The Sims 4 has come a long way since its initial release, turning seven this year, but it hasn’t been an easy journey for the game and all of its DLC. The game has a pretty high rating overall, but players tend to make comparisons to previous Sims games to point out how much depth is missing from the base game. In the past, many players have stated that DLC feels more mandatory than optional, arguing that the The Sims 4 base game can be boring. Whether this is true or not is in the eyes of the beholder, but what is true is that The Sims 4 has a ton of DLC, which may potentially be its downfall too.
The Sims 4 has 18 Stuff packs, nine Game packs, and 10 expansion packs, each designed to add unique content to the game. Each DLC package typically retails about $10 for Stuff packs, $20 for Game packs, and $40 for expansions. That’s 37 DLC packs total, which is absolutely more than the 18 packs for The Sims 2, and almost double the 20 packs of The Sims 3. The Sims 4’s developers changed The Sims’ formula, creating Stuff, Game, and expansion packs rather than just expansion and Stuff packs of the past. This change was probably the franchise’s biggest mistake — but Paranormal may be fixing it.
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By definition, the difference between Stuff, Game, and expansion packs lies in, of course, how much new content is added per DLC. Stuff packs are meant to add fun new objects and fashion, while Game packs are larger than Stuff packs and add new experiences and thematic gameplay to The Sims 4. Expansion packs are the largest and take Sims on “new adventures,” according to EA’s website.
In past iterations of The Sims, the divide was always between expansion and Stuff packs, which made knowing what would be added to the game pretty easy. Expansion packs would alter gameplay and add new experiences, while Stuff packs were geared toward fashion and Build/Buy mode. The Sims 4 introducing three categories of DLC packs instead of two can be read a couple different ways; mainly that it either helps the developer make new content quickly and get it out to players, or that the new category was inserted as a cash grab. Again, the answer is in the eye of the beholder, but Paranormal has flipped the latter notion on its head.
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Previous The Sims 4 DLC has occasionally left players wanting more. Whether it was a lackluster expansion, a Game pack that was seemingly an advertisement for Star Wars, or a Stuff pack that required already owning a different expansion, The Sims 4 has struck out a few times when it comes to DLC. However, it’s also done really well at times, too. Snowy Escape was a major success among players, but the newest Paranormal Stuff pack really shows that things have taken a turn for the better.
Paranormal is labeled a Stuff pack, but it included so much content that it was more like previous Game packs. The new career directly tied to the contents of the pack, like the “Medium” skill, and the Haunted House aspect was well done and incredibly immersive. The pack was a win for players and The Sims 4, and could be indicative of things to come. It’s confirmed that The Sims 4 has content planned through 2021, and if Paranormal added so much in just a Stuff pack, it’s hard not to hope that future Game and expansion packs will be even more immersive and content-packed than they’ve been previously.
The Sims 4: Paranormal is available now for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.