Your sims packs years review

EPs

Growing together is my mixed feelings pack. I'd really love to get the objects, but could do without most of the gameplay. A demo would be welcome to see just how enervating the aspects I don't like are in actual gameplay.

Horse ranch I've waited for so long and wasn't disappointed. All my saves (Star Wars, 1760s and 2050s) have horses in now and the horse owning families are my favorite ones to play. Horse personalitiy isn't as distinct as that of cats and dogs (I had independent horses seek out their owners and outsdoorsy ones come inside, for example), but still good. The animations, the different skills for horses and riders, the horse CAS, I love it all.
My only negative at the moment is the way too family friendly cave dungeon. Fighting a cave bear would be too violent, really? It's arm-wrestling instead? It was funny the first time and quickly became embarassing.

For Rent is a step up from the old apartments, but from what I've seen so far still doesn't hold a candle on the Sims 2 system. Daily catastrophes to see to seems a bit overtuned and I don't want my own sims randomly move out or revolt, so in addition to waiting for the bugs to get ironed out I'm also waiting for a MCCC update that takes care of this. The pack is on my wishlist.

SPs & Kits

Homechef hustle is another one for the wishlist, it's nice, but with horses and wedding I have enough new toys for the moment and will save adding more for a dlc dry period. Same for Basement treasures.

Grunge revival is way better than I expected it to be (and I expected it to be good). I feel that the best swatches were never showcased in the promos.

Edit: Looks like I forgot a handful of kits. Alright, on the wishlist go Book nook, Greenhouse, Bathroom and Poolside, while I'm not impressed by Simtimates and Modern Luxe.

Writing about the ones I own:

Growing Together I held a grudge against this pack because it introduced the milestones bug that turned me away from my main save for half a year. Now the bug has been fixed and I'm willing to forgive everything because in fact I love this pack. Milestones, compatibility, family relations, trait discoveries and midlife crisis. Especially love midlife crisis, gives something extra for adults and can give their life a new direction. Kind of hate the world and haven't looked into CAS/BB closely, seems boring. Still recommended.

Horse Ranch I only got this pack the other day because of the bug mentioned earlier I witheld buying any content. But this is my dream pack. I have given two of my sims horses by now. I love the horses. I just watch them walk when my sims goes on a relaxed ride. I am into the world and the western theme, these would have been my choice. I admit it seems a little light content wise even at this point and I understand people calling it a game pack. I haven't really checked out the CAS/BB, but I have positive feels about it.

For Rent I truly cherish the option to have more than one families living on one lot. This is a game changer. However I'm not super interested in playing as a landlord. I tried it and it felt okayish. Tomarang world I love to the bits. It's smallish, but the size doesn't bother me much. BB is interesting. CAS I haven't closely looked into, but kinda like it?

Simtimates Collection
I bought this kit while I said I wouldn't buy any content. Oops. The underwear department in game is severely lacking and this kit fixes some of that. As someone who plays vanilla I like it! Simple kit for simple needs.

Modern Luxe
I don't really want to complain about free content, but anyway not super interesting.

So my grading system will be on a scale of 1-5.
1 - Useless to me, will probably never use
2 - Might use every once in a while
3 - Decent, but not overly useful to me
4 - Like it, not perfect but very useable
5 - Love it! Will use all the time

EPs

Growing Together
CAS: 3
B&B: 4
World: 2
Game Play: 3

Overall, I'd give this pack a 3 with the caveat that I still haven't done a deep dive into it's content and I may yet change my mind about it. I like aspects of it, but I haven't really found any of it to be game changing for myself personally. I thought babies were fine as they were, and believe the added infant life stage makes childhood drag on a little too long. This pack doesn't help in this matter, as skilling an infant up takes much longer than a short/medium lifespan will allow. I do like the new community center lot type and the new stuff families can do together, but none of it has really changed my game play that much.

Horse Ranch
CAS: 4
B&B: 5
World: 4
Game Play: 4

I'd give this pack a 4 overall. I wasn't one of the simmers champing at the bit for horses, but I like them well enough now that we have them. I love the rustic aesthetic of the B&B that came with this pack and the world is beautiful and fun to explore. The game play is a lot of fun, and I think it compliments other packs quite well. Goats and sheep are a lot of fun and we finally have nectar making back in the game! I don't think I'll end up playing with horses in every save, but I'll have a good time when I do.

For Rent
CAS: 4
B&B: 3
World: 4
Game Play: 4

To be honest, I haven't really played with this pack too much yet as I've been too busy building, so my opinion might change, but as of right now I'd give it a 4. Long before this pack I was already building multi family housing, so it's great to finally make those lots functional. I have little interest in playing as a landlord, so the only game play I'm interested in comes from playing as a tenant, and the little I have played seems enjoyable. I've heard this pack is buggy, but since I've spent most of my time in build mode I've not yet come across any myself.

SP

Home Chef Hustle
CAS: 2
B&B: 3
Game Play: 4

I really don't care for the CAS or B&B in this pack, but the game play makes up for it so I'd still give it a 4 overall. I always had a feeling stuff packs would make a return eventually, but it's still nice to see them back and adding quality game play to the game. The new kitchen appliances are great for my foodie sims, and it's nice to have a selling table designed for selling food. Overall a solid stuff pack.

Kits

Simtimates Collection: 4

Bathroom Clutter: 4

Greenhouse Haven: 5

Basement Treasures: 4

Grunge Revival: 4

Book Nook: 5

Poolside Splash: 4

Modern Luxe: 4

I'd say all the kits that came out last year were solid.

Growing Together & For Rent

Mixed feelings, I only have GT which I love
(and play constantly to the point of being kind of weary of the little nooboos by now :lol: )
but part of me feels like these packs live off each other

like the way San Sequoia is perfect for townhouses but theres not much else going for it
and the way Tomarang has such family town feel to it

I feel like if these packs were combined differently
I would have had less things to be unneededly upsetti over

then again who knows maybe id have other things to be upsetti over
and thats why these packs were this way

I will probably play more GT in Tomarang and more FR in San Sequoia once I have both

(Kyle tho, points for Kyle never forget Kyle)

Horse Ranch

I've only had it for couple days but so far vibing

there is some minor annoyances and I always find something to complain about
but my inner horsegal is living her best life with this pack in Chestnut Ridge and everywhere else

funnily enough I usually like to tell i don't need more american worlds but Chestnut Ridge is my favourite this year
it's just perfect extension to my Strangetown and fills the Deadtree shaped void in my heart

All EPs:

I think we suffer bit too much from rabbithole disease and limited items nonsense
which I wish we could have avoided all together
but otherwise pretty decent selection of themes

Home Chef Hustle

I also don't have this yet
I admit I don't often do much food gameplay with my sims
but I do love waffles and pizza so i figure this pack might be useful
if I end up picking it up one day

kind of feels like cool kitchen
except this time its actually about kitchen stuff which is nice

Kits: will be kits...
and I haven't really got spare simoleons this/last year
but if I did these were most interesting to me:

Simtimates
Basement Treasures
Grunge Revival
Book Nook

The only thing that I really liked was Home Chef Hustle, the rest was meh for me.

Simtimates Kit
Pretty good, but some items have ugly colors.

Grunge Revival Kit
Some items look good, some other items look very poorly made and also look too large.

I don't own any of the other 6 kits they released that year.

Home Chef Hustle
Really good. Actual gameplay items that you can use everywhere and a lot of new things that you can cook.

Growing Together
Kinda regret buying this one. It's... ok, it has some interesting features. I don't like the world at all.

I don't own Horse Ranch or For Rent.

"Simmingal;c-18340828" wrote:
... rabbithole disease...

???? Aaaaaand I'm dead.

I'm not going to rate the 2023 packs since I only have one, but the one I have is HCH, and I highly recommend it. I never enjoyed cooking in the game half as much as I do after getting this pack. I love prepping ingredients. It also encourages me to use the (CoL) grocery delivery service more than ever, and I plan what to grow in the garden more carefully now, too.

I do want to get Growing Together, but it was too buggy when it came out and now I feel like I might as well wait until it's 50% off. The same will probably be the case with For Rent if it doesn't get some major bug fixes while the bonus items are still available.

Expansion Packs

• Half of Growing Together should have been a basegame update, since milestones, the infant steps and chemistry system are dying to be expanded upon with future content. San Sequoia is a small and boring world. And some features are annoying. But I really liked the small content (puzzles, friendship bracelets, rec centers, sleepovers), the should-have-been-basegame content is a lot of fun, and it adds to my everyday gameplay in fun little ways. 7/10
  
• Horse Ranch should have been in Cats & Dogs or Cottage Living. It didn't have enough content to justify an expansion pack. It's still unbelievable that two Sims 4 EPs and a SP still pale in comparison to what one Sims 3 EP offered. The horses themselves are standard fare. The world is nice and I love the BB/CAS, it's fun. I won't play with horses much, and I don't have much space to add them to my farm lots. But the pack and some of its side content (wine-making, goats and sheep, and... nothing else, really) are something I'll have fun playing with from time to time. 6/10
  
• For Rent, I can't say much because I stopped playing with it. I got the potential file-corrupting lot glitch so I'm leaving my game alone until I know it's safe. Other glitches have been bumming me out too, like it's hard to enjoy the features when they don't work properly half the time. Outside of those issues, I guess it's neat? We got some nice smaller features that looks like they'll be fun to play. The world is tiny and bland. I love the idea of apartments and want to play with them when I can. 6/10. It's better than Horse Ranch, but at least I can play Horse Ranch.
  

Game Packs
This is where I'd put my Fairy GP...



... If I had one.


Stuff Packs
Home Chef Hustle: I just don't see the appeal of the pack. Like appliances are neat, I get why people like that aspect. And if you like new food, you have that. But I'm not impressed with a sales table reskin, where the only advantages are some banner customization, a counter attached to it, and seeing sims eat in front of you. The BB and CAS are not my taste. I have no interest in new foods because, outside of affecting certain traits or making you gain weight, almost all the food in the game is exactly the same. It's nice to have, and I'll give my sims their own unique tastes. But it's all just aesthetics, except the food in The Sims 4 looks so ugly.

I feel like EA tricked us into thinking Stuff Packs would be good after Nifty Knitting and Paranormal Stuff hit the scene. But no, those were just exceptions to the rule and they're still lame. 4/10

The hair is really cute though, I gotta say. Love the hair.

Kits

• Simtimates Collection: I don't care about CAS kits tbh. CC is easier to find and it's usually better. But I appreciate that we finally got briefs in the game.
  
• Bathroom Clutter: It'd be better if some of the items didn't look so low-poly and gross. But I appreciate that we got an update to sinks, tubs and toilets, so we could actually put that clutter somewhere. I've been wanting that for years.
  
• Greenhouse Haven: This one was cute, I like it. Possibly my second favorite kit, after Decor to the Max. I bought it day 1 and never looked back.
  
• Basement Treasures: Eh.
  
• Grunge Revival: They picked a fun fashion style and came up with the most middling, safe looks. I'd say it's a disappointment, but I already expect nothing from kits.
  
• Book Nook: Honestly, I forgot this one existed. Modular bookshelves are neat, I guess.
  
• Poolside Splash: I literally don't care.
  
• Modern Luxe: It's got some cute items, I like the style. I feel like it needed some more stuff to make it pop and stand out more, like some more luxury clutter would have gone a long way. But the stuff we did get is neat.
  

Overall year: 5.5/10. So much of what we got was forgettable for me. Growing Together was a highlight. But it was better than 2022.

My review packs/kits from 2023 are:

The Best:
Horse Ranch (This goes way perfect with my Cottage Living)
Home Chef Hustle (Love the Kitchen)
Modern Luxe (Love the Decor & Furniture)
Book Nook (Perfect with my Docor Dream Home)

It's Handy
Grunge Revival (Teen Look)
Simtimates Collection (Lamour PJs)
Poolside Splash (More Swimwear Swatches)
Greenhouse Haven (Pretty, pretty, pretty)

OK/Meh
Growing Together (Well it's Family play I guess)
Bathroom Clutter (Goes with Growing Together)
For Rent (Unfortunately, too glitchy for now)

Veto For Now
Basement Treasures (No actual playable Heartshape Bed, Big TV & Telephone)

GROWING TOGETHER: I love infants and the milestones they can gain in this pack. They really outdid themself with all the things infants can learn and do. I give them a 10 in infant play in this pack. I love the Bikes and tree house for kids too. San Swquoia is a decent world, but I wish they had had a real Movie theatre lot instead of a rabbit hole. More lots would have been nice and some kind of collection in the world would have been nice. It also would have been nice to have a lot or two on the ocean. I would have preferred the extra lot where the Movie theatre is, I could make my own theatre instead. I did like the new lot type they did add, the power walking and the walking trails. I very much eh enjoyed the compatibility likes and dislikes.

HORSE RANCH: I have enjoyed horse Ranch. Making horses is great, but I would have loved to see them do a horse competition which was not a rabbit hole. A Black Smith shop or something similar would have been nice too. Black Smith would have also been a nice job to add to the pack. Something else they needed to add was being able to Rent a horse, so city dwellers could enjoy horses once in awhile. The part time Jobs they added was nice though. I think they should have added basket weaving to the pack since it was Native American inspired.

FOR RENT: I haven’t played this one much as people have said the Rent lots are buggy. I’m waiting for them to fix the lots now that Christmas and New Years are over. I do love the Idea of being able make apartments in any world. Tomorang should have had more lots. I hear there is a large swimming area which is nice, but there should have been lots over the water too. Again there are lots of rabbit holes. The Animal Sanctuary should have been somewhere we could actually go in and see tigers, even if from afar, there didn’t need to be a lot of interaction, but it would have been nice to get pictures of tigers wandering around or laying on a rock or something. Once they fix lots in For Rent I will enjoy that part. I am glad they added hopscotch and marbles to the pack for kids, and the Tiger plushies. The night market is nice, but all the let’s plays I have seen, it has been so scarce of people.

Home chef hustle was really good, it added 3 new appliances, the sales table, new recipe’s, new kitchen stuff, clutter, and some nice new walls. They need to tone down the fires with the pizza maker though.

My favorite kits were : Basement treasures, Book nook, Greenhouse Haven and the the clutter kits.

I liked the Simtimates collection and poolside splash, wish they had added a floating ring for toddlers though instead of adults, would have been a nice touch.

Modern Luxe and Grunge Revival were ok, but not my favorites, I do like that they made some more vanities, just didn’t care for the look of the one they made though. the Grunge revival kit added too many oversized pieces i thought.

Growing together: 8/10
Growing together feels like a collection of a lot of small features but somehow together they tell a bigger story. I think this is a good pack that adds enough to the game to be worth while. I especially like the milestones and social compatibility. However the changing tables and backpack carriers should have been basegame. Those two feel like necessities for infants and shouldn't be restricted to a single pack. An option to switch back to more easy infant gameplay would have been welcome too. The world is nice but too empty, especially Anchorpoint Wharf should be busy with loads of sims. The Gilbert Gardens neighborhoods with the spashpark, swimmable pond and walking paths makes somewhat up for it. The world is also too sparse on collectibles.

Horse Ranch: 7/10
The horses are done very well and offer enough to do for my sims. I really like the option to make nectar. The world is great. The big open neighbourhood is awesome and the town with the grocery store feels like a western. The big downside to this pack is that unicorns are reduced to one single CAS item that has ZERO gameplay consequences. Not enough for actual unicorns but just enough for EA to have an excuse to not have to give a unicorn pack. I got this pack on sale because the theme isn't completely my thing, but for horse lovers this is a great pack.

For Rent: 6/10
On paper this should be the EP that interests me most but I am a bit dissapointed by for rent. There is too little outside of the landlord/tennant gameplay. Advertising a text based animal sanctuary as gameplay in the first blog post was misleading. But I can understand it because there is practically nothing else to the pack. This combined with the small world (only 2 neighbourhoods with 9 lots) this really feels like a GP sold with a EP price tag. I gave Horse Ranch the benefit of the doubt and think Growing together has enough impact on the game to say I disagree with the 'this should have been a GP' argument. But for For Rent I can't give any excuses. For Rent doesn't feel like it offers enough for the 40$/€ price tag. This is one that I can't justify getting at full price. And then there is the bugs...

Home chef Hustle 8/10
Nice to see stuff packs return. It doesn't have the same level as paranormal, laundry day or nifty knitting for me personal but is fun to have all the same. I like to finally be able to make pizzas and waffles.

Kits
In general there are way to many kits. I am glad Kits didn't kill stuff packs after all. But most of these items could have been base game updates or included in other DLC. Only two of this years kits really stand out to me. The others I can't be bothered to give ratings because I can do without just as easily.
Book nook kit 10/10
Modern lux kit 9/10