And there’s a fair old amount of enjoyment to get from it for free as well, it’s hardly bare bones. Yes you can spend a lot to get a lot of extras, but don’t feel you have to.
I’d played Sims 4 on PC a couple years ago, and enjoyed it (I don’t know if I got it free, but probably it was a super-mega-sale that included some DLCs for < $5). I had fun, though it was a shock to me (having played some earlier versions) where my character not only aged, but died. I was not prepared for that, strategically or emotionally.
When it came free on all platforms I added it to my PS5’s library but only got around to installing it last week and firing it up. Golly were the controls extremely difficult to use! You had different control “modes”, where in one mode things worked one way but completely different in the alternate mode, and I just gave up after 15 minutes of trying.
I am not a “PC Master Race” guy; I play both, and I’ve been using consoles since the original XBox days. There are definitely games I prefer on the console, but this certainly isn’t one of them.
[I fully expect the fault is my own]
Death was always a part of The Sims. In the very first game, you could die from:
- Starving (hunger bar totally empty)
- Drowning (either swimming too long, or swimming when low energy)
- Fire (usually from cooking mishaps)
- Electrocution (using electrical items when standing in a puddle, for example when a sink breaks, or trying to do electrical repairs with low skill)
- Guinea pig disease (guinea pig pets from the Livin’ Large expansion could bite and infect their owners)
- Skydiving simulator (this is from the Superstar expansion, using the simulator with low energy can kill a Sim)
- Toadification (the Makin’ Magic expansion had the chance to be turned into a toad, and be eaten by a dragon or cat)
Sims 2 was the first game where you could also die of old age, which I assume is what you are referencing. So yeah, death isn’t new. I remember I’d try to come up with ways to kill off Sims on purpose in the original game after getting bored. It wasn’t easy and you generally had to create “death traps” like a Batman villain. (There were two easy methods I found. One was to build a room with no doors, fill it with wood furniture, and a BBQ grill, light the grill and wait, eventually one of the chairs will catch fire and that would spread. The other was to build a pool then take the ladder out so they could never leave, they’ll eventually drown. That second one wasn’t as interesting though. Yes, it was sick, but the whole idea of the game is to be a manipulative god over unsuspecting people so whatever.)
Huh…I don’t know why I don’t remember dying of old age in prior versions.
I think I read that in Sims 4 you can turn off the old age dying, but now that I know it will happen, I can prepare for it (pre-pay funeral, for example).
I’m not sure what’s in the base game, but there’s a popular mod called “MC Command Center”, which gives the player a lot more control over how the game functions. If you do end up playing for more than few hours, I highly recommend getting the mod. (It’s free, although I do support it on Patreon, because it improves the game that much.)
As an alternative, you can start with a sim who is already dead.
I seem to remember that you could turn off ageing in the Sims 2, at least. And there may have also been a cheat code to turn it off in the Sims 3.
You can absolutely turn off aging in Sims 4.
I have kept my eye on Sims 4 for literally years now. Intrigued me, but I didn’t feel like plonking down the dough.
Absolutely grabbed it while it was free. Once I get tired of Snowrunner, I’ll give it a shot.
This week on epic, it’s Recipe for disaster.
neat looking l its too bad that most places (maxis Firaxis bullfrog etc) have given up on the “tycoon” genre
Alien Breed: Trilogy is free on GOG for the next 48 hours.
The Leisure Suit Larry is free via Fanatical (activate on Steam) for those who want some classic 80s/90s point-and-click cringe. Signing up for the newsletter is required.
Edit: I’m removing the link because I never played these and don’t know if there’s anything especially problematic in them. I only know of them through reputation back in the day. So, out of caution, I’m letting you know they’re there but letting you go get them for yourself if you want.
Today on Epic:
What I remember is that it does have problematic content, but it’s done at Larry’s expense, and that they get better as the series progresses.
I would have grabbed all the games just for the historical value, but it ran out before I got a chance.
Marvel’s Midnight Suns is free to play this weekend. I have played it and think it is fun. Don’t think it is worth full-price though (I wish I had waited for a sale). YMMV:
On Steam at least, it is 40% off until March 2nd, which is a pretty big discount. Clearly their strategy is to get you to try it for free, like it, and then buy it with that discount.
I might even do that if the game seems good enough.
If you (or anyone else) try it strongly consider disabling the 2K launcher:
yeah, they say the same thing happens for borderlands and the civ games actually pretty much all the 2k games that use it also …
to me, it just looks like a new entry in the X-Men/marvel alliance game style that we’ve had for years …