I agree with you, @Thrior - it would be really great to be able to choose our difficulty level in-game, like other games do. I played Sims 2 and Sims 3 and enjoyed the challenges built in to those games, but on closer consideration I find that I like both options for Sims 4 - both a challenge-free sandbox game for days when I want to play a relaxing game and a more challenging game for days when I want that.
I've found that I don't exactly like the new Wants/Fears system because I'm now required to fulfill their Wants frequently or else they're plagued by Fears. I used to fulfill their Whims every once in a while, and liked the option to easily choose to do it or not, without prompting a fear or turning it off globally. I haven't even played Wants/Fears with Lifestyles yet - what a negative mess that would be without clear ways to proceed, since there's no real guidance on what influences Lifestyles anyway. Things like Woodworking count as "Outdoorsy" even when the woodworking table is indoors - so confusing.
I've cobbled together some difficulty elements - using a lot of lot challenges simultaneously, playing on Short lifespan sometimes, etc. - to try to make my game more challenging when I want it, but it's tiresome having to make it challenging ourselves. I haven't played any Scenarios yet, so am not sure if those help.
It would indeed be great to have a toggle to turn off/on danger notifications if we want to.
