The Sims 4 - Recap 2023

I first started playing the Sims 4 in 2020, shortly after my dad passed away.  I knew of the Sims games but had not played any of them before.  The beginning was mostly about discovery and experimentation but as I learned how to navigate the game, it quickly became much more than a game to me.  To this day, my favorite part is that it gives me that fantasy escape to create whatever I want and the opportunity to forget about real world problems for a while.  I created a sim version of my dad and I love that I can see him again in the game whenever I want.  Yes, I know it's not real but it still gives me comfort. ♥

My favorite addition, in 2023, is Horse Ranch.  I really enjoyed being able to add horses and stables to my farm for Cottage Living.

My favorite household is Rancher Rush; Cody, a second-generation sim, along with Skye, Starr and Moon, the horses that Cody got from his Dads. 

Cody eventually got married and, now, he and his partner maintain a neighborhood stable where all sims can experience the joy of horse riding.

I've played the Sims since Sims 1 on my old PlayStation. At first I thought it was something to do with the Simpsons! But then I was hooked...but also a bit rubbish at it. Before that I'd been devoted to games like Sonic and Spyro. We were a gaming household and had a gaming room in our attic conversion. I always think of the Sims as an old friend. I'm now totally devoted to it although we bicker from time to time and sometimes need a break from each other!

My favourite game was Sims Bustin Out until the Sims 4 overtook that this year when it finally gave me horses🐴. Created even more beautifully than I could have hoped. So that was definitely my highlight of the year and of the entire Sims franchise. I missed out on horses before, except for with Freeplay. I had to switch from PC to Xbox as PC is difficult with my disability (plus I kept burning out laptops by overloading them with Sims). I'd hoped to go back to PC but it's not been possible. What I love about Sims 4 is that it's including consoles in all content, that's definitely not without it's technical issues but it's great after we missed out on so much with Sims 3.

This year those technical issues meant I had to start my game over, I then got an Xbox Series X for more reliability and found it wasn't such a bad thing to start again. I know who my Sims are and I have more packs now so their homes are a step up. So it was a happy blessing in disguise. So far I've brought back around 70 households, some are beloved Sims and some are background characters. With kind encouragement from fellow players I also finally started adding my content to the Gallery, despite my nerves. I've found it to be a really positive experience to do that.

With the base game going free to play last year I've also finally got more players around me and my friends tweens are all full of questions. With the merch store opening it's going to be useful for gift ideas...on behalf of them I hope we see a Cowplant range!

My favourite theme of the year really surprised me when @GiardiniDiMarzo helped me to get the best out of my Werewolves pack by introducing us to the delightful world of the werewolf toddler! I finally learned to love the werewolf lore, met Greg and never looked back 🐺. Maybe in 2024 I'll finally add Vampires 😨 it's the last one to get. I go back and forth on it but I'm looking forward to the Medieval Kit and the (slightly scary) possibility of matching them up.

After the front door has been firmly shut tomorrow afternoon I'll be fully devoted to For Rent after managing to wait to get it for Xmas. I also get a lot of ironic llama toys (I love my kalma llama and recently named him Brindleton) from my loved ones but I'm wondering if they found the Merch Store this year 🤔. Hmm, now did I mention it to them enough?

But the community here has definitely enhanced my game. I'd like to thank all of the contributors for a big year this year. I used the gallery, I finally used build cheats (with help, thanks again) and found they're awesome! It's been a buggy year for me too though and so I definitely owe a massive thank you to the EA staff, our awesome players, our Champions and @crinrict and the Hero group.