The Sims 4 Has a World Problem

Summary

The Sims 4 worlds are visually stunning but lack depth, leading to empty shells with limited gameplay.
Recent expansions like For Rent have smaller worlds with fewer lots and NPCs, making gameplay lackluster.
Players are frustrated with the lack of content, long load screens, and a trend towards aesthetics over meaningful gameplay.

Worlds in The Sims 4 are undoubtedly stunning. Whether they depict a tropical paradise, desert landscapes, or American suburbia, the worlds available to Sims are gorgeous and have always been a strong point of the series. However, there has been a worrying trend in recent games in The Sims 4 where the worlds are beautiful but essentially function like shells. The most recent expansion pack, The Sims 4: For Rent, also raised red flags from players because the world was smaller than usual, as well as being devoid of townies and things to do.

The Sims 4 launched with two worlds, Willow Creek and Oasis Springs, and soon added Newcrest. While Newcrest is an empty world, it serves its purpose as a world designed for players to build in and comes with 15 lots, all of which are empty and can be built on. While the world that shipped with The Sims 4: Get To Work, Magnolia Promenade, was disappointing, the next expansion, The Sims 4: Get Together, had a massive world with 24 lots and 4 neighborhoods.

The Sims 4's World Problem

Where It Began

The Sims 4 remained consistent for most of its 10-year run regarding the size of its worlds, with Windenburg remaining The Sims 4's largest world. Some game packs, such as Tartosa from The Sims 4: Wedding Stories shipped with smaller worlds, which players accepted as a part of game packs. The problems began a few years ago with The Sims 4: Eco Lifestyle.

Evergreen Harbor's Problem

The issues with The Sims 4: Eco Lifestyle would precede the issues players see today, but they are typical of the problem. The draw of The Sims 4: Eco Lifestyle is being able to change the world based on gameplay behavior. Instead of this affecting all worlds, this only affected the world it shipped with, Evergreen Harbor. It also didn't give the depth of change that players were anticipating, with the changes leaning toward cosmetic rather than affecting gameplay.

Smaller Worlds, Less Gameplay

This lack of depth in worlds would become the new norm, and all the subsequent worlds followed suit, each becoming more shallow than the last. Additionally, rather than worlds becoming bigger, they began to shrink, with fewer neighborhoods and playable lots.

Number of Lots in The Sims 4 Worlds

Willow Creek: 21 lots, 6 neighborhoods
Oasis Springs: 21 lots, 6 neighborhoods,
Windenburg (The Sims 4: Get Together): 24 lots, 4 neighborhoods
Tartosa (The Sims 4: Wedding Stories): 9 lots, 2 neighborhoods
Copperdale: (The Sims 4: High School Years): 12 lots, 3 neighborhoods
San Sequoia (The Sims 4: Growing Together): 12 lots, 3 neighborhoods
Chestnut Ridge (The Sims 4: Horse Ranch): 13 lots, 3 neighborhoods
Tomarang (The Sims 4: For Rent): 9 lots, 2 neighborhoods

The Sims 4: For Rent's World Is a Pretty Shell

A World with Nothing to Do

Tomarang, a world shipped with an expansion pack, only has nine playable lots and two neighborhoods. This is the same as Tartosa, a world that was shipped with a game pack. This would be fine if the smaller world was packed with content, but players have been complaining about the empty shells, streets devoid of NPCs, an empty beach, and the one tiger sanctuary that's a rabbit hole. The world that shipped with The Sims 4: Horse Ranch, Chestnut Ridge, was much larger in scale, but also only had 13 lots with not a lot to do.

More Barriers to Leave the Home

With The Sims 4: For Rent, load screens have seen more implementation than ever before, and many players are complaining that they've given up on having their Sims ever leave their homes simply because leaving their home lot takes too long, and there isn't anything to do. The Sims 4 needs to go back to basics and create worlds that Simmers want to play in, that go beyond aesthetics and offer meaningful gameplay.

Rating block community and brand ratings Image