It only took a decade, but The Sims 4 is finally closing in on the best game in the series

gamesradar.com:

When it comes to life simulators, there's only ever been one true front-runner. Second Life and IMVU drew their fair share of respectable interest back in the 2000s, offering teenagers a video game-tinged social network before we even had the term for one, but Maxis's series of The Sims games have remained a genre mainstay – and for good reason. 

2004's The Sims 2 is the crowning jewel of the franchise, fondly remembered and still played to this day despite The Sims 4 being the developer's latest iteration. With the release of The Sims 4: Growing Together on the horizon, things are finally looking up for the beleaguered fourth generation. Yes: all these patches, base game updates, and hotfixes later, The Sims 4 is almost in as good a shape as its decades-old predecessor. But why in the world did it take so long?

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From the dramatic character backstories that came baked into each family to the infamous way that Sims couldn't get out of pools without a ladder, The Sims 2 held a certain chaotic charm that spoke to us, capturing our imaginations for years to come. It was enough to trigger a litany of community-made mods, music videos, and custom content to let us live out our wildest, most problematic suburban fantasies. Baby on the grill (opens in new tab), anyone?

The Sims 3 launched in 2009, but I still had my nails dug deep into what I considered the best Sims game ever. Sure, the third generation saw open maps that allowed you to travel across town with little in the way of a loading screen, and The Sims 3: Supernatural expansion pack had the most comprehensive range of occult types ever seen in a Sims game. But the character models were decidedly