The Sims 4 Cats & Dogs Review

After years of waiting and months of speculation The Sims 4 Cats & Dogs Expansion Pack has finally hit the shelves. However, does it justify the long wait and the $40 price tag? Read our review to find out!

Game Review Standards

This review is based on 25+ hours of gameplay.  Even though I was given an early review copy by EA to test the game, I am not by any means paid or bribed to state positive (or negative) opinions about this Expansion Pack.  I will give my honest opinion of this pack; its content and what it brings to the game.

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Create A Pet

Create A Pet is so detailed in The Sims 4 Cats & Dogs. From the ability to pick and search for breeds to sculpting any part of their body – you’ll find yourself enjoying creating a creature that doesn’t even have to be a Cat or a Dog. Just look at this Tiger created using Create A Pet!

Created by TheKalinotr0n

One of the greatest thing about this pack is that it brings a tool so powerful that it throws shade at all other creative tools in The Sims 4. It’s so good that it makes you wonder “why can’t I do this for my Sims as well”.

Honestly though – even Pets now have better makeup options than Sims in The Sims 4. Can you draw a highlighter on your Sim’s cheekbone and set it to a certain opacity? Nope, but you can do that to your cats.

Please don’t do this to your pets in real life.

Create A Sim

After years of my complaining The Sims Team has delivered a somewhat equal amount for both Masculine and Feminine fashion choices. The difference was drastic in previous packs but in this pack you can really tell that the team has devoted their time into creating equal assets – and they’ve done a great job.

There are new assets for Sims of all ages and they are just pawesome!

Also, this feminine curly hairstyle has definitely raised some standards. More of these hairstyles in future content please!

Build Mode

Most of the new objects that revolve around indoor residental furnishing are country-themed objects – and it’s a breath of fresh air from all the modern items we have received with previous content!

There are only 2 things I dislike about Build Mode which will impact the rating of the build mode section greatly: lack of pet objects and an excessive amount of decals.

You’d think that you’d get more objects for a pack that revolves only around Cats & Dogs but nope – you only get basic objects to satisfy your pet needs including a refurbished toy box designed for pets and an obstacle course.

Was there really a need to add 67 decals?! I understand that it’s all cute and awesome to add cats and dogs imagery on your Vet Clinic sign or decorate your house with paw prints, but The Sims Team could’ve stopped at that and not create an excessive amount of decals. All of that work strenght could’ve been spent on new wallapapers / floors because compared to previous Expansion Packs this one lacks of them!

Brindleton Bay

Cats & Dogs comes with a new world called Brindleton Bay and it’s gorgeous in so many ways. Sure, there are only 4 neighborhoods / 16 lots in total but you get so much space to spend amazing moments with your Pets and take them to go out and explore.

There are some amazing details and features that are tied into each neighborhood and that level of attention is not that noticable with worlds in previous packs – which means that it can only get better from this point on.

Another great thing is that the team is focusing on giving each neighborhood its own story. They are continuing the tradition that started off with The Sims 4 City Living’s San Myshuno where each neighborhood got its own description and theme.

Cats & Dogs

I cannot express how entertaining it is to observe your Cats & Dogs just being the intelligent creatures that they are in this pack. Animations are always so different and unique and you’ll find yourself pausing the game every now and then to admire the cute little sleeping poses that your Pets have.

What’s different (or not different, depending on if you’ve played previous Pets packs and which ones) is that Pets are uncontrollable – meaning that you cannot click on your Pet and tell him to “Go Here”. You either have to pick that Pet up using your Sim and place him where you want or leash that Pet (if it’s a large dog) and stop at the point where you want to take your Pet. You can also use the “Call Over” option on the user interface which is of course a lot easier and now I have no idea why I wrote all this but ok.

The idea of uncontrollable Pets is both a blessing and a curse. Blessing because it gives you a lot more challenge in the game and forces you to observe your Pet and find out what their needs are which is often interesting. However, it’s also a curse because sometimes you just need to take control over your Pets and direct them to do some things while your Sims are occupied and unable to command your Pets.

It’s obvious why The Sims Team made the decision to remove control over Pets and that is to make it a lot more entertaining. After I got my hands on the game I understood what they meant with this decision but once it was my turn to write various articles about Cats & Dogs I just couldn’t because forcing your Cats and Dogs to do certain interaction just isn’t possible. Well, it wasn’t until awesome folks from Sims 4 Studio created a mod which enables full pet control. This mod is a lifesaver and proves that there is still some optionality with this pack – even though it’s “behind-the-scenes” and unfinished (for example when selecting Cats / Dogs they will have certain buffs but most of them don’t have any details or descriptions).

The beginning is always difficult because you’ll have to watch your Pets every step of the way. They’ll often misbehave at the beginning but you have full control over their development and can choose to lecture them or encourage them for their misbehavior which will influence their character growth as you play. There’s some sense of accomplishment with Pets in this pack and a simple interaction telling your Cat to stop eating your food will mean a lot to you.

As days go by and as you dedicate your time to developing the character of your Pets you’ll slowly notice that they’re becoming more independent and intelligent. Sure, you still need to feed them and give them a bath but things like telling them to go potty or which bed should they use to sleep will be a thing of the past.

Pets also have 9 different emotions which they’ll get depending on their needs and recent occurences. Just like Sims they have different expressions and you’ll instantly know what’s up by looking at their face / body language.

Everything about Cats and Dogs’ behavior is done just right. The only negative side of this is the lack of control that some might dislike, as well as the lack of user interface which would’ve given us more information about our pets.

Veterinary Career

The Veterinary Career is a perfect combination of The Sims 4 Dine Out’s Restaurants as well as The Sims 4 Get to Work’s Doctor Career without needing to have any of those 2 packs I mentioned. This Career is a standalone feature that comes with Cats & Dogs that will require for your Household to purchase or already own a clinic first before doing any work – something you’ve probably encountered with Retail Stores and Restaurants.

This is how it all goes at the Vet Clinic: you do exams to cat and dog patients that come to your clinic, give them a diagnosis, treat them and earn money from it. That’s a process that your Sims will repeat throughout their entire work time at the Clinic.

As you progress with your Veterinary Skill & Vet Clinic ratings you’ll unlock more challenging gameplay. Some pets will arrive at your exam table completely stressed out waiting for your Vet to be calmed down first. Some will come with a dozen of symptoms that you’ll need to crack down before giving a right diagnosis and some will require extra special treatment at the surgery machine.

For those who are playing as a Pet owner and not as a Vet Clinic owner: Pet Illnesses are a lot more complex than illnesses your Sims have encountered if you have The Sims 4 Get to Work installed. Each Pet that gets sick should get examined and treated right away unless you don’t want them to start feeling to unwell. Luckily they cannot die from extreme illnesses but please don’t make your poor Pets suffer too much!

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The Verdict

Some things like the lack of Pet User Interface and full control might bother some, but the modding community is already hard at work at filling out the holes that this pack has. Still with all its minor flaws, this pack doesn’t just help you fill up the 8-Sim Household Limit. It gives your Household more character and life – turning your everyday routine into a spontaneous adventure.

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