Is The Sims 4 Base Game Worth Playing In 2025?

More than ten years after The Sims 4 base game was released, is it still worth playing? In that ten years, the number of DLC packs, including Expansion Packs, Game Packs, Stuff Packs, and Kits, has grown exponentially. As of writing, there are at least 76 packs in existence, all of which add something to the base game. However, many game services let players into the base pack for free, so is it worth playing without all the extras?

The best games on Game Pass or PlayStation Plus are often those that are an entire game and that don’t depend on players buying a bunch of add-ons. Even if players don’t have a subscription to one of these, the base game is also free to play on Steam. Sometimes these can include a few of the DLC, but nowhere near the full game as it exists now. The real question is whether or not the game being free makes it worth it.

Sims 4 Base Game’s Main Features, Explained

While it has been ten years, it doesn’t mean that the game has continued to exist in the same state that it did at the beginning. Instead, the game has continued to receive free updates alongside the paid DLC, and that continues to improve the game. Some of these updates are just bug fixes, but that is not all.

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For instance, when the last DLC released, the Life & Death pack, a free update was also released that changed how Sims react to death in the base game. It also allowed players to create Sims that were Ghosts, and Sims will now continue on as Ghosts in the world when they die. It also added a few changes to how households are managed, a few new objects, and different shoes.

This is just one update that has happened since the game first released, and this is fairly typical with each new big release. This means that even though The Sims 4 is not the same game without the DLC, it is still changing and evolving and growing bigger on its own. For players who just have the base game, they will get to explore three full worlds, follow Sims throughout most of their Life Stages, keep them happy, let them die in ways only Sims can, and perform all of the game mechanics fans are most familiar with.

Sims 4 Base Game: What’s Missing?

Big Expansions & New Gameplay Mechanics

The big things that are missing are things that were released in DLC that became fairly big staples in the game after that. The Seasons DLC is a big one, as it changed the way the game functioned and added a more typical year with weather and new options for plants into the game. Expansion Packs like Get To Work allowed players to have more control over their Sims’ jobs, which is something that is not as developed in the base game.

While the infant and toddler Life Stages are possible, they are not as well-developed without things like the Parenthood and Growing Together packs. Developing relationships and falling in love will also be a little more lackluster, although still possible. For those who like animals, Pets will also be missing from the base game.

Mechanics aside, the other big thing that is missing is the ten years’ worth of extra building pieces. It may not seem like a big deal, but if players want to use any of the Gallery designs, they may find they are missing a large amount of building tools, even if it’s just a different door. Having to replace or just not use a lot of these designs might be frustrating, so players should look for base game builds in the Gallery specifically if they don’t want to remake everything from scratch.

Should You Play The Sims 4 Base Game In 2025?

There’s One Major Upside That Changes Everything

At the end of the day, the base game is free in 2025. There’s nothing lost if players load in and find out they don’t want to play with just what’s in the base game. It would be easy enough to delete and uninstall. There are very few things that are not at least worth trying when they are free. Unlike most free mobile games, players can still play the game as intended without spending any money on it. Compared to games asking for money every few moments to earn more gems, it’s a bit of a relief.

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While there are big things missing, it’s still a fully formed game and most players won’t know how much they’re missing if they are just jumping in. The DLC do add some valuable things, but they also add more storage requirements and contribute to the slowdown of their computer. The game will run perfectly well on most machines without the DLC, which might make it appealing to those who don’t own a gaming PC worthy of NASA.

While it won’t be for everyone, and those who are used to having the full DLC will likely be disappointed going back to a vanilla game, it’s still worth it for those who don’t have that experience and who just want to have fun managing the lives of the Sims. At the end of the day, The Sims 4 base game is fun and free to play, and that does mean something.

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The Sims 4

Released

September 2, 2014

Developer(s)

Maxis

Publisher(s)

Electronic Arts

ESRB

T for Teen: Crude Humor, Sexual Themes, Violence

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