Launching Sims 4 offline

Hello,

I have recently been trying to play The Sims 4 offline as a I currently have very limited internet access. I set the EA app into offline mode in advance but when clicking play it comes up with "Unable to start: Initialization error at start up. [135dec40:984c6a38:00000077:00000000]".

I have tried multiple solutions to fix this error but the only solution seems to be to connect to the internet, go online and open the game, and only then would I be able to play the game online, which makes offline mode redundant and completely pointless.

This has been a known issue for over 2 years and there seems to have been no effort made to fix it or prove any solutions to the community - are players expected to have constant internet access to be able to play a game they already own? Furthermore, a game which is not multiplayer or requires internet access in any aspect, apart from to open the gallery or make purchases, neither of which are even remotely essential to gameplay?

This is extremely disappointing to see from such a  large and well known company and I hope I can be provided with a solution soon.

Much appreciated.