Just because something is a parody and is supposed to be fun doesn’t mean it can’t be challenging and engaging like other games are.
The issue with TS4, in my eyes, is that it’s not trying to offer a complex simulation, where you input something and expect any number of potential outcomes. In TS4, it very much is what you do is what you get with little pushback. Nearly every action leads to the same thing whether it’s the success/failure of the action, or the varied moodlet/Emotion that comes with it. And that’s why it’s feels like a dollhouse game rather than a life simulation.
If you think about a game like Planet Zoo or Cities: Skylines, zoo simulation and city building simulation, respectively, everything you do in the game has a ripple effect that will then alter how you move forward in the game after that one action. And part of the challenge is how to balance all of the varied aspects that all need attention while you’re juggling resources or other random things that can hinder you. TS4 is more in line with Animal Crossing but on a larger scale.
Complex doesn’t mean it has to be real life. It just means it has to be complex gameplay within the systems in the game. TS1 and TS2 I think are closer to complex because of the difficulty of maintaining needs in TS1, and the Fears system in TS2. These things counteract all of the things the players do without forcing the player to make them so. In TS4, the needs are easier to maintain, and the biggest negative impact that can be experienced is a negative Emotion which often can get usurped by positive ones. The balance is all off in this game because the systems aren’t really working against the player.
And because the balance is off, the game is less complex (which I’m sure many TS4 players love), but some don’t.
