The Sims 4 Essentials: My Recommendations

The Sims 4, is nearing its tenth birthday later this year, and I felt that now was a good time to check out some of my essentials in the game.

I’ve only mentioned The Sims 4 a couple of times on here in the past, however, let me introduce myself a little first.

Firstly, you already know that I’m Krista, however, what you may not know is that I’m a big The Sims fan. I grew up with the franchise from its initial launch and have since explored all the main franchise games as well as the majority of the spin-offs. Additionally, you may know me from my time creating and sharing content within the community via a variety of guides, lookbooks, reviews, news and more over at the Sims Community.

Enough about me, though, let’s take a look at some of my must-haves for The Sims 4!

Downloadable Content

Downloadable content in The Sims 4 mainly comes in the form of Expansion Packs, Game Packs, Stuff Packs and Kits. Each varies in size and the amount of content you get with each. There is also content added to the game through game patches, Sims Delivery Express and most recently a log-in campaign.

While I won’t be talking about the latter three, I’ve chosen one of each pack type that I feel expands on my gameplay experience as well as being a pack I would recommend.

Expansion Pack

Firstly, expansion packs. Now this was a tough one as there are so many different ones that add some great features to the game. However, I would have to say that The Sims 4 Get Together is one expansion pack that is a must. Not only does it add the wonderful world of Windenburg, it also adds the Club System, a feature I find myself using frequently in my game.

Don’t be fooled by the fact it is one of the older expansion packs, as it still is full of charm even now, eight years later!

Game Pack

Now, this was a tough one for me to choose just one Game Pack. Initially, I was going to talk about The Sims 4 Strangerville Game Pack as I loved how it has a storyline to it however, I couldn’t pass up on sharing some love for Occults in The Sims 4. With that being said, The Sims 4 Realm of Magic is my choice for this round!

Just like with The Sims 4 Get Together world, Glimmerbrook is another beautiful world full of surprises!

Stuff Packs

Coming from a building perspective, this time around, I have to go with The Sims 4 Tiny Living as my choice. As someone who isn’t the greatest at building large and extravagant homes, I always loved the challenge of creating smaller builds, and this Stuff Pack is perfect!

Additionally, I love the colour theme for this pack as well as the Create A Sim additions. The glasses that come with the pack are probably my most used as well!

Kits

The smallest of additional downloadable content for The Sims 4. Kits have always been subject to some interesting opinions. As they are such small pieces of content, I’ve chosen the two that I use most frequently in my game. These are The Sims 4 Everyday Clutter and Basement Treasures Kits. Both of these are Build Kits, but I feel they actually add more charm and realism to the home.

There are numerous Kits available which expand on both building and Create A Sim. To this date, there is still only one gameplay-focused Kit.

Mods & Custom Content

Now, I’m not a big user of either mods or custom content in The Sims 4. I never really have been. Despite this, I do have a small handful of mods as well as a small amount of custom content in my game as well.

Mods

The Mods that I’ve chosen and generally use are those that help with my overall gameplay experience. They are more generic mods rather than mods that focus on one particular theme or feature.

Custom Content

For Custom Content, I typically use Maxis Match content, as it matches the game’s art style. As I mentioned, I’m not a big user of custom content, but I wanted to share some of the creators whose content I have used over the years in my game that I also recommend.

Wait, There’s More!

There are another couple of things I use in my game that while not a must for everyone, as someone who likes to tell stories and take far too many screenshots, help level up my game.

ReShade

ReShade is a separate program from The Sims 4 but allows players to enhance their graphics, to put it simply. As for using it in The Sims 4, it’s a tool that many storytellers will use. They’ll find the perfect preset (usually via creators on Tumblr) to help bring their stories and screenshots to life.

Players can also use G Shade which is similar as well, however, it’s not something I have ever explored myself.

Player Made Poses

Player-created poses are such an amazing asset to The Sims 4. With so many varying themes, they can be themed upon, you’ll always be able to find the perfect pose, whatever the occasion.

If you are curious to find out just how you add poses to your game, click here!

Finally, here are some of my favourite The Sims 4 Pose creators!

Well, that’s everything that I would deem essential or recommend from my The Sims 4 experience during the game’s lifespan. There’s still plenty more I could cover, but honestly, we would be here for an eternity. I mean, we haven’t even started on challenges or talking about the older games. There really is just so much!

Are you a The Sims player past or present? Let me know some of your must-haves or recommendations below!