The Sims 4 Growing Together adds some much-needed spark to Sims' relationships

rockpapershotgun.com:

Last week, I attended a hands-off preview for The Sims 4's upcoming Growing Together expansion pack and its supporting free base game update. This was obviously a real treat for me as RPS' resident Sims fanatic, but I'll admit I went in with my expectations parked in neutral. After all, the theme of this new-content duo is young families, and that just isn't part of the game I engage with too much these days.

But I must admit, even this grumpy old childfree woman was pleasantly surprised by what's on offer. Growing Together introduces some significant tweaks and improvements to the way your Sims feel about themselves and interact with each other, giving their social ecosystem a satisfying upgrade in complexity. There's enough depth to the new systems that even players like me who rarely bother with generational gameplay will have plenty to enjoy: new likes and dislikes set the tone for social interactions, relationship dynamics imbue close bonds with overarching emotional contexts, and memories of milestone moments continue to influence Sims throughout their lives. Perhaps, after nearly 10 years, The Sims 4 is finally on the cusp of finding its own identity as a Sims game, doing something worthwhile that none of its predecessors did. And I appreciate that to achieve this the focus has been turned inwards — to Sims' personalities and relationships — rather than to more material concerns.

My main reservation, really, is that some of these shiny improvements feel suspiciously like a proof of concept for The Sims 5. The fact that the brand-new infants life stage will develop somewhat realistically is cool as hell, but I can't help feeling it's a bit out of place here. It's going to feel weird now to play with a Sim in the