I find that it works pretty well for me. I do often see traits of the parents get passed on, and they often even look appropriately different on the different genders.
Here are some examples of one daughter who decidedly inherited her grandfather's nose, after her father passed it down. He was a sim that I loved in Sims 2 and attempted to recreate in Sims 4, with his long nose. I was really hoping that at least one of his children would inherit it, and his one son did, and then passed it on again to his daughter, and I absolutely love her face. First, side profile of her with her grandfather. Then, her with her younger brother (who, when he aged up, had a nose more like his mother's side.)
https://i.imgur.com/vcruGOE.png
https://i.imgur.com/dNOWpjd.png
ETA: I do really wish this game had done something more with recessive genetics. I loved that so much in Sims 2. I would prefer that things could skip a generation, and I would prefer that dying your Sims' hair did not cause the dyed color to get passed on genetically. That really makes me roll my eyes.
Edited: originally stated it was her father in the picture, but that's actually her grandfather! it passed down twice. :)
