The Sims 4 Seasons Review

It feels surreal that I’m finally writing an actual article reviewing The Sims 4 Seasons Expansion Pack instead of just writing a conspiracy theory (as I have in the previous few months) talking about how The Sims Team might be hinting at a Seasons pack BUT YES; The Sims 4 Seasons has finally released to the public and I couldn’t be more excited to review this Expansion Pack just because it’s something that I’ve been waiting for 4 years now.

Anywho, is The Sims 4 Seasons Expansion Pack a worthy $40 successor to its previous iterations? Let’s 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 Sim

Create A Sim is full of surprises with The Sims 4 Seasons as there’s something new for almost every category, age and fashion choice. Adults get the biggest amount of new items as usual including new hairstyles, hats, accessories and of course outfits to prepare them for cold and hot weather. However, there’s also a surprising amount of new items that your Children and Toddlers can also enjoy.

Yes, toddlers even get to enjoy new swimwear rather than having to use the diapers that you get with the Base Game.

Although there aren’t any new Aspirations or Traits that you can choose in CAS this time around, it seems that The Sims Team found a substitude for them with Holidays and Reward Traits that you get to purchase in Live Mode.

Click here for a full Create A Sim Overview!

Build Mode

Build Mode brings fresh new items to the table with a unique combination of wood and concrete materials & colors which weren’t that present in The Sims before, making your Sim become one step closer to nature with all the new items.

Other than the new furniture there’s a decent amount of new holiday decorations that you’ll find very useful for both pre-made holidays and custom holidays that you create.

Don’t be scared if not all decorations present to you in Build Mode as items such as the Evergreen Holiday Tree and the Decoration Box only give you more options to decorate the tree and your home by interacting with them in Live Mode.

Swingsets, Beekeeping boxes and Kiddie Pools are just some of the new objects that you’ll get with this Expansion Pack giving you more interactions and fun throughout the year. I must say that I was a little disappointed by the lack of objects for the actual pool which I think we all need.

Click here for a full Build Items Overview!

Weather & Seasons

Normally in previous reviews for Expansion Packs this is the part where I review the new world that we get. However, since the idea to add a new world with The Sims 4 Seasons Expansion Pack has been replaced with a better idea to add weather in each world that we’ve got so far, I’ll be showcasing and reviewing weather and seasons in some of the current worlds that we have in the game.

Fall

One of my favorite times of the year (at least in The Sims 4 Seasons). Not only because it looks so colorful when the skies are clear but also because this season (along with spring) is truly dynamic when it comes to surroundings with trees slowly decaying all around you.

Unlike in The Sims 3 Seasons, leaves won’t immediately fall from the trees. It will take a few days for trees around you to start decaying. Until then, you’ll slowly notice the gradual change of leaf colors go from green to brown.

World you see below is Brindleton Bay from The Sims 4 Cats & Dogs Expansion Pack

Weather occurances that you can mostly expect during fall are cloudy skies, rain and wind. However, you might be surprised by mysterious weather types that might strike you not only during fall but during other seasons as well.

Fall is beautifully done in The Sims 4 Seasons and it makes the game and its art style much more lovable.

Winter

The first (and only) thing that I was screaming my lungs out about was the announcement that The Sims 4 Seasons won’t have any snow depth in the game. What this means is that there’s not even a milimetre of extra layer added to the ground once snow falls. I was really displeased by this when it was initially announced by SimGurus but after actually getting my hands on the game the snow isn’t that bad at all. Sims (and their pets if you have Cats & Dogs installed) will leave actual footprints on the ground. There are a couple of things that make snow look really natural in The Sims 4 Seasons. Objects that are outside on the ground during snowfall will have a white gradient on the bottom part of the objects making it seemlesly blend with the ground instead of just sticking out of the snow like we had in previous 2 games. There’s also a truly unique texture pattern of snow that, when you zoom out, you’ll notice that snow and the way it fell down on the group doesn’t look the same in all areas.

Just like rain, snowfall also has different levels varying from Sunsnow to Blizzard, with Light Snow, Snow and Heavy Snow inbetween.

World on the left is Forgotten Hollow from The Sims 4 Vampires and world on the right is Windenburg from The Sims 4 Get Together

Winter positively surprised me after I got my hands on it and, along with Fall, it’s my favorite season – mostly because it completely transforms everything around you and make it seem like you’re playing a brand new world. Honestly, I’ve had so many comments on my videos / posts from people asking which world am I playing with mostly because they couldn’t recognize it instantly.

Spring

As you step into spring you’re going to notice the fac that snow won’t be gone right away. It’s a gradual process which takes a bit of time (and temperature).

With Spring the grass will gradually become more lush, there are flowers scattered on the ground around the worlds and the weather is much more pleasant for your Sims.

World on the left is San Myshuno from The Sims 4 City Living and world on the right is Brindleton Bay from The Sims 4 Cats & Dogs

There are times when you might be expecting a thunderstorm. However, the chances for that are low. Still, when that does happen it’s best advised to take cover as thunderstorms in The Sims 4 Seasons are frightening. Each lightning strike will completely light up the neighborhood that you are in.

World down below is Windenburg from The Sims 4 Get Together

Spring is beautifully portrayed and each day is full of surprises with this season.

Summer

I was quick to negatively judge this season considering the fact that we had eternal summer in The Sims 4 Base Game for almost 4 years and that previous iterations of Seasons in The Sims Franchise didn’t really change the look of your surroundings that much but I’m glad that that’s not the case with The Sims 4 Seasons.

Sure, occasionally there are fairly warm days when nothing much has changed around you. However, as soon as your weather user interface shows a heatwave coming up you should prepare for taking hundreds of screenshots (at least that was a case for me) because every world is simply brilliant during a heatwave. With heatwaves around noon the world will shine brighter than usual but during the sunset hours the sky will turn almost pink. Not only that but you might also notice that the sun is much bigger than before!

World down below is Brindleton Bay from The Sims 4 Cats & Dogs

With summer you can expect lots of sun, rain and even wind. Still, do note that weather is unpredictable in this pack and will change from year to year.

Speaking of year to year, does that mean that we get..

Calendars

That’s right – The Sims 4 Seasons completely stepped up the game and added something that was never present in The Sims Franchise before – CALENDARS!

With calendars you are able to check the forecast for the next 7 days, see your Sims’ work and school schedule and also see which types of holidays and events are coming up. This is a feature that completely changes how you see both play the game and tell your stories as the concept of time has even more been redefined with this feature.

The calendar can also surprise you with an upcoming pre-made holiday that you haven’t seen before, as well as mysterious weather types that are sometimes predicted 7 days in advance.

One of the best things about the calendar is that you’re able to plan your own holidays and add your own events in advance (even allowing you to set the exact hour of a particular event). It gives you gameplay customization and manipulation that we haven’t seen before in The Sims Franchise.

Holidays & Activities

Beside actual seasons and weather that we get, Holidays is one of the biggest feature of this Expansion Pack. With Holidays Sims will have something to celebrate every season including Winterfest (which is basically Christmas for Sims), Harvestfest (Thanksgiving), Love Day and one of my personal favorites – New Year’s Eve!

Each holiday acts similarly to the events system that you get with The Sims 4 Base Game. You have certain objectives that you can complete in order to make your Sims have an awesome party and make them happy. However, there’s more complexity to holidays.

• Each holiday is celebrated not just on your lot but in each world in The Sims 4!
• Each tradition that you choose / play with in a holiday brings at least 1 unique interaction or ability in the game.
• Some Sims will choose to ignore or love certain holiday traditions depending on their traits and age.
• Successfully completing a holiday will give your Sim satisfaction points that you can take advantage of to spend on new Reward Traits – however unsucessfully completing a holiday will only give your Sims a small sad buff.
• Best of all – you have from 6AM to 2AM to complete a holiday, giving you enough time to not rush things.

Holidays and traditions are quite friendly and loving. Just be careful that you please the gnomes on your lot in time (that is if you choose the Gnomes as a tradition).

You’re occasionally going to get surprise holidays as well that will add a small twist to your holiday routine on your calendar.

You don’t have to play by the rules of the holiday game though. If you don’t like one or multiple holidays in your calendar you’re free to remove them and add your own! The game offers a crazy amount of new traditions and customization options such as choosing the name & icon of your holiday,  decoration theme and choosing if that day your Sims should relax from work/school or not.

With this tool you won’t just manipulate the story of your Sim – you’ll manipulate all Sims around you!

Gardening

Seasons encourages your Sim to not only spend more time outside but to also nurture and take care of the nature around you. Gardening skill got a small overhaul but that’s not all – with this pack you’ll be able to join the Gardening Career, eventually choose a Botanist or a Flower Arranging branch and choose to earn money by going to work or working from home.

The gardening overhaul that you get with this pack will encourage you to pay closer attention to your surroundings and pick flowers that you’ll be able to arrange and sell at home.

With Seasons there’s an added complexity to taking care of your plants as not all plants will now grow during every season. Still, you’ll notice how things get easier if you build a greenhouse for your plants and even give them a company of the bees are also new to this pack! Just make sure you don’t use and abuse the great power of the bees…I’m kidding – feel free to bond with them and get revenge on your cheating husband just like I did!

The Verdict

I couldn’t find anything that really bothered me in this Expansion Pack, which I must admit is the case for the first time in The Sims 4 series. There are some small pet peeves such as lack of new pool objects and some other features and objects that were considered crucial in previous Seasons EPs. However, The Sims 4 Seasons Expansion Pack took a different approach, added a small twist to things we’ve had before and added something completely new to the franchise – which I’m glad it did.