How needed are mods for TS4 compared to other sims 4 games?/Your Favorite Mods (2019)

To compare them, I don’t think I’d really be able to do. I wasn’t able to play TS3 without mods and I don’t think I’d be able to play TS4 without mods now.
For me, it isn’t that the gameplay itself is that bad, to the point that I need mods to make it playable, but more-so for the fact that I am a very controlling player. A lot of my must-have mods relate to having as much control over the game as I possibly can.