packs. But no... We're stuck with the same laundry items forever because they lock everything behind a paywall
@@AgentDigits Exactly those things should be free, but if they aren't going to make them free the least they could do is make the packs more content rich. Like Growing together could have had retirement homes, imaginary friends, and a daycare job. Also things like Parenthood and Knifty Knitting could have been included in this pack instead of being separate. If they are going to make us pay for things that should be free the least they could do is give us a lot of it and make it fleshed out. We could have a vacation expansion pack that would be Island Living, Outdoor Retreat, and Snowy Escape all in one expansion pack. Instead each of those packs feel like they are lackluster even if I enjoy the few things they do have.
@@AgentDigits That definitely seems to be the biggest issue with how they did Sims 4, all the new gameplay mechanics they develop get locked behind a new pay wall, so they can't expand on any of them in future packs. Can't have new active careers because those go with Get to Work. Can't Have new club features, those are Get Together. Can't have new cities with festivals, that's a city living thing. Etc. It's so annoying.
@@alicine-sims8988 that Get together part, clubs probably should’ve been a base game feature for long term purposes. Like I always wondered why werewolves have those two different wolf pack options but not a way to make your own. If they didn’t box themselves in with this setup they could’ve just made those two wolf packs into clubs and added some new club settings/features that are werewolf related. Same for vampires and witches to make covens and stuff. Plus they could’ve added in 1-2 clubs for some of the other expansion worlds and their characters like a beach treasure hunt club for sulani, an actual Fan club where they can select 1 celebrity (or a band) to Stan in del sol valley and the sims in that club will primarily be the fans seen around the celebrity when out and about, Ect. There are just so many issues with this game that could be fixed if they went back to most of their packs fixed buggs, made certain features base game and reworked others it may even encourage players who haven’t yet to buy them. Or just a color wheel for cas and build mode I’ll never complain about the game again
i think because engagement is not strong enough compared to a spouse. people can be engaged and suddenly breakup. they're not even officially a family yet. spouses can divorce, but divorce is kinda more difficult to do, and they're already a family. idk, personally i dont consider a person who was engaged to my family member but broke up the engagement as a family member, (they're kinda come and go, because yeah engagement can be broken before marriage), but i still think of a person who broke up with my relatives as at least they were a family member.
@@second_second_ Nowdays there are so many couples who decide not to marry but still they have been together for a lot of years and sometimes they live together and have children, so it's unrealistic that you can't set family dynamics
2:05 You mention that characteristics clash with traits like having an active characteristic but the lazy trait. This is because the characteristic menu isn't actually YOUR characteristics, but instead ones that your Sim likes or dislikes (depending on your selection) in other sims. So if in CAS your lazy sim selects the happy smiley face under active that means even though they're not active, they like those who are. Great review as always just wanted to clarify that!
I was going to say this and I think it makes sense. I made a sim and although she isn't ambitious, her husband is, so I made her like ambitious sims. It adds to the depth of gameplay and I'm happy Sims don't auto like other sims who are exactly like them.
Yes, but at same time he underestimate stuff saying things like "its just line of codes and new texts". Isnt all games just lines of codes ? You achive things and unlock stuff. Its and expasion not a new game with totally new gameplay functions.
@@augusto7681 Yes, but it's an very SMALL expansion for $50, which is twice the price of a full brand new full featured game on other platforms, which have a LOT more content and depth to them, and very few bugs. The Sims 4 never got out of Alpha state in reality. And what he means by 'it's just code' is that it's just code that puts writing on the screen here and there, saying "Congratuations! Your Sim achieved this!", without actual gameplay where you actually have to do something for it. And other coding is just copied and pasted into a slightly different use (see the game tables, which were already there - they just had to add a some new graphics and words to it), (see the walking thing - copied and pasted code from the skiing retreat). And most of the other functions are kind of adaptations of already existing stuff: sleeping bags from already existing beds, the massively overused 'party' code copied and pasted to death. Some new features such as bike riding, the tree house, teeth losing, mid-live crisis, and the infant related stuff are new - that's good, but it it an $50 expansion pack worth of functionality? Short answer: definitely NO! The relationship stuff is also good, but it should have been there in the base game, like it was for all the other iterations of the Sims. In typical EA style they just added code to make stuff look good. The world is a direct symbol of the game - mostly window-dressing to make it look good and very little actual functionality. Not really surprising for EA - more dumbed down lackluster content aimed at 10 year olds. And this is probably the most functional expansion pack they've added to The Sims 4 to date, because EA are now getting their finger out because they have up and coming competition. Satch's review is actually the best, most honest, review on RUclips. He isn't a game-changer, meaning that he's not ridiculously sucking up to EA with false rubbish like lilsimsie and the other EA influencers do, "Awww...that's so CUTE!! Blah, blah, suck, suck", with not a criticism in sight. And he's not hating everything about the packs unnecessarily either, like a couple other RUclipsrs. Kudos to him. It's a balanced review, and those are very rare. The RUclipsr I have always trusted is Carl's Guides. He's been around for about as long as The Sims has, and he has a great website guide for The Sims games and is always been completely honest in his reviews. But he's more and more silent these days, except for his game fixing mod. He hasn't put out a review yet and he seems less and less interested in doing so these days.
I don't think some of them are fearful to criticise EA, I think they're just excited because as he said in the video it's going to really appeal to a certain kind of player.
The only channel I trust for Sims reviews nowadays! You never disappoint, Satch! You and Cindy (Pleasant Sims) are the only Sims content creators that I trully like (even if she doesn't do The Sims right now, she's amazing!)
I think you nailed it when you said that you couldn't find a theme, that it looked like an enhanced version of the base game. This pack is an update/upgrade of the base game. It doesn't have toilets because we already have enough of them. Lots of stuff, including CAS, reminds me of older versions of Sims. I quit playing about a year ago because I got bored with gameplay. Watching you and others to see if this adds enough to come back.
I’m big on cc but haven’t really tried much mods over the years. I quit playing the sims for years and came back as this pack caught my eye but am bitterly disappointed. Are there any mods you’d recommend??
@@Wendipops I'm like you, mostly CC and essential mods like TwistedMExi,, Tool mod, Better Buildbuy I tried Meaningful stories and that helped a little. Carl of Carl's guides has fixed some of the packs like Dine Out. I have played since SIms1 and really enjoyed playing until 4. I like the building, but get too frustrated playing families. And now I am getting my building fix with House Flipper, so when my hard drive died a year ago, I just never reinstalled Sims 4. Good luck.
I am a family player so I did get the pack, but it's so accurate that this should have been basegame. I feel like we're all addicted to this drug, and because there's no legit sources to get it we're getting the back alley supply while wishing we could have better.
It's so sad that there aren't other life sim games like The Sims. I'm REALLY hoping that Life By You is amazing. Won't hold my breath, but I'll definitely be tuning in on March 20th.
@@metalbabee Truly. The style of Life By You isn't really my style from what I've seen, so I am betting my hope on Paralives. I am really stoked both of them are on the horizon, even if far, because boy do EA need to sweat a bit.
@@metalbabee Yeah, I was excited to hear it was a former The Sims producer! So cool. Even if it is early dev it seems they're going into more of Sims 3 direction (hopefully better tho), a bit more realism styled, while I am more into the more cartoony style of Sims 4.
@@littlejoh713 yeah TS3 graphics are a little too realistic for my liking, but it's fun to play! TS2 graphics is the perfect mixture of cartoony and realistic imo, but it's my favorite Sims game, so I'm obviously biased haha. TS4 is lacking too many fundamental elements for my play style though, so even though it's really pretty, I'm just a builder and sometimes go to CAS because they did those really well! I can get over graphics, but I cannot get over bad/lacking gameplay!
@@metalbabee Honestly understandable. I think in terms of just playing the game I was so in love with Sims 3, but I absolutely hated the art style. I still play Sims 4 religiously because I just like that type of game but I have a good amount of mods and I have to make up for the shortcomings of the game by "pretending" a lot on my end.
I swear the sims mod community is literally holding this franchise together. The whole pack just wonderful whims, mod babies and activities on base game.
The mod community might be part of thr problem, ironically. Like if modders are going in and easily fixing things, what's the point of the devs doing their jobs in the first place? I appreciate modders, truly, but they kind of encourage laziness. 😅
@@BrightWulph Modders only exist because Sims 4 lacks personality and love 😬 There’s a reason why there’s so many mods for relationships, babies, family dynamics, etc. These simply do not exist in Sims 4 and if they do (this pack), it’s not worth paying $40 just for these functions. It’s better to download mods for them and arguably the mods are better than the official Sims version most of the time.
this is why it's important to watch multiple people's reviews. you gave the CAS a 9/10, but everyone else i've seen talk about the pack says it was disappointing because No Shoes or whatever. listen, i'm just relieved that the baby carrier wasn't actually a cas-exclusive item like the leaks suggested
@@amandaham7571 didn't say it was base game, just said it wasn't CAS. it's a game mechanic in GT, but some leaks implied that the carriers would be CAS items
Is anyone noticing that if u start a family with toddlers and infants after the base game update, when you get the pack the infants already have their milestones and can do everything?
Yes. Because milestones are only part of the pack. Basically if you want to teach your infant to support their head, crawl and stand, you need the pack.
@@LukeAlexander so basically, whatever infant you have created and played before installing the pack will automatically have those milestones, because if you only have the update without GrT infants instantly learn those things. You need the pack for infants to be taught to do those things. Basically why the infants update was lackluster.
Thank you for the overview, I’m so tired of these over hyped Sims videos where these game changers lie and make it seem like everything is perfect. We need more folk like you telling it like it is. I wonder why EA does not reach out to content creators as yourselves and ask what can we fix about this game 🤨
I agree it’s good to get multiple perspectives but I don’t think it’s fair to say other simmers are lying. Players who play a lot of legacy challenges and family gameplay, this could be genuinely be their favorite pack. If that’s not your jam, then it might not appeal to everyone. You can have a different opinion without assuming everyone who likes it is lying.
@@ShannonRose99 agree with your sentiments here, but this is not the whole truth. A lot of reviewers leave out many of the great criticism made in this video. Everything looks nice on the surface, but as soon as you look into it in a more detailed way you realize how much is missing/ doesn't work right. And all this valid criticism is never included in most game changers reviews. Many actually sugar cote things majorly. You see just how much, when they review packs they already reviewed in the past again nowadays. All of a sudden they can mention shortcomings and faults in the pack that they completely left out in the past. 🙄
Honestly, they’re not lying. It’s two sides of the same coin. They highlight the positives and whisper the negatives and Satch highlights the negatives and whispers the positives. I think you need both to be objective. I mean I played both Sims 2 and Sims 3 lately and when they came out and they are nowhere near as seamless as everyone keeps saying they are. It’s easy to hate on the current and remember fondly the past. Though there are a lot of Sims 4 flaws, we will see how everyone feels when Sims 5 comes out.
I definitely feel you but I’m a normal person who paid for the pack and I really enjoy it because family gameplay is my main type of gameplay. I don’t think they’re lying, I think it just varies by person. I do agree the world is EXTREMELY underwhelming
Basically, you pay £40 for babies - and a treehouse! They should have just combined Growing Together with Parenthood as one pack! Edit: If they expanded on sleepover and baby shower stuff adding things like gender (or life state) reveals with either party poppers, a cake or fireworks each with a different colour (blue, pink, green - for aliens, etc), children messing around at sleepovers e.g. watching horror films, waking parents, and stealing snacks from the fridge. Also, the ability for adult/elder sims tend to sick Sims with soup or ice cream - along with hot chocolate/lemonade at sleepovers - with teenagers having the opportunity to "sneak some nectar" to their friends. Also the water park should have slides and a surf station - not just some fountains. That'll make up for the price!
I think the build/buy stuff is eclectic for a reason. Most homes have some sort of "hand me down" furniture in addition to newer modern pieces. I think some of the things they added are supposed to be heirloom pieces that are in a conemporary family home. Or items to decorate the grand parent's rooms in a multi generational contemporary home. I am most excited about the modern bath/shower combo.
I thought I created a Sim with a conflicting personality for most Sims, but weirdly she has the best compatibility with everyone she met and I don‘t actually buy it. Also I created a distant family dynamic for her and her sister, but they are best friends and get along so well. What I also noticed is that I got a sleepover help for my infant and when my Sim went to work, my infant was highly neglected. My sleepover guest didn‘t do anything, not even cooking all the time, like I expected. EDIT: Since my Sim is a scientist and a happy Single I wanted to explore the Sience baby and I don‘t get a baby-milestone which is really sad. Even tho we adopt or get help with the baby making process, it‘s still their child and really loved.
I want a Miami themed city so much!😭 Give us the Latin influence, the retro style and colors, the beach-side apartments, the clubs and beach activities. Things Get Famous should of had. San Sequoia is so sad looking 😂 I just finished the video and totally agree, this feels like a gamepack to me as well, not an expansion. I wanted more systems and complexity added to the game but we get like two or three systems which is great but they arent that complex. Besides that, what did we get? A shit world with puzzles anddd.. a treehouse? Just like you, I dont do family gameplay anymore. I dont even want children irl so I could care less about infants in this game. Can we have a pack where we can just fuck our sims lives up, like a soap opera drama pack?
Now that I've actually watched the video, yes I agree with you, it's for sure best for people who love family gameplay, but I'm definitely one of those people and I really liked it. But you're right. It feels cash grabby when most of this stuff existed in the Sims 2 and 3 base game. I am happy with the pack myself, but I do agree most of this stuff SHOULD have been included in the base game update. Love your videos I almost always agree ❤️
As a follow up comment since I've had another thought about the pack since I posted my first comment - the milestones/memories!! They're locked behind a pack now? They were BASE GAME in 2&3, and now you have to purchase a pack for them?? That's suuuuch a rip off. I'm happy to have them now don't get me wrong but that should have been part of the base game update.
So I don’t think the ability to have different characteristic likes and traits is a problem at all - you can absolutely be lazy and still admire/like spending time with people who are active. Maybe you feel they challenge you and get you moving when you wouldn’t otherwise. You’ll just need to find active Sims that like other Sims who are sedentary - maybe they find you relaxing - instead of active Sims looking for other active Sims to go mountain climbing with them 🤣
Also traits can change with this pack and your lazy sim might become active from admiring active sims and being around them all the time. This is the kind of gameplay this game has needed for a long time.
This may be an unpopular opinion, but I don’t mind rabbit holes. I would much rather the new world have lots of rabbit holes in addition to the movies, like a cafe on the docks or a harbour tour or shops/food shops or inside kids playroom. Than it just having nothing to do. Much like the high school pack I wasn’t bothered about, I would rather have more options like boarding schools like sims 3, than have the option to go to school with a teen 😊
Rabbit holes are good in adding depth while not being too resource-heavy to develop, so they often come out much more bug-clean. I think it's a nice middle ground between players wanting the most gameplay out of their penny and devs being limited by budget and time
Yeah, I agree. If the gameplay isn't particularly interesting, I don't mind having it abstracted into a rabbit hole experience. And the point about bugs is spot on. For example, it's much quicker in Sims 3 to go to a restaurant rabbit hole rather than try to have a sit-down dining experience. Same with movies. I'd rather just send them in the rabbit hole than have routing issues and stomping/complaining.
I think this is the problem with EA, they’re so lazy that consumers rather have something rather than nothing or glitchy gameplay which is wrong… EA should give us both gameplay and gameplay that works, like that should just be the standard
As someone for whom TS2 is the gold standard, this pack makes me very happy because, like you said, it feels very TS2. I understand how that play style is not for every summer though and I can see how it would feel lackluster for a non family simmer.
i absolutely appreciate your brutal honesty! $40 is not cheap and you give us the opportunity to decide if it’s worth waiting for a pack to go on sale or not
I love your honest reviews. So far what I have seen, I love. The fact that my child brought home a school drawing. Ugh the little things. There could have definitely been more BB items, and the world be more interesting.
I love the organic personality traits and that they can be swapped for opposite traits through gameplay. I've always wanted and voted in surveys for this feature, so I feel like they're listening to me. Thanks, Sims 4 team!
Thank you so much for your brutally honest reviews, Satch. This is exactly what I need in order to decide whether a pack is for me or not. I've been hyped for this one because it caters to my needs as a family/personal storyteller player BUT I love seeing not only what's new and shiny, but the negatives as well. Also love your sense of humour, literally every video of yours has me cackling with joy. Thanks much and please keep being brutally honest mate 💕
"sex reveal parties" are a new idea from USA (gender reveal party) from the late 2000s and have not been a fundamental part of having a baby for very long and pending on the country you're in it's not a thing at all. We don't even have a translation for it in my language. I'm pleased they didn't implement it and stuck to baby showers. As always, I appreciate your brutally honest review. Without having played it I did think the world seemed empty but I think many worlds are? I'm a family player so I think I'd enjoy this but I do agree with many of your thoughts and don't think it's worth the full price so I might wait for a sale.
I think that's kind of why I'd like the option to have it more. It's a new thing and would reflect the modernity of this game. Of course, knowing EA it would probably be just as poorly done as other events but I think it would be neat. Like it could be a way to find out whether you're having a boy or girl or twins etc without waiting until they're born or using cheats.
@@sheerechoes It's not modern to me because it's not a thing here and if it's chaos in the game it would just represent the irl stuff since they've caused fires and such catastrophes. Expanding on a doctor's career would have been nice, like a midwife career so we could have sims go there and find out about their pregnancy. It's like the daycare career he mentioned and I agree there should have been more careers with the expansion.
@@lochpearled just because some gender reveal parties have gone wrong doesn’t mean it’s okay to classify them all the same way 🤣 I mean don’t you think terrible shit has happened in regular parties or concerts or festivals?
@@lochpearled wasn’t that only one gender reveal party? There are a lot of shootings and stabbing and other crimes that happen at birthdays way more frequently that gender reveals but it doesn’t mean we can’t have them in game plus the idea of gender reveal parties may be new and modern but the gender of the baby has always been an exciting part of pregnancy since the beginning of time not because of the gender but because you find out more about someone that you’re yet to know and other many other cultures other than America have embraced gender reveal parties so it would be cool to have them in game
the 90's family sitcom influence over the visuals of the pack is so cute, i wish the world was more fleshed out (not being able to live near family in a family-themed pack is crazy 😭)
The new social interaction menu is so good BUT I've noticed I can't find any kind of job-related or missions or event goals and stuff in there, it makes events and home jobs so annoying
SatchonSims, SimYim, FakeGamerGirl, and SimmerErin are my favorite new* RUclips simmers. They aren't close to the people who work on the Sims, so they don't feel the need to sugarcoat or excuse the more lackluster parts of the games and packs, and they speak their mind about the game and give criticism, both constructive and also just calling them out. I love it! Also, you can tell they LOVE the Sims, and they aren't random non-Sims gamers popping out of nowhere to yell about the game. They play the Sims, played the other Sims titles, and are holding the Sims 4 to the standard that The Sims franchise itself created. Anyway, that's all lmao, keep keeping on
I think world should have been something else, they probably made a willow creek type of world just to follow the trend of a new world with each expansion pack, and thus didn’t put much thought into it, sticking with the usual themes, and hoping that the new gameplay features would be enough to satisfy players so the world wouldn’t be a problem. I don’t think it would be best implemented for this pack, but I’m hoping at some point they’ll add a desert world. I know we have oasis springs, and strangerville, I guess. But I’m thinking more along the lines of something very sparse with not many lots, maybe another game pack like jungle adventure but in a desert with pyramids and an actual oasis. Maybe very few defined paths, giving the game a more open-world feel, like a lot of people want. And it would be appropriate for EA in the sense of them liking big worlds with not much to actually do in them. They could make it potentially quite dangerous; sinking into sand, sandstorms that will cause sims to get lost, allowing search parties to be sent out, failing would result in the sim overheating to death or dehydrating.
i will never understand why the sims people act like they spend so much time and effort making these constantly underwhelming packs 1. the sims 4 alone has made over a billion dollars 2. these packs are damn near the cost of a whole complete game its wild people defend this practice
Thank you so much for this review! Everything you have said about this pack was exactly what I had a feeling it was going to be when I saw the trailer and read the description. As you said, they should have refreshed Parenthood with this content or added it into the base game.
I appreciate this review Satch! I am totally on the same page that nothing is ground breaking, not even the world which literally looks like another neighborhood in Willow Creek. Certainly not worth almost $60 Canadian! I'm a builder/game play player leaning more towards builder and honestly even the build items this pack has to offer are either lame, for the community center, or CC does it better anyway!
I haven’t played it yet but I saw that “More traits in CAS” broke badly and the modders struggle to fix it, and it made me sad. I liked modeling sims’ personalities with the tools I already had at hand.
@@alexasalas6189 no. They have released a temporary fix today for people who want to keep playing with their pre-update saves, so that their sims with more traits don’t glitch or smth. However, we still cannot add more traits in CAS for newly created sims like before. We have to wait and hope they can find a solution. As far as I understand the problem, EA made 5 traits in CAS paywalled with this new pack, so the modders need time to find a workaround. It’s shallow from EA to just add a long-existed feature from a free mod to their game as a new paid feature 🥺
@@Kyokka paywall? As far as I understand Growing Together doesn’t allow you to have 5 traits. EA changed a LOT of code in the update, some for the better, some not so much. It’s currently just a struggle to get the mod to work with the new code.
@@BaeCat872 yeah, I’ve finally got to CAS and see there are still only 3 traits for a new sim… Waiting till the amazing mod creators fix it. I hope they will
I'm a fan of how straightforward and unbiased your reviews are. Since I was always interested in the individualism and interpersonal relationship side of that game, I'm thinking of maaaybe buying the pack if it's on sale and if I grow back some interests in the sims.
oh you’re definitely right, it’s like an essential addition to basegame and that is why i bought it. it has some lovely stuff in it but definitely should have come with more to do and see, or just been classified as a game pack. luckily for me i’m living in japan so bc of the currency exchange i got it for £10 cheaper than I would have back home, or i’m not sure if i would have rationalised it as easily..
one of my favorite part of the packs are the worlds, carrers, traits, skills, and aspirations. we only got aspirations for child sims and that was it. a hiking or power walking type of skill would have been nice with a wilderness carrer or even something simple like a dentist but theres none of that... even though seasons didnt even come with a world it still feels way better than growing together and i feel that without growing together things like infants will be lacking. love the super honest reviews!
Rating is so valid. EA is just getting away with making this subpar pack because everyone will buy it because it adds basic stuff that people feel like they need to play. It’s not fair but people will pay because it gives everyone the base game they always wanted.
So, I would pay...$5 for this EP. I am not surprised at how much this whole update and EP just another cash-grabby ploy. Base game infants have no skills or milestones and just rocket out of bassinet and automatically know how to crawl? So frustrating. I am a huge family, legacy player and I really want the social features and milestones and while I can afford it, it's not worth my cold hard cash for $40. -That's saying a lot. I have a semi-disposable income and I question even buying it when it goes 50% off.
I actually like how random it is! As a person with a kid and scattered af house and so-called design scheme in real life it's very appropriate. Especially when I was first it and on my own nothing matched it was just different things donated from family members. It's kind of fitting to have a scattered pack for a pack about sharing as scattered as family
I couldn‘t contain myself and bought it immediately, but when you can wait I would suggest you would get it on sale. Like Satch said, it isn‘t really worth the money and it angers me that they picked the most expensive pack for this one, since it doesn‘t come with that much. They just knew it would be a best seller and wanted the money.
Thank you Satch! You bring up a lot of good points. I was very excited about this pack but then I found out that a baby change table is locked and decided not to buy it. Your points help solidify my decision. 😅 As a new IRL mom, I can’t be spending R650.00 on a game especially if I’m only able to play once every week or 2. ❤🎉
The only thing that really bugs me about this pack is lack of apartments. It could’ve easily been implemented and would’ve made a lot of simmers happy.
Remember, you can’t spell “Steal” without an EA. They’d slap a $40 price tag on a pack that lets you chew bubble gum if they wanted. You convinced me not to buy this one and you earned my sub. Thank you
I have been playing only for 2 hours and only can speak for the infants and CAS and BB mode, so far I am curious and pleasantly surprised. Outfits and build mode is disappointing for me - like you said, they are nice individually, but don't make sense together. Almost like they are tossing random objects they created earlier and have done already. I haven't explored the town yet. I have been playing with my newborn/infant and it is so engaging and realistic as a family/legacy gamer I love it! Love the quirks, aspirations, skills and the fact that they are more needy than newborns/toddlers before. Can't wait to play more, but I know it will become boring soon, as after a couple of generations everything gets boring. This SHOULD HAVE been base game
Why can't they just put a bunch of rabbit holes around the neighborhood? The subway could be used to travel, the fake lots could be where you order groceries or "purchase" clothes from CAS, etc. Even putting random vending machines around would help.
I don’t get how they couldn’t make that cafe, if they didn’t want it as a lot, at least into a rabbit hole as well. I mean I know some people would complain but I’d rather have some limited interaction than none at all
Honestly I really love this pack and the world, I've played it for hours and the only things I've found that really bug me are how there's like nothing to do in the world and idk about anyone else but there are NO sims walking around in my world like ever. It's like a ghost town
Thanks satch, I’m probably going to wait half the year or longer til the pack is available on sale…for some reason I thought there would be more, and I got a little confused with what’s in the update and what had to be bought (diaper pales aren’t in the update and get thrown on the floor, it’s infuriating). There’s way too much that should have been in the update and I can’t justify paying full price for what, of course, should have been in the update. Wish they would have gone with “growing together” as in daycares AND retirement homes..
I wonder if this was meant for base game but EA realized they could separate it from infants, add a basic new world, and some build buy to make an extra £30.
I was never excited for this, but I’m upset they didn’t add ballet/dance classes for kids. It was in the sims 2 (never played 3 so idk) and is a major part of a lot of kid’s childhoods. There should be kids sports too. I didn’t know a single kid growing up who wasn’t enrolled in ballet, baseball, softball, soccer, etc!!
I am honestly glad you got access to even review the pack. I am literally playing with the base game infant update because my growing together pack will not show. I have it. The damn app says I have it and it will not show 😒 nothing like a forced EA app that doesn't work. 😢
Idc if it's almost 6am for me but I got to get this out my system. I was building until like 1 am going into 2am and close to the end I was like "oh I would like to see the family interact with what I had build for a bit". I get into live mode and they are literally not moving. Then one of the kids floating and at one point I exited out and came back and the dang baby basically teleported to the second floor. Because how they moving if the parents and everybody else are frozen outside. Even the regular sims in the world are busted. The pets as well...🥲 Edit: If you would direct yourself to the replies below removing laundry day from you game is a solution. I just tried it and it worked.
yeah!! i've been noticing and INSANE amount of sims just... breaking. like everything LOOKS great, and when it works it's really fun! BUT i wish my sims could just... walk lmao
@@yuckymushroomss it had me bamboozled when I seen it for the first time because literally since the pack has been out I just been building. Imagine my surprise when I tried to get the sim to pick her baby off of the concrete and she doesn't move. Then I look to the side and her kid is just hovering whilst doing a jumping animation. But at the same time you can hear noises as if they are doing things.🥲😂
If you have any mods in the game, it may cause issues since the update and pack were quite big, would be worth to turn mods off for a bit and see if it changes anything 🤔 I have only CC and the game have worked well so far with the new update and pack.
@@krisse23 unfortunately i've been playing without any mods or cc :') my pc hasn't had any issues since wedding stories, but honestly i think it's just an issue that'll fix itself!(i had this same issue with wedding stories after the update and it ended up just kind of... going away??)
I completely agree!! The pack adds to the base game and I feel should have been something we already had in the game. It doesn't expand on every life stage. Although I do not have it, I have watched a lot of reviews and seen a lot of game play. The BG infants without this pack seems lacking, they are boring and not fun to play with. I wish we at least had the option to teach to crawl/walk instead of them automatically having the ability to do so as infants and then as toddlers. Honestly just wish there was more to do with infants because at this point, they should have just stayed in their bassinet
I like your cut G. (You’re hair cut is really nice. It fits you.) I noticed this pack had an extreme amount of bugs. I cant even play with infants. I like what they we’re trying to do. It just fell short. Definitely game pack material.
Great review as always. Didn't care for this pack to begin with, this review just confirmed my opinion on it. Might download it at some point later when I'm tired of my current families and story lines.
I'm very impressed with your review and I couldn't agree more. Wonderful and honest review! Thank you. You and TheSimYin are spot on. I do however feel like your performance review was a little "nice". If I'm paying $40 for a product, I expect said product to work correctly. I just feel like the Simming community has somehow gotten to the point where we're "okay" with some things working and some things not, thinking "Oh, they'll just fix it later"... Only for there to be a 3 year gap before anything from that pack actually gets attention (if that makes any sense). TS4 is the most expensive game I own, yet it's also the most broken game I own and I would just really like to see some time put into the game fixing what's not working properly rather than dishing out DLC after DLC just for them to be abandoned and never fixed because the money that was to be made on the DLC was already made.
Had a conversation about how we're seeing more and more games being released incomplete, with much less content, and lackluster gameplay because these triple A companies are like "oh we'll just fix it/add it in an update" or "get this DLC to have what should've already been in the game". We shouldn't have to pay full price for games that are worse than their previous iterations and DLC shouldn't cost nearly as much as it does.
21:50 is so true i dont know why the sims community feels like we should be grateful for stuff like that in my country each expansion pack is 60 dollars then you have game packs that are 30 dollars im a customer buying extremely expensive game items and dlc we are already extremely generous to EA as simmers and EA is not a small company by any means they have the resources
if they were just going to remake willow creek, I would've preferred no world and more features like canes, strollers, and daycares also one thing that I haven't seen anyone mention is that pretty much all the lots are 30x20 and the treehouse takes about 1/3 of the lot so you can't even make big family homes. all that empty space and they couldn't make bigger lots?
I've found the pack makes sims a lot lot harder if you play with large families. A lot more stressful and I'm not sure it's enjoyable. It's mich more realistic yes, but I play sims to get away from real life! I would like to see all this as basegame in sims 5 though, it feels like it's all basegame stuff - but knowing how cash grabbing ea is I am happy ish to have paid to get the extra functionality in a game I already own
I know this is an older comment but I just wanted to chime in and say I 100% agree. All of this seems nice in theory but it almost seems like it’s too much and over complicates things. I do think the regular base game is a little bland but it’s nice how it’s relatively straightforward and low stress.
It’ll be quite interesting (for just me) how the sims my childhood family will go. In TS1, my parents divorced and my brother chose to runaway to military school. TS2 everyone stayed, but utter chaos. TS3 mixture of 1 & 2. Pre growing together was boring and they were all friendly. I’m hoping (probably in vain) this pack might be more like how we really are (totally dysfunctional and insane). 😂 Crossing fingers 🤞
Thank you for looking at new packs from the side of being a consumer and getting value for your money vs just overall excitement for being given something "new"
Just wanted to say this is the first video I’ve seen of yours and I’m instantly subbing ❤ Lovely review, thoughtful insight, and a community guideline for posting?! Heck yes sign me up!
I think that we shouldn't have gotten a world. Like with Seasons that has gameplay that effects the whole game, they could have done the same here. I'm sure that if they left out the world and focused more on gameplay it wouldn't feel so much like a GP. The time they spent on naming and designing the world could have been spent adding more things for each age group and new lot types that players can then build. If they wanted to give us a world, then they should have done it as a SDX drop (but they may have abandoned this) or as an update. Heck, even a kit with 2-3 empty worlds would have worked.
Thanks for giving an honest review I bought most of the expansions and at the end I felt empty that i bought sims 3 and it’s expansions 😂 I love these graphics and I was waiting to see if it’s worth it! Did they fixed high school years at the end? Just comparing sims 3 university with sims 4 it’s so sad ! I wish it was a better game I might buy this on sale one day :)
TS3 is my main Sims game now too. And since switching there hasn't been a pack to pull me back into 4. Even with this One, I still prefer Generations over it 😅. The underlying base of the game is also way stronger than 4's. I recently watched a video on the new traits added through gameplay and thought that it was a nice addition until I remembered how little traits matter in gameplay overall in 4 and how little traits we still have nowadays. Eh I'm happy to continue playing 3 for the foreseeable future. 😆
![KAYTRANADA - Witchy (feat. Childish Gambino) [Official Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/jGK3YVmGZ3Y/mqdefault.jpg)
The Sims 4 has taught me the skill of managing my expectations 🙂
Same...
💯
I am a The Sims and Pokémon hardcore player. This is worst than depression
put it on the resume XD☠
💀
"the pack makes The Sims 4 feel like a good base game" NAILED IT
This could've been a pack revamp like the Sims team had intended for other packs ...
so Negative 😂
Well given no other pack has managed that up to now I'd say that makes it a very good pack for a weak base game, not a bad pack.
@@matthewedwardriley i dont think its being negative, i think hes just being very truthful
@@matthewedwardriley Are we supposed to be happy about a bad pack then? orrr what..?
I find it SHOCKING how empty the new world is. Even for EA it's unbelievable. Why even bother designing such a nice looking café, dock and subway if there's no reason for players to be near them in game? Why not make the subway a way to travel between the worlds? Even putting a food stall near the café or a fishing spot at the dock- hell throw a tree house or a chess table somewhere- anything would have been better than it being completely barren
Wonder if modders can add a rabbit hole or figure out how to open it
and this is why modders carry the sims. i know someone will save us soon LOL
Me before video: oh OP is being dramatic
me after: holy frick youre right😡😡
My personal theory is that they were only given so much time to develop the pack and spent more of that time on the gameplay aspect and the infants rather than worry too much about the world or the cas/build assets (mind you this is not me saying it's bad because it's very nice stuff it's just less than we get with normal EP's) this may or may not be true but it's just what I could gather as a legit reason why the world is SO empty
@@coltondean2709 so basically, EA is greedy and the gurus are incompetent. Honestly though (and this is more directed to OP), name 1 world in The Sims 4 that doesn't feel empty. It's all a backdrop. There is barely anything to do on any of these worlds. And what's even more annoying is that AI for the sims 4 is extremely stupid, just trying to start a conversation with passers-by is frustrating.
I love your take: "I do not buy a bag of pencils and feel extremely grateful to the pencil company", the sims is a product and not a cheap one.
literally, and some people kiss ea's feet for whatever they throw at us like girl....
@@ember9361 it's so embarassing, and this stupid "they need to make money!!" when a complete version of the game is 1000+ dollars. I don't understand why people are so desperate to defend a 30 billion dollar company that is famous for being awful.
@@moonfish3638 It's genuinely an illness. Like actual maladaptive delusion, I stg.
@@moonfish3638 fr, the sims was pretty much the only game I could play throughout my teens since I couldn't afford a good computer and my parents were very strict with what I was allowed to buy and play, so my concept of how much money games should cost was very warped for a long time. It was only after I got a good computer and downloaded steam in college that I became absolutely horrified by ts4 prices.
I used to think that the EP-GP-SP build your bundle for 60 was on the pricy side but worth it but it's freaking ridiculous and a straight up scam!!! You know what else is 60? Elden Ring, The Spiderman games, Resident Evil 4, all fully fleshed out games that have been praised to hell and back. On top of that the amount of Indie, non Triple A and older titles you could get with 60 could last you a year of pure gameplay, it honestly can't sound anymore ridiculous to pay for DLC the same price as multiple full games just to make ts4 playable. I don't even buy games over 15 anymore unless I have a really good reason and It's insane to me just looking at how much I spent on ts4.
Growing together is a pack I'd love to play with but it is NOT worth 40, heck even 20 is too much, I could buy 4+ fully fleshed out games I've been putting off with that kind of money. A game should never reach a point where DLC goes anywhere near the 4 digit territory, heck you've already messed up if you need 200 in DLC just to make a 40 game worth playing.
Exactly! I see this sentiment in fan bases among artists and also here with gaming companies or companies that produce tv shows, it’s weird parasocial delusion, they’re giving you a product for your money, they want your business, they’re not your friend or doing you a favor like you’re paying them for this lol
Growing Together could’ve and should’ve been an update to Parenthood and I’ll stand by that
Exactly because what's the point of Parenthood when they threw an expansion pack like this? I feel like Get together, parenthood, and this pack should ahve been combine, buts that's EA greedy ass.
I mean, I don’t think it makes any sense if parenthood got an update, which is a growing together I mean you could say it does but if I’m not wrong, I think parenthood is about emotions than more about family
@@HiemColvin No it's not about emotions wtf
@@Llmoonmoon could’ve replied a while ago
+ I was talking about something
What annoys me about this pack, apart from the underwhelming world, BB and lack of shoes, is that they designed a changing table to match the base game crib! Makes me think it was meant to be in the base game update but they changed their mind.
To my knowledge, the code is actually still in the base game and there is a mod to add the changing table, but I think it's only for patreons atm
@@anemic_moth I think I watched a video or a short from Satch where he reviewed the only current free access base game changing table he could find.
The world being so barren is a huge letdown. Looking at the pier area, it looks like it would be such a nice spot for a seasonal festival. Perfect for something like a craft fair -- I was picturing there being a long row of vendor stalls, and Sims could shop there, or crafty Sims could rent a stall and sell their Nifty Knitting merch, or their woodwork, or their cupcakes... but alas. :(
I miss seasonal festivals, meet and greets, grill a thon's, chess tournaments. I can't stand the flea market!!!! There's so many things that would make S4 more fun. I'm not sure if it was summer 20 or 21, for one week in Willow Creek Magnolia Blossom park there was a concert in the park where tents were put up NPC stars would perform! It was kinda fun and cute but they took it away.
Exactly! The pier could've had a seasonal craft festival and a menu-popup style ice cream shop. Those are both simple additions that we already have coding for and it would've made all that pretty decoration actually worth it. And popping in just a couple more fishing spots and park items randomly throughout the world would've made a big difference. Honestly they could've just added the new lots and townies without the world. I'm definitely getting the pack soon because of the gameplay but I do think the world is pointless bullshit.
@@itkahsramal4983 There is a mod that allows this festival with celebs to happen every Sunday at the same park now!
Festivals, rotating outdoor markets, usable boats/boat tours/fishing excursions, usable subway (SINCE THEY PUT IN A STATION FOR CRYING OUT LOUD), thrift shops, an aquarium to learn about the seaside/marine life, "historic walks" with signposts pointing to important locations, heck a freaking haunted house or ghost tour, candy-making shops, glassblowing artists - LITERALLY ALL THINGS that you find in a coastal town that they have the EXISTING PROGRAMMING to use and implement. And they RELEASED AN EMPTY PIER. ; . ;
Kids selling cupcakes and lemonade like in the older games would be great.
Does anyone else feel like tweens would have made more sense as a new life stage? Like, babies needed to be more interactive, but going from baby to toddler was way less weird than going from a child of about 6 or 7 straight to looking basically like an adult as a teen. They obviously chose infant because it meant they had to make waaaaaay less new animations for a little baby. If they'd made tweens there would have been sims of a new height and size to animate for, for every single object in the game
feel the same they could at least adjust the hight of teens its just wierd that they look like young adults. But of course that would mean adjusting the cas clothes!
@Hallo yeah I feel like it's even weirder now that they are so detailed up to like age 7 or whatever and then straight to looking like an adult lol
Wonder if they'll ever do a tweens stage before sims 5 comes out
they should just fix the teenage life state instead of making a new one
I’ve been thinking this. I feel like they should have just updated the babies and the new life stage could be pre teens. But it would be less work doing infants cause really there’s only so much they can do and they just had to resize the toddlers lol
been waiting for this I love how genuine and trustworthy your reviews are.
+1 on this
Same
same
Him and LGR are the only reviewers I trust when it comes to this game
@@shadeyxo LGR and pleasant sims for me, even if she doesnt post to her sims channel anymore
From watching this it seems Growing Together's biggest issue is that anything good it does are things that should be base game.
Yup. I think a majority of gameplay additions should be free... It's shocking we have to pay for stuff like weather, laundry, pets and stuff like baby changing tables.
Paying for stuff like Get Famous or Jungle Adventure makes sense... but ordinary life stuff? No
If laundry was free they could just made a kit revolving around it to get some profit at release. And then we also could have gotten new laundry items from future packs. But no... We're stuck with the same laundry items forever because they lock everything behind a paywall
@@AgentDigits Exactly those things should be free, but if they aren't going to make them free the least they could do is make the packs more content rich. Like Growing together could have had retirement homes, imaginary friends, and a daycare job. Also things like Parenthood and Knifty Knitting could have been included in this pack instead of being separate. If they are going to make us pay for things that should be free the least they could do is give us a lot of it and make it fleshed out. We could have a vacation expansion pack that would be Island Living, Outdoor Retreat, and Snowy Escape all in one expansion pack. Instead each of those packs feel like they are lackluster even if I enjoy the few things they do have.
@@AgentDigits That definitely seems to be the biggest issue with how they did Sims 4, all the new gameplay mechanics they develop get locked behind a new pay wall, so they can't expand on any of them in future packs.
Can't have new active careers because those go with Get to Work. Can't Have new club features, those are Get Together. Can't have new cities with festivals, that's a city living thing. Etc. It's so annoying.
@@alicine-sims8988 that Get together part, clubs probably should’ve been a base game feature for long term purposes.
Like I always wondered why werewolves have those two different wolf pack options but not a way to make your own. If they didn’t box themselves in with this setup they could’ve just made those two wolf packs into clubs and added some new club settings/features that are werewolf related. Same for vampires and witches to make covens and stuff.
Plus they could’ve added in 1-2 clubs for some of the other expansion worlds and their characters like a beach treasure hunt club for sulani, an actual Fan club where they can select 1 celebrity (or a band) to Stan in del sol valley and the sims in that club will primarily be the fans seen around the celebrity when out and about, Ect.
There are just so many issues with this game that could be fixed if they went back to most of their packs fixed buggs, made certain features base game and reworked others it may even encourage players who haven’t yet to buy them. Or just a color wheel for cas and build mode I’ll never complain about the game again
Right I don't have it yet cause 40 dollars for me can go for something else, tried playing with infants and got bored very quickly
I have been waiting for your take on this EP because you don't sugarcoat things, which I like. Thanks Satch!!!
I agree, I find the fiancé situation ridiculous too; I couldn’t believe that I couldn’t choose dynamics because my Sims were “only” engaged….. 🙄
i think because engagement is not strong enough compared to a spouse. people can be engaged and suddenly breakup. they're not even officially a family yet. spouses can divorce, but divorce is kinda more difficult to do, and they're already a family.
idk, personally i dont consider a person who was engaged to my family member but broke up the engagement as a family member, (they're kinda come and go, because yeah engagement can be broken before marriage), but i still think of a person who broke up with my relatives as at least they were a family member.
@@second_second_ Nowdays there are so many couples who decide not to marry but still they have been together for a lot of years and sometimes they live together and have children, so it's unrealistic that you can't set family dynamics
2:05 You mention that characteristics clash with traits like having an active characteristic but the lazy trait. This is because the characteristic menu isn't actually YOUR characteristics, but instead ones that your Sim likes or dislikes (depending on your selection) in other sims. So if in CAS your lazy sim selects the happy smiley face under active that means even though they're not active, they like those who are.
Great review as always just wanted to clarify that!
Basically means that: I fail in my classes but I like others who get good grades?
I was going to say this and I think it makes sense. I made a sim and although she isn't ambitious, her husband is, so I made her like ambitious sims. It adds to the depth of gameplay and I'm happy Sims don't auto like other sims who are exactly like them.
i think he meant it the other way around. if your sim is active but hates others who are active it clashes a little maybe!
@@SimsyHazel yeah, and? It's pretty realy
@@Summer-lq1hw I mean maybe the person is a douchbag and hates others being fit.
i’ve watched a few reviews of this pack, your honestly makes me realise how fearful other sims youtubers are to criticise ea
Yes, but at same time he underestimate stuff saying things like "its just line of codes and new texts". Isnt all games just lines of codes ? You achive things and unlock stuff. Its and expasion not a new game with totally new gameplay functions.
Or is it possible that other RUclipsrs might like the pack
I love Satcha, but I honestly love this pack. I totally understand some of his points and is it worth $40? No.. do I love it? Yes.
@@augusto7681 Yes, but it's an very SMALL expansion for $50, which is twice the price of a full brand new full featured game on other platforms, which have a LOT more content and depth to them, and very few bugs. The Sims 4 never got out of Alpha state in reality. And what he means by 'it's just code' is that it's just code that puts writing on the screen here and there, saying "Congratuations! Your Sim achieved this!", without actual gameplay where you actually have to do something for it. And other coding is just copied and pasted into a slightly different use (see the game tables, which were already there - they just had to add a some new graphics and words to it), (see the walking thing - copied and pasted code from the skiing retreat). And most of the other functions are kind of adaptations of already existing stuff: sleeping bags from already existing beds, the massively overused 'party' code copied and pasted to death. Some new features such as bike riding, the tree house, teeth losing, mid-live crisis, and the infant related stuff are new - that's good, but it it an $50 expansion pack worth of functionality? Short answer: definitely NO! The relationship stuff is also good, but it should have been there in the base game, like it was for all the other iterations of the Sims. In typical EA style they just added code to make stuff look good. The world is a direct symbol of the game - mostly window-dressing to make it look good and very little actual functionality. Not really surprising for EA - more dumbed down lackluster content aimed at 10 year olds. And this is probably the most functional expansion pack they've added to The Sims 4 to date, because EA are now getting their finger out because they have up and coming competition.
Satch's review is actually the best, most honest, review on RUclips. He isn't a game-changer, meaning that he's not ridiculously sucking up to EA with false rubbish like lilsimsie and the other EA influencers do, "Awww...that's so CUTE!! Blah, blah, suck, suck", with not a criticism in sight. And he's not hating everything about the packs unnecessarily either, like a couple other RUclipsrs. Kudos to him. It's a balanced review, and those are very rare.
The RUclipsr I have always trusted is Carl's Guides. He's been around for about as long as The Sims has, and he has a great website guide for The Sims games and is always been completely honest in his reviews. But he's more and more silent these days, except for his game fixing mod. He hasn't put out a review yet and he seems less and less interested in doing so these days.
I don't think some of them are fearful to criticise EA, I think they're just excited because as he said in the video it's going to really appeal to a certain kind of player.
The only channel I trust for Sims reviews nowadays! You never disappoint, Satch!
You and Cindy (Pleasant Sims) are the only Sims content creators that I trully like (even if she doesn't do The Sims right now, she's amazing!)
You should also check out TheSimYin. She's good too! Look her up, you'll enjoy her videos as well! 🙂
I think you nailed it when you said that you couldn't find a theme, that it looked like an enhanced version of the base game. This pack is an update/upgrade of the base game. It doesn't have toilets because we already have enough of them. Lots of stuff, including CAS, reminds me of older versions of Sims. I quit playing about a year ago because I got bored with gameplay. Watching you and others to see if this adds enough to come back.
I’m big on cc but haven’t really tried much mods over the years. I quit playing the sims for years and came back as this pack caught my eye but am bitterly disappointed. Are there any mods you’d recommend??
@@Wendipops I'm like you, mostly CC and essential mods like TwistedMExi,, Tool mod, Better Buildbuy I tried Meaningful stories and that helped a little. Carl of Carl's guides has fixed some of the packs like Dine Out. I have played since SIms1 and really enjoyed playing until 4. I like the building, but get too frustrated playing families. And now I am getting my building fix with House Flipper, so when my hard drive died a year ago, I just never reinstalled Sims 4. Good luck.
I am a family player so I did get the pack, but it's so accurate that this should have been basegame. I feel like we're all addicted to this drug, and because there's no legit sources to get it we're getting the back alley supply while wishing we could have better.
It's so sad that there aren't other life sim games like The Sims. I'm REALLY hoping that Life By You is amazing. Won't hold my breath, but I'll definitely be tuning in on March 20th.
@@metalbabee Truly. The style of Life By You isn't really my style from what I've seen, so I am betting my hope on Paralives. I am really stoked both of them are on the horizon, even if far, because boy do EA need to sweat a bit.
@@metalbabee Yeah, I was excited to hear it was a former The Sims producer! So cool. Even if it is early dev it seems they're going into more of Sims 3 direction (hopefully better tho), a bit more realism styled, while I am more into the more cartoony style of Sims 4.
@@littlejoh713 yeah TS3 graphics are a little too realistic for my liking, but it's fun to play! TS2 graphics is the perfect mixture of cartoony and realistic imo, but it's my favorite Sims game, so I'm obviously biased haha. TS4 is lacking too many fundamental elements for my play style though, so even though it's really pretty, I'm just a builder and sometimes go to CAS because they did those really well! I can get over graphics, but I cannot get over bad/lacking gameplay!
@@metalbabee Honestly understandable. I think in terms of just playing the game I was so in love with Sims 3, but I absolutely hated the art style. I still play Sims 4 religiously because I just like that type of game but I have a good amount of mods and I have to make up for the shortcomings of the game by "pretending" a lot on my end.
I swear the sims mod community is literally holding this franchise together.
The whole pack just wonderful whims, mod babies and activities on base game.
The mod community might be part of thr problem, ironically.
Like if modders are going in and easily fixing things, what's the point of the devs doing their jobs in the first place?
I appreciate modders, truly, but they kind of encourage laziness. 😅
@@BrightWulph Modders only exist because Sims 4 lacks personality and love 😬 There’s a reason why there’s so many mods for relationships, babies, family dynamics, etc. These simply do not exist in Sims 4 and if they do (this pack), it’s not worth paying $40 just for these functions. It’s better to download mods for them and arguably the mods are better than the official Sims version most of the time.
I have not played for a while, but I did think that this was very similar to mods I used in the beginning.
@@llmtxll3654
both ea and modders feed off of each other
this is why it's important to watch multiple people's reviews. you gave the CAS a 9/10, but everyone else i've seen talk about the pack says it was disappointing because No Shoes or whatever. listen, i'm just relieved that the baby carrier wasn't actually a cas-exclusive item like the leaks suggested
Really? The base game has a carrier now? I thought that was exclusive
@@amandaham7571 didn't say it was base game, just said it wasn't CAS. it's a game mechanic in GT, but some leaks implied that the carriers would be CAS items
Is anyone noticing that if u start a family with toddlers and infants after the base game update, when you get the pack the infants already have their milestones and can do everything?
Yes.
Because milestones are only part of the pack. Basically if you want to teach your infant to support their head, crawl and stand, you need the pack.
@@kpoppy9635 I have the pack and still having this issue
Yes they figured since they already experienced it prior to the pack it automatically comes up, adults will have their own milestones put in aswell
@@LukeAlexander so basically, whatever infant you have created and played before installing the pack will automatically have those milestones, because if you only have the update without GrT infants instantly learn those things. You need the pack for infants to be taught to do those things. Basically why the infants update was lackluster.
If you made the family before the pack was installed or played a little infants and other ages will already have milestones in place from achievements
Thank you for the overview, I’m so tired of these over hyped Sims videos where these game changers lie and make it seem like everything is perfect. We need more folk like you telling it like it is. I wonder why EA does not reach out to content creators as yourselves and ask what can we fix about this game 🤨
I agree it’s good to get multiple perspectives but I don’t think it’s fair to say other simmers are lying. Players who play a lot of legacy challenges and family gameplay, this could be genuinely be their favorite pack. If that’s not your jam, then it might not appeal to everyone. You can have a different opinion without assuming everyone who likes it is lying.
@@ShannonRose99 agree with your sentiments here, but this is not the whole truth. A lot of reviewers leave out many of the great criticism made in this video. Everything looks nice on the surface, but as soon as you look into it in a more detailed way you realize how much is missing/ doesn't work right. And all this valid criticism is never included in most game changers reviews. Many actually sugar cote things majorly. You see just how much, when they review packs they already reviewed in the past again nowadays. All of a sudden they can mention shortcomings and faults in the pack that they completely left out in the past. 🙄
Honestly, they’re not lying. It’s two sides of the same coin. They highlight the positives and whisper the negatives and Satch highlights the negatives and whispers the positives. I think you need both to be objective. I mean I played both Sims 2 and Sims 3 lately and when they came out and they are nowhere near as seamless as everyone keeps saying they are. It’s easy to hate on the current and remember fondly the past. Though there are a lot of Sims 4 flaws, we will see how everyone feels when Sims 5 comes out.
I definitely feel you but I’m a normal person who paid for the pack and I really enjoy it because family gameplay is my main type of gameplay. I don’t think they’re lying, I think it just varies by person. I do agree the world is EXTREMELY underwhelming
@@kennedae I completely agree!
Basically, you pay £40 for babies - and a treehouse! They should have just combined Growing Together with Parenthood as one pack! Edit: If they expanded on sleepover and baby shower stuff adding things like gender (or life state) reveals with either party poppers, a cake or fireworks each with a different colour (blue, pink, green - for aliens, etc), children messing around at sleepovers e.g. watching horror films, waking parents, and stealing snacks from the fridge. Also, the ability for adult/elder sims tend to sick Sims with soup or ice cream - along with hot chocolate/lemonade at sleepovers - with teenagers having the opportunity to "sneak some nectar" to their friends. Also the water park should have slides and a surf station - not just some fountains. That'll make up for the price!
I think the build/buy stuff is eclectic for a reason. Most homes have some sort of "hand me down" furniture in addition to newer modern pieces. I think some of the things they added are supposed to be heirloom pieces that are in a conemporary family home. Or items to decorate the grand parent's rooms in a multi generational contemporary home. I am most excited about the modern bath/shower combo.
I thought I created a Sim with a conflicting personality for most Sims, but weirdly she has the best compatibility with everyone she met and I don‘t actually buy it. Also I created a distant family dynamic for her and her sister, but they are best friends and get along so well. What I also noticed is that I got a sleepover help for my infant and when my Sim went to work, my infant was highly neglected. My sleepover guest didn‘t do anything, not even cooking all the time, like I expected. EDIT: Since my Sim is a scientist and a happy Single I wanted to explore the Sience baby and I don‘t get a baby-milestone which is really sad. Even tho we adopt or get help with the baby making process, it‘s still their child and really loved.
I want a Miami themed city so much!😭 Give us the Latin influence, the retro style and colors, the beach-side apartments, the clubs and beach activities. Things Get Famous should of had. San Sequoia is so sad looking 😂
I just finished the video and totally agree, this feels like a gamepack to me as well, not an expansion. I wanted more systems and complexity added to the game but we get like two or three systems which is great but they arent that complex. Besides that, what did we get? A shit world with puzzles anddd.. a treehouse? Just like you, I dont do family gameplay anymore. I dont even want children irl so I could care less about infants in this game.
Can we have a pack where we can just fuck our sims lives up, like a soap opera drama pack?
honestly! get famous really wasted a lot of opportunities with the location…it’s so sad
Now that I've actually watched the video, yes I agree with you, it's for sure best for people who love family gameplay, but I'm definitely one of those people and I really liked it. But you're right. It feels cash grabby when most of this stuff existed in the Sims 2 and 3 base game. I am happy with the pack myself, but I do agree most of this stuff SHOULD have been included in the base game update. Love your videos I almost always agree ❤️
As a follow up comment since I've had another thought about the pack since I posted my first comment - the milestones/memories!! They're locked behind a pack now? They were BASE GAME in 2&3, and now you have to purchase a pack for them?? That's suuuuch a rip off. I'm happy to have them now don't get me wrong but that should have been part of the base game update.
@KenyaGirly notice I said MOST. not all. So you're wrong.
Milestones/memories were base game for Sims 2& 3. That was my point for the follow up comment
So I don’t think the ability to have different characteristic likes and traits is a problem at all - you can absolutely be lazy and still admire/like spending time with people who are active. Maybe you feel they challenge you and get you moving when you wouldn’t otherwise. You’ll just need to find active Sims that like other Sims who are sedentary - maybe they find you relaxing - instead of active Sims looking for other active Sims to go mountain climbing with them 🤣
Also traits can change with this pack and your lazy sim might become active from admiring active sims and being around them all the time. This is the kind of gameplay this game has needed for a long time.
This may be an unpopular opinion, but I don’t mind rabbit holes. I would much rather the new world have lots of rabbit holes in addition to the movies, like a cafe on the docks or a harbour tour or shops/food shops or inside kids playroom. Than it just having nothing to do. Much like the high school pack I wasn’t bothered about, I would rather have more options like boarding schools like sims 3, than have the option to go to school with a teen 😊
Rabbit holes are good in adding depth while not being too resource-heavy to develop, so they often come out much more bug-clean. I think it's a nice middle ground between players wanting the most gameplay out of their penny and devs being limited by budget and time
Yeah, I agree. If the gameplay isn't particularly interesting, I don't mind having it abstracted into a rabbit hole experience. And the point about bugs is spot on. For example, it's much quicker in Sims 3 to go to a restaurant rabbit hole rather than try to have a sit-down dining experience. Same with movies. I'd rather just send them in the rabbit hole than have routing issues and stomping/complaining.
I think this is the problem with EA, they’re so lazy that consumers rather have something rather than nothing or glitchy gameplay which is wrong… EA should give us both gameplay and gameplay that works, like that should just be the standard
As someone for whom TS2 is the gold standard, this pack makes me very happy because, like you said, it feels very TS2. I understand how that play style is not for every summer though and I can see how it would feel lackluster for a non family simmer.
i absolutely appreciate your brutal honesty! $40 is not cheap and you give us the opportunity to decide if it’s worth waiting for a pack to go on sale or not
I love you for being a non toxically positive sims youtuber!!
I love your honest reviews. So far what I have seen, I love. The fact that my child brought home a school drawing. Ugh the little things. There could have definitely been more BB items, and the world be more interesting.
I love the organic personality traits and that they can be swapped for opposite traits through gameplay. I've always wanted and voted in surveys for this feature, so I feel like they're listening to me. Thanks, Sims 4 team!
I totally agree! This all should have been in the base game. Period. Thanks for another fantastic review!😊
Thank you so much for your brutally honest reviews, Satch. This is exactly what I need in order to decide whether a pack is for me or not. I've been hyped for this one because it caters to my needs as a family/personal storyteller player BUT I love seeing not only what's new and shiny, but the negatives as well. Also love your sense of humour, literally every video of yours has me cackling with joy. Thanks much and please keep being brutally honest mate 💕
"sex reveal parties" are a new idea from USA (gender reveal party) from the late 2000s and have not been a fundamental part of having a baby for very long and pending on the country you're in it's not a thing at all. We don't even have a translation for it in my language. I'm pleased they didn't implement it and stuck to baby showers.
As always, I appreciate your brutally honest review. Without having played it I did think the world seemed empty but I think many worlds are? I'm a family player so I think I'd enjoy this but I do agree with many of your thoughts and don't think it's worth the full price so I might wait for a sale.
I think that's kind of why I'd like the option to have it more. It's a new thing and would reflect the modernity of this game. Of course, knowing EA it would probably be just as poorly done as other events but I think it would be neat. Like it could be a way to find out whether you're having a boy or girl or twins etc without waiting until they're born or using cheats.
@@sheerechoes It's not modern to me because it's not a thing here and if it's chaos in the game it would just represent the irl stuff since they've caused fires and such catastrophes.
Expanding on a doctor's career would have been nice, like a midwife career so we could have sims go there and find out about their pregnancy. It's like the daycare career he mentioned and I agree there should have been more careers with the expansion.
@@lochpearled just because some gender reveal parties have gone wrong doesn’t mean it’s okay to classify them all the same way 🤣 I mean don’t you think terrible shit has happened in regular parties or concerts or festivals?
@@lochpearled wasn’t that only one gender reveal party? There are a lot of shootings and stabbing and other crimes that happen at birthdays way more frequently that gender reveals but it doesn’t mean we can’t have them in game plus the idea of gender reveal parties may be new and modern but the gender of the baby has always been an exciting part of pregnancy since the beginning of time not because of the gender but because you find out more about someone that you’re yet to know and other many other cultures other than America have embraced gender reveal parties so it would be cool to have them in game
Who cares if it's not a thing to you? Many people around the world do sex reveal parties. Get over yourself.
Appreciate the new gameplay and build/buy stuff but omg the world is so disappointing
I was waiting for your review, since your opinion is the one I trust the most of all the Simers!
the thing is growing together is going to become most of people's 1./2. next to seasons because they're necessary but they should be base game!!
the 90's family sitcom influence over the visuals of the pack is so cute, i wish the world was more fleshed out (not being able to live near family in a family-themed pack is crazy 😭)
The new social interaction menu is so good BUT I've noticed I can't find any kind of job-related or missions or event goals and stuff in there, it makes events and home jobs so annoying
How’s there no new careers?! Those things take 10 minutes to write. It's not like you actually go to the job. They're so lazy it annoys me.
SatchonSims, SimYim, FakeGamerGirl, and SimmerErin are my favorite new* RUclips simmers. They aren't close to the people who work on the Sims, so they don't feel the need to sugarcoat or excuse the more lackluster parts of the games and packs, and they speak their mind about the game and give criticism, both constructive and also just calling them out. I love it! Also, you can tell they LOVE the Sims, and they aren't random non-Sims gamers popping out of nowhere to yell about the game. They play the Sims, played the other Sims titles, and are holding the Sims 4 to the standard that The Sims franchise itself created. Anyway, that's all lmao, keep keeping on
I binge these brutally honest videos like crazy just because of how real and funny you are lol! Love the content Satch!!
Honestly now your reviews are one of the very few I actually enjoy and trust. U don't sugar coat anything and go straight to the point
I think world should have been something else, they probably made a willow creek type of world just to follow the trend of a new world with each expansion pack, and thus didn’t put much thought into it, sticking with the usual themes, and hoping that the new gameplay features would be enough to satisfy players so the world wouldn’t be a problem.
I don’t think it would be best implemented for this pack, but I’m hoping at some point they’ll add a desert world. I know we have oasis springs, and strangerville, I guess. But I’m thinking more along the lines of something very sparse with not many lots, maybe another game pack like jungle adventure but in a desert with pyramids and an actual oasis. Maybe very few defined paths, giving the game a more open-world feel, like a lot of people want. And it would be appropriate for EA in the sense of them liking big worlds with not much to actually do in them. They could make it potentially quite dangerous; sinking into sand, sandstorms that will cause sims to get lost, allowing search parties to be sent out, failing would result in the sim overheating to death or dehydrating.
i will never understand why the sims people act like they spend so much time and effort making these constantly underwhelming packs 1. the sims 4 alone has made over a billion dollars 2. these packs are damn near the cost of a whole complete game its wild people defend this practice
Thank you so much for this review! Everything you have said about this pack was exactly what I had a feeling it was going to be when I saw the trailer and read the description. As you said, they should have refreshed Parenthood with this content or added it into the base game.
The duck scene killed me 💀😂
I appreciate this review Satch! I am totally on the same page that nothing is ground breaking, not even the world which literally looks like another neighborhood in Willow Creek. Certainly not worth almost $60 Canadian! I'm a builder/game play player leaning more towards builder and honestly even the build items this pack has to offer are either lame, for the community center, or CC does it better anyway!
Love Satch reviews. So honest. I hope that if he ever becomes a game changer, he’ll stay honest with us. Hard to do, but I hope.
I haven’t played it yet but I saw that “More traits in CAS” broke badly and the modders struggle to fix it, and it made me sad. I liked modeling sims’ personalities with the tools I already had at hand.
Is that mod already fixed?
@@alexasalas6189 no. They have released a temporary fix today for people who want to keep playing with their pre-update saves, so that their sims with more traits don’t glitch or smth. However, we still cannot add more traits in CAS for newly created sims like before. We have to wait and hope they can find a solution. As far as I understand the problem, EA made 5 traits in CAS paywalled with this new pack, so the modders need time to find a workaround. It’s shallow from EA to just add a long-existed feature from a free mod to their game as a new paid feature 🥺
@@Kyokka paywall? As far as I understand Growing Together doesn’t allow you to have 5 traits. EA changed a LOT of code in the update, some for the better, some not so much. It’s currently just a struggle to get the mod to work with the new code.
Console players can't mod so I don't see this as a negative for sims as a whole
@@BaeCat872 yeah, I’ve finally got to CAS and see there are still only 3 traits for a new sim… Waiting till the amazing mod creators fix it. I hope they will
Apart of the “gonna wait ten years for this to be on sale” team
This is the one I’ve been waiting for right here. As usual, THANK YOU for keeping it real and honest. Your channel is a godsend. 🙏🏾
it’s 6:30 am but that’s no excuse to miss a satchonsims video.
I'm a fan of how straightforward and unbiased your reviews are.
Since I was always interested in the individualism and interpersonal relationship side of that game, I'm thinking of maaaybe buying the pack if it's on sale and if I grow back some interests in the sims.
oh you’re definitely right, it’s like an essential addition to basegame and that is why i bought it. it has some lovely stuff in it but definitely should have come with more to do and see, or just been classified as a game pack. luckily for me i’m living in japan so bc of the currency exchange i got it for £10 cheaper than I would have back home, or i’m not sure if i would have rationalised it as easily..
Should've been a base game updated. So glad I watch Satch's reviews first before buying packs from now on. I'll wait until it's on mega sale.
Been waiting for this one!! Love how honest your reviews are I always want to hear your take before I consider buying
Thank you!
Disappointed they didn’t add imaginary friends smh
They definitely could have done a lot more with the new world, also I really wished they added strollers
one of my favorite part of the packs are the worlds, carrers, traits, skills, and aspirations. we only got aspirations for child sims and that was it. a hiking or power walking type of skill would have been nice with a wilderness carrer or even something simple like a dentist but theres none of that... even though seasons didnt even come with a world it still feels way better than growing together and i feel that without growing together things like infants will be lacking. love the super honest reviews!
Rating is so valid. EA is just getting away with making this subpar pack because everyone will buy it because it adds basic stuff that people feel like they need to play. It’s not fair but people will pay because it gives everyone the base game they always wanted.
Satch looking snatched!! Bruv looking well sleek ❤❤
So, I would pay...$5 for this EP. I am not surprised at how much this whole update and EP just another cash-grabby ploy. Base game infants have no skills or milestones and just rocket out of bassinet and automatically know how to crawl? So frustrating. I am a huge family, legacy player and I really want the social features and milestones and while I can afford it, it's not worth my cold hard cash for $40. -That's saying a lot. I have a semi-disposable income and I question even buying it when it goes 50% off.
I actually like how random it is! As a person with a kid and scattered af house and so-called design scheme in real life it's very appropriate. Especially when I was first it and on my own nothing matched it was just different things donated from family members. It's kind of fitting to have a scattered pack for a pack about sharing as scattered as family
I'm not sure yet if I'll buy the pack or not so this review will be so helpful (especially since I know you're always honest and real) thanks
I couldn‘t contain myself and bought it immediately, but when you can wait I would suggest you would get it on sale. Like Satch said, it isn‘t really worth the money and it angers me that they picked the most expensive pack for this one, since it doesn‘t come with that much. They just knew it would be a best seller and wanted the money.
@@sophie9984 I'm new to the EA app so hopefully it goes on sale half off it's the only time I get expansion packs
Thank you Satch! You bring up a lot of good points. I was very excited about this pack but then I found out that a baby change table is locked and decided not to buy it. Your points help solidify my decision. 😅
As a new IRL mom, I can’t be spending R650.00 on a game especially if I’m only able to play once every week or 2. ❤🎉
Yes, i would love to have a daycare and children's park, indoor children's gym, and anything like those
The recreational center should have come with Bingo for elders. That would have been so fun. Active of course.
The only thing that really bugs me about this pack is lack of apartments. It could’ve easily been implemented and would’ve made a lot of simmers happy.
Remember, you can’t spell “Steal” without an EA. They’d slap a $40 price tag on a pack that lets you chew bubble gum if they wanted. You convinced me not to buy this one and you earned my sub. Thank you
I have been playing only for 2 hours and only can speak for the infants and CAS and BB mode, so far I am curious and pleasantly surprised. Outfits and build mode is disappointing for me - like you said, they are nice individually, but don't make sense together. Almost like they are tossing random objects they created earlier and have done already. I haven't explored the town yet. I have been playing with my newborn/infant and it is so engaging and realistic as a family/legacy gamer I love it! Love the quirks, aspirations, skills and the fact that they are more needy than newborns/toddlers before. Can't wait to play more, but I know it will become boring soon, as after a couple of generations everything gets boring. This SHOULD HAVE been base game
Why can't they just put a bunch of rabbit holes around the neighborhood? The subway could be used to travel, the fake lots could be where you order groceries or "purchase" clothes from CAS, etc. Even putting random vending machines around would help.
and why no festivals like the world in City Living? Or skating rinks? So boring
I don’t get how they couldn’t make that cafe, if they didn’t want it as a lot, at least into a rabbit hole as well. I mean I know some people would complain but I’d rather have some limited interaction than none at all
The only bad thing about this pack is the horrifying infant bath glitch💀
Here’s a helpful tip to avoid that glitch: don’t bathe them
@@nicoley8844Then they shouldn’t of put it in the pack 🤷🏻♀️
@@AwfulGlitter Then people would complain they couldn’t bathe their infants 😂
Hope it’s fixed but you have to see the irony of the situation 😂
@@AwfulGlitter read my previous comment over and over again, until you realize I was being facetious
@@nicoley8844 ok weiss ifykyk😂
It’s worth 20 dollars not 40 I’ll wait for it to go on sale
Also, this pack is definitely NOT worth $40.
Honestly I really love this pack and the world, I've played it for hours and the only things I've found that really bug me are how there's like nothing to do in the world and idk about anyone else but there are NO sims walking around in my world like ever. It's like a ghost town
Thanks satch, I’m probably going to wait half the year or longer til the pack is available on sale…for some reason I thought there would be more, and I got a little confused with what’s in the update and what had to be bought (diaper pales aren’t in the update and get thrown on the floor, it’s infuriating). There’s way too much that should have been in the update and I can’t justify paying full price for what, of course, should have been in the update. Wish they would have gone with “growing together” as in daycares AND retirement homes..
I wonder if this was meant for base game but EA realized they could separate it from infants, add a basic new world, and some build buy to make an extra £30.
"Extension of Willow Creek" 😅 😂 you got it.
I was never excited for this, but I’m upset they didn’t add ballet/dance classes for kids. It was in the sims 2 (never played 3 so idk) and is a major part of a lot of kid’s childhoods. There should be kids sports too. I didn’t know a single kid growing up who wasn’t enrolled in ballet, baseball, softball, soccer, etc!!
I am honestly glad you got access to even review the pack. I am literally playing with the base game infant update because my growing together pack will not show. I have it. The damn app says I have it and it will not show 😒 nothing like a forced EA app that doesn't work. 😢
Idc if it's almost 6am for me but I got to get this out my system. I was building until like 1 am going into 2am and close to the end I was like "oh I would like to see the family interact with what I had build for a bit". I get into live mode and they are literally not moving. Then one of the kids floating and at one point I exited out and came back and the dang baby basically teleported to the second floor. Because how they moving if the parents and everybody else are frozen outside. Even the regular sims in the world are busted. The pets as well...🥲
Edit: If you would direct yourself to the replies below removing laundry day from you game is a solution. I just tried it and it worked.
yeah!! i've been noticing and INSANE amount of sims just... breaking. like everything LOOKS great, and when it works it's really fun! BUT i wish my sims could just... walk lmao
@@yuckymushroomss it had me bamboozled when I seen it for the first time because literally since the pack has been out I just been building. Imagine my surprise when I tried to get the sim to pick her baby off of the concrete and she doesn't move. Then I look to the side and her kid is just hovering whilst doing a jumping animation. But at the same time you can hear noises as if they are doing things.🥲😂
If you have any mods in the game, it may cause issues since the update and pack were quite big, would be worth to turn mods off for a bit and see if it changes anything 🤔 I have only CC and the game have worked well so far with the new update and pack.
@@krisse23 unfortunately i've been playing without any mods or cc :') my pc hasn't had any issues since wedding stories, but honestly i think it's just an issue that'll fix itself!(i had this same issue with wedding stories after the update and it ended up just kind of... going away??)
I know mods can be doing that, but even some people were having issues cause of cc too
I completely agree!! The pack adds to the base game and I feel should have been something we already had in the game. It doesn't expand on every life stage. Although I do not have it, I have watched a lot of reviews and seen a lot of game play.
The BG infants without this pack seems lacking, they are boring and not fun to play with. I wish we at least had the option to teach to crawl/walk instead of them automatically having the ability to do so as infants and then as toddlers.
Honestly just wish there was more to do with infants because at this point, they should have just stayed in their bassinet
I like your cut G. (You’re hair cut is really nice. It fits you.) I noticed this pack had an extreme amount of bugs. I cant even play with infants. I like what they we’re trying to do. It just fell short. Definitely game pack material.
Great review as always.
Didn't care for this pack to begin with, this review just confirmed my opinion on it. Might download it at some point later when I'm tired of my current families and story lines.
Lol, glad to see another person who had the same thoughts as me. I was beginning to think I was the weird one to not care about this pack.
Maybe it's because you're not a big family player
@@k.k.6480 I'm not anymore. I used to be with sims 3 but with sims 4 it gradually changed.
@@N1A2T3TTT ohhhh ok
I'm very impressed with your review and I couldn't agree more. Wonderful and honest review! Thank you. You and TheSimYin are spot on.
I do however feel like your performance review was a little "nice". If I'm paying $40 for a product, I expect said product to work correctly. I just feel like the Simming community has somehow gotten to the point where we're "okay" with some things working and some things not, thinking "Oh, they'll just fix it later"... Only for there to be a 3 year gap before anything from that pack actually gets attention (if that makes any sense). TS4 is the most expensive game I own, yet it's also the most broken game I own and I would just really like to see some time put into the game fixing what's not working properly rather than dishing out DLC after DLC just for them to be abandoned and never fixed because the money that was to be made on the DLC was already made.
Had a conversation about how we're seeing more and more games being released incomplete, with much less content, and lackluster gameplay because these triple A companies are like "oh we'll just fix it/add it in an update" or "get this DLC to have what should've already been in the game". We shouldn't have to pay full price for games that are worse than their previous iterations and DLC shouldn't cost nearly as much as it does.
@@metalbabee I agree, it seems to be a recurring theme. ESPECIALLY for EA..
21:50 is so true i dont know why the sims community feels like we should be grateful for stuff like that in my country each expansion pack is 60 dollars then you have game packs that are 30 dollars im a customer buying extremely expensive game items and dlc we are already extremely generous to EA as simmers and EA is not a small company by any means they have the resources
if they were just going to remake willow creek, I would've preferred no world and more features like canes, strollers, and daycares also one thing that I haven't seen anyone mention is that pretty much all the lots are 30x20 and the treehouse takes about 1/3 of the lot so you can't even make big family homes. all that empty space and they couldn't make bigger lots?
I've found the pack makes sims a lot lot harder if you play with large families. A lot more stressful and I'm not sure it's enjoyable. It's mich more realistic yes, but I play sims to get away from real life! I would like to see all this as basegame in sims 5 though, it feels like it's all basegame stuff - but knowing how cash grabbing ea is I am happy ish to have paid to get the extra functionality in a game I already own
I know this is an older comment but I just wanted to chime in and say I 100% agree. All of this seems nice in theory but it almost seems like it’s too much and over complicates things. I do think the regular base game is a little bland but it’s nice how it’s relatively straightforward and low stress.
It’ll be quite interesting (for just me) how the sims my childhood family will go.
In TS1, my parents divorced and my brother chose to runaway to military school.
TS2 everyone stayed, but utter chaos.
TS3 mixture of 1 & 2.
Pre growing together was boring and they were all friendly.
I’m hoping (probably in vain) this pack might be more like how we really are (totally dysfunctional and insane). 😂 Crossing fingers 🤞
Barely any new gameplay features tbh
Not sure how new it is, but I love the haircut! You look great
Thank you for looking at new packs from the side of being a consumer and getting value for your money vs just overall excitement for being given something "new"
Just wanted to say this is the first video I’ve seen of yours and I’m instantly subbing ❤ Lovely review, thoughtful insight, and a community guideline for posting?! Heck yes sign me up!
I think that we shouldn't have gotten a world. Like with Seasons that has gameplay that effects the whole game, they could have done the same here. I'm sure that if they left out the world and focused more on gameplay it wouldn't feel so much like a GP. The time they spent on naming and designing the world could have been spent adding more things for each age group and new lot types that players can then build. If they wanted to give us a world, then they should have done it as a SDX drop (but they may have abandoned this) or as an update. Heck, even a kit with 2-3 empty worlds would have worked.
Thanks for giving an honest review I bought most of the expansions and at the end I felt empty that i bought sims 3 and it’s expansions 😂
I love these graphics and I was waiting to see if it’s worth it!
Did they fixed high school years at the end?
Just comparing sims 3 university with sims 4 it’s so sad ! I wish it was a better game I might buy this on sale one day :)
TS3 is my main Sims game now too. And since switching there hasn't been a pack to pull me back into 4. Even with this One, I still prefer Generations over it 😅.
The underlying base of the game is also way stronger than 4's. I recently watched a video on the new traits added through gameplay and thought that it was a nice addition until I remembered how little traits matter in gameplay overall in 4 and how little traits we still have nowadays.
Eh I'm happy to continue playing 3 for the foreseeable future. 😆
@@12wer3wer9 have you bought any of the S3 worlds? I purchased them but since it changed to the EA app the worlds doesnt appear in my game :(
This is the review I was waiting for. 😂