The Sims 4 presents a fairly complete set of social situations to throw your Sims into, but all of these – be it heading into town, going to a bar or even popping over to the neighbour’s house – hides behind a loading screen. Whilst these loads were actually surprisingly brief, it still made socialising and exploring more of a hassle than I wanted it to be, and I found myself avoiding them unless necessary. It’s a shame, because the game’s many locations are really fun to explore.
Still, the game’s core tenants of looking after your Sims needs, cultivating a healthy social life, working your way up a career ladder and chasing new material goods is as addictive as it’s ever been here, even with the compromises the console version makes. Like always I was forever chasing the next house expansion, jumping through the rest of the game’s hoops so I could afford a swimming pool or a new extension in the backyard.
I was surprised and very pleased to see that the game allows for cheat codes, so should the daily grind start getting you down you can always tap in an old favourite and be swimming in money.
Presentation:
The Sims 4’s cute, rounded look and feel has made the jump to consoles with predictable comfort, and I never found the game wanting visually. In my review for the PC version I praised how the cartoonish aesthetic Sims 4 adopted lends a clean and fun look to the series, and its true here as well.
The score will be just fine for the first twenty or so hours you pour into this game (and if it clicks for you, expect that number to be just the beginning. The Sims tends to be a lifestyle rather than a flavour of the month). I usually opt out of its muzak for my own soundtracks pretty soon after booting up a Sims game, and whilst the hummable tunes are as fun and throwaway as they’ve ever been, I replaced them pretty quickly here as well.
As for performance, the Sims 4 doesn’t compare to its more stable PC sibling. I ran into a few bugs – luckily none that broke my experience – and the UI constantly felt unnecessarily cluttered. It can chug in more frantic moments, too, but overall it’s nothing that ruins the title.
Conclusion:
At times the Sims 4 on consoles feels like a hobbled experience, especially if you’re used to playing on computer. But this release doesn’t really exist for those players, instead it allows players who would never have otherwise got to play the Sims a chance to rectify that. Compromises have been made to allow for this, and whilst they’re frustrating at times they’re all necessary. All things considered, the Sims 4 on consoles is an admirable port that does its best with its limited options, and delivers a fun, addictive and wholly unique experience to a whole new group of players.
The Sims 4 has made the unexpected but welcome jump to consoles, allowing a whole new set of players to get to grips with this fascinating series. Unlike previous home console attempts, The Sims 4 looks to adapt the entire experience instead of a pared down version and comes away with something unique and admirable, if a little cumbersome at times.
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