It is time to dig up those raincoats and parkas from your dusty attic as things are about to cool off for your Sims. Weather arrives in the neighborhoods thanks to the newest Expansion Pack: The Sims 4 Seasons! Let’s have a closer look at this amazingly detailed pack, shall we?
Dress for the Season in Create a Sim
As the weather changes, your Sims can dress themselves accordingly with the two new clothing categories: Hot Weather & Cold Weather. Toddlers even get three new categories as they can now change into their Swimwear too, a category that hadn’t been added for them previously. Simmers who do not own the Seasons pack, will still be able to use the categories as they are part of the free pre-expansion update.
A nice detail about the new categories is that your Sims can wear whatever you want, no matter if it originally “belongs” in the category or not. So if you want your Sims’ Winter outfit to be a tank top, they will still be warm enough as long as you put it on them for their Cold Weather outfit.
Stay warm during the Winter with puffy coats and cozy sweaters
If you think about winter clothes you probably automatically think of the warmest, fluffiest clothing you can imagine. The Sims 4 Seasons went all out when it comes to winter outfits as you can find a nice variety of appropriate clothes for the colder days. I personally really like the sweater dress, it just looks super cozy.
For your active Sims, or your Sims who just want to look like they’re active, you can also go for a sporty winter attire. Just put your flashy snow pants on, a nice matching jacket, some warm gloves and finish the look off with a pair of the coolest snow glasses and your Sim is good to go. I really like the designs on these items as well, they come in funky colors that will make your Sims stand out in the white snow!
I love that there’s a nice range of styles to pick from. Next to the classier choices you can choose to wear a more typical winter coat that makes you look like a Michelin Man. And let’s face it, toddlers (adults too, but mostly toddlers) look super cute with these extra chubby rolls on them!
Is casual Winter attire too standard for your Sims? No biggy! You can dress them up in some ice skating uniforms as well! Make your Sims look extra sparkly in the ice rink and let them give the performance of a lifetime! Warning: fabulous costumes does not make Sims fabulously skilled at ice skating; This is not Yuri on Ice.
April showers bring May flowers… and funky raincoats!
Spring is that time of year when the weather is still a little bit unpredictable. Perfectly clear skies can suddenly turn dark and unleash a heavy downpour. To protect your Sims from the rain you can dress them up in raincoats, complete with matching hats and boots! The ones that come in funny prints are my personal favorite, especially for your kids and toddlers. It just looks so freaking adorable. Adults also get the option to actually have the hood of the coat on, which makes them look super ridiculous and I LOVE that!
The only thing I have to mention about the raincoats is that they have so many varieties, the SimGurus had to split them into two clothing items. While I really enjoy the raincoats a lot, I can also see why it could feel deceiving for people when they buy the pack as it states how many clothing items you’re getting, but some of them are just seperated “copies”. Don’t get me wrong, I love that we are getting such a lovely variety of patterns and colors to choose from, but it is just something worth mentioning.
Keep it cool with flowy Summer dresses and toddler swimsuits
Late nights in the Oasis Springs sunset, drinking cocktails, erh.. I mean juices near the pool. Aaaawh, the dream! There are many great items to pick from for the Summer Season to wear as your Sims’ Hot Weather outfits. So let’s take the plunge and check out what we could wear to our next Pool Party!
Male Sims can get beach-ready by dressing up in a nice open button up shirt, especially combined with one of the new pairs of shorts. There are also a few dresses that look like as if you could have a bikini underneath, which is perfect for the hot days that your Sims are about to experience. But then again, who would want to cover up the new lovely bathing suit that we are getting for women?! It’s too pretty!
One of my personal favorite must be the tie dye crop top for females. It comes in so many lovely colors and patterns and the design is super fun with the knotted front and back! Next to that we get a retro romper which is to die for! The color swatches come in amazing varieties and you can simply dress the romper up a bit for a fun Summer night out with your friends.
Kids and toddlers aren’t getting many items that yell “Summer”. However, as mentioned before, toddlers did get the new swimsuit category, which I am super happy about as they simultaneously were giving a few bathing suits including a wetsuit! Children get new swimwear as well, but I wish we would have gotten more than one. We have had the same few base game items for ages and I usually find myself picking the same ones over and over as I just don’t like the other option. But apart from that I really enjoyed the new items for your little ones.
Fall in love with corduroy skirts and suede jackets
When the breezy Summer nights disappear and the leaves of the trees turn orange, it means that Fall is around the corner! Goodbye retro romper, see you next year. It is time to put on some warmer clothes again and the SimGurus gave us some pretty great outfits to pick from.
I like how some of the outfits come with scarfs. It makes them look nice and casual, but perfect for a hike in the Granite Falls forest as well. Talking about hiking… There are some great boots for hiking as well, for young and old! I don’t particularly love these type of boots, but I can see why they would be in a Seasons related pack. Simmers who do not own The Sims 4 Outdoor Retreat do not really have anything like this yet, so I appreciate we get them in The Sims 4 Seasons.
There is one particular coat for men that I think is a perfect example of how much The Sims 4 has improved over the years. The textures of the coat gives it a suede look and the collar has a wooly, fluffy look which makes it appear nice and cozy. Another example of this is seen with the corduroy skirt for adults. While I personally am not a fan of the item itself, (I despise corduroy with a passion) I can easily admit the skirt looks amazingly detailed and the quality is great!
Crazy costumes and fancy dresses for the Holidays
Okay let’s talk about the elephant in the room. Or should I say Gigantic Gnome? What about the Mini Christmas Trees? Aaaah!! There are too many elephants in this room to discuss! The Sims 4 Seasons went all out when it comes to crazy costumes for the holidays and I LOVE IT!
As far as I read online a lot of people are hating on the gnome costume and I don’t really understand why. It has a fairly cute design and I think that the bears from previous packs are way worse in comparison. I mean, these damn bears stare into your soul, while the gnome at least still looks a little bit innocent. I think it’s a funny addition as it’s not a standard holiday mascot and I say this while I am generally not a fan of gnomes at all.
And OMG, can we PLEASE talk about the toddler costume for a bit? Dare I say it is the best thing in this expansion pack? Yes, I dare. It is simply amazing! The fact that you can now dress your toddlers up as walking Christmas trees is just too hilarious. Next to the Christmas trees, I think the little Elf costumes for both kids and toddlers are great option too, but let’s face it… Nothing beats the trees
Apart from the silly costumes your Sims are able to dress up in the themes of certain holidays too. Adults get to pick from a suit and dress which is perfect for Love Day, the annual holiday during Spring. The only thing that rubbed me the wrong way about the dress is that it’s a recolor of a dress in the previous The Sims 4 City Living pack, but I might be biased as I never really liked that dress in the first place. I would rather that they’d used the pattern on one of the new dresses, instead of recycling one from another EP.
To dress up for more fancier holidays your Sims can wear a nice collection of clothes. Each age group has their own selection of party wear and I love that the whole family gets to match their outfits in the same style. It makes the outfits very family friendly and perfect for Simmers who like to take screenshots during special occasions.
Curls and braids for all ages!
Last but not least in the CAS section of this review would be the amazing new hairstyles! You can see that in the last few packs the SimGurus have been putting in more textured hairs and I love it. Afro textured hairs were a bit left out in the older packs, so to see them put in the effort to make up for that is great.
Each age group gets at least one new hairstyle and it’s a nice improvement compared to The Sims 4 Cats & Dogs where toddlers didn’t get anything. Now they are getting a cute curly hairstyle with a headband, which is super cute. However my two personal favorites would be the braided hairstyles for women and girls. These two are just so amazingly detailed, it is hard not to love them.
Overall The Sims 4 Seasons contains great hairstyles, but there’s one I am not sure what to think about. Kind of ironic as I am a pretty opinionated person who writes reviews. The female hairstyle with bangs isn’t great, but it isn’t horrible either. I feel like the strands of hair that hang to the front are a bit wonky. There’s a big gap between the strands and the rest of the hair which looks unnatural and sloppy. The colored version looks a little bit patchy too.
Luxurious Cabin vibes in Build & Buy
All the items in Build & Buy for The Sims 4 Seasons is easy to sum up in one word: gorgeous! There is literally not one objects that I dislike. Everything combined gives you the vibes of a luxurious cabin-like mansion. Some items look very high-end and combined with the more rustic items you can create a very welcoming place for your Sims to live.
The CAS update isn’t the only thing that changed during the latest patch. One of the brand new features allows you to build glass roofs! Impeccable timing from the SimGurus as it allows Simmers to create greenhouses to keep their plants save from extreme Winter circumstances! Read our article about glass roofs to learn more!
There are no new outdoor plants in Build & Buy, which seems a bit silly at first in a Seasons related pack. But if you take a moment to realize that the SimGurus had to redo literally all their previous content to make them transform during the Seasons, it is very understandable that new shrubs or trees have been left out of the occasion. With all the stunning changes to the existing plants I honestly don’t miss it either. All the outdoor plants had to be remade and now have different stages to show how much they are affected by the weather.
Sticks and stones may break my bones, but they also Build houses!
The Build mode options are a very cohesive set of items. The whole lot seems to be made of either wood or stones or a bit of both. A solid example of this can be seen with the three new wallpapers and it looks amazing. We get a wallpaper completely covered in rocks, one boarding made of wood and then the last one combines the two, meeting halfway.
There’s a whole range of windows and doors as well. The set comes in various shapes and sizes, all in neutral colors, like several browns and white. You can see the same style throughout the rest of the build items as well. The columns have the same wooden look to them as the doors, but the bottom is covered with the same rocks as the wallpaper. Literally everything matches, from the fences to the two new flight of stairs. The Sims 4 Seasons makes it very easy for Builders to create a nicely styled home, which I personally really appreciate.
Houses become homes with the new Seasonal furniture
Comfortable is the keyword when it comes to the items in Buy mode. The gorgeous new beds and sofas drown in the amount of pillows, making them appear homey & cozy, but on the other hand still luxurious and it instantly made them my favorite ones in the entire game. Just imaging slowly sinking into the mountain of pillows while sitting near a fireplace, drinking hot cocoa while there’s a blizzard outside… Count me in!
I am not sure if EA realizes this themselves, but none of the Expansion Packs adds a new kitchen to the game. Only The Sims 4 City Living has somewhat of a kitchen, but these items are very crappy “second hand” versions of the cheapest counters that we already had. It is really starting to get on my nerves. Apparently the angry letters that I wrote to EA when The Sims 4 Cats & Dogs came out didn’t help. Maybe letters are too old school? Am I that old?
Okay, let’s snap out of the self pity and take a look at the rest of the items. The Sims 4 Seasons adds another bathroom to your game. The new items are absolutely stunning with lovely wooden and concrete details. The concrete gives it sort of a industrial vibe, which would make this bathroom look great in a penthouse as well. The only thing missing would be a seperate sink without a cabinet underneath, but for that you would need counters… And if you had counters, we would have a kitchen… See where I am going with this?
Aside my silly little kitchen grudge, I really enjoyed the Buy mode items. The side tables and some of the other furniture pieces have a very nice metal detail on the side, which looks like an metal flower ornament. It is the subtle touches like these Seasonal elements that make them work so perfectly in a pack like this. Job very well done, in my opinion.
Feeling festive with decor galore!
There is also a new category for Buy mode once a holiday is active. If you sort objects by function holiday Items will now appear on the bottom of the list. In here you will find all the items you’ll need to make your holidays fun and successful. Items from the free holiday pack are also under this new category, making it easier to find whichever festive item you are looking for.
The Sims 4 Seasons contains an amazing amount of decorations. Most of the items come in either Seasonal color swatches or holiday themed swatches, even the mailbox has holiday related patterns!! There are so many details in the objects it is hard to name all of them, but believe me when I say that your Sim houses have never look so festive (and cluttered, yay!) in their entire existence.
One thing I noticed is that some of the items from The Sims 4 Spooky Stuff have been copied into the decorations that are supposedly new. Yes, they have different color swatches than the ones from Spooky Stuff, but it still feels kind of lame. The SimGurus said they did not want anyone to miss out on spooky decorations for Halloween, but to just plainly duplicate items from an entirely different pack feels a bit “meh” and it also makes Spooky Stuff feel somewhat like a useless pack to have now.
Seasons change and so does the Gameplay
As the title of the Expansion Pack suggests, the four Seasons arrived in The Sims 4. I think this is the most all-inclusive version of a Seasons related pack that we’ve ever gotten in the franchise. The quality of the pack makes The Sims 4 Seasons feel bigger than just an EP.
You can also change the lengths of the Seasons by going in the Options menu. Here you can select either 7 days, 14 days or 28 days. I think the Gurus went with a weekly pattern, because of how gradually the Seasons change, but more on that later. Personally I prefer the 14 days setting. A week goes by extremely fast in The Sims 4 and I think with all the holidays and events you might plan, there just isn’t enough time in a week.
Never forget a birthday again with the new Calendar!
So one of the things you might notice is in your UI is a shiny new button next to your Sims’ phone. This is the new Calendar interface and if you click on it you will see a Calendar of the upcoming four weeks. Depending on how long your Seasons are, you can see when the first day of the next Season will be.
If you hover over the days you will see if there’s an event during that specific day and whom of your Sims have something to do already, like work or school. This makes it super easy to work around their schedule to plan Social Events. Want to plan in Event? You can now do so in advance! Just use the Add Event button when you selected the right day and you can start planning your party, including the time it is supposed to start! Keep in mind you can only make one Goaled Event per day and you can’t plan them during the holidays!
Talking about holidays… You can’t have Seasons without proper holidays! I love the new holiday system. It is customizable in such a great way, no matter what holidays you would normally celebrate, you can simply just add them to your Calendar. Keep in mind that holidays are an annual thing, so if you add something fun like Halloween, it will appear on that day every Sim year. Don’t want to celebrate a certain holiday? Just delete them from your Calendar or alter it to your liking! Fun fact: your neighbors will celebrate the holidays too, you will see them put up decorations on their homes the day before the holiday begins!
The last piece of info you can find on the Calendar is the weather forecast. The forecast is shown for the next seven days. If you have one of these days selected a Freezer Bunny appears in the upper left corner showing the upcoming weather in a humorous way. It looks really cute and I love how they expressed each type of weather with the Freezer Bunnies as they are an icon in The Sims franchise.
Fun activities during the Seasons
As the Seasons change, you will be able to do all sort of things with your Sims. Holidays give you a nice opportunity to plan certain ventures around the world as well. Traditions are made and you can fulfill them with each Sim. You will notice that some Sims aren’t interested in all traditions, depending on their age or personalities. Toddlers rather spend Winter Fest unpacking presents, than to decorate around the house. Love this detail!
One of the traditions still haunts me in my sleep. While the gnome costume in CAS is still innocent looking, garden gnomes will spawn in and around your house during Harvest Fest. And let me tell you, these demon midgets are not innocent! Yes, you can make them happy by gifting them pie, but if you upset one they will terrorize your house by breaking everything. It’s hilarious and creepy at the same time to try to fight them off. Give yourself a fun challenge and don’t pause the game while trying to stomp all the gnomes. I promise it won’t be hard or frustrating or anything… 😉
Next to the more holiday-themed activities, you can expect occasional activities to appear in the neighborhood. It works just like the food stands and festivals in The Sims 4 City Living as it adds usable objects to certain spots of the world in a rotating manner. When it is winter you can look forward towards an ice skating rink, while in the warmer weather your Sims will be able to rollerskate! Seasonal themed food stands will make an appearance too. Who’s ready for some hot cocoa?!
Your Sims will gradually become better at skating and they work up a hidden skill to improve. I love how your Sims stumble around on their skates the first couple of times, but even the biggest klutz can become skilled enough to eventually perform routines! When a Sim is performing, other Sims will gather round to watch them. Add certain lights and visual effects, turn up the radio and put on your glitter suits. Your Sim is now a skating superstar, if only for a brief moment.
The animations for the different kind of fights (think water balloons etc.) seem a bit laggy. Or maybe not laggy, it just takes very long. Sims can move all over the place, which is a great improvement from The Sims 3, where they could only brawl in specific areas. But this also means while one Sim is running away to distance themselves, the other one is just standing there while waiting for them. I rather have my Sims miss a snowball by throwing it on the old spot of the Sim they are trying to hit, rather than having them standing there like idle puppets.
There are many smaller things to do for your Sims as well. Jump around in puddles, make a snowpal. There’s a nice swing set to put in your garden, usable for kids and older. Even adults can push each other on the swings. Romantic date screenies incoming!!! For the more laidback days your Sims can play around with their toddlers in the new kiddy pools. Adults will sit by their sides while toddlers enjoy their first swim. Teens and older can jump in the kiddy pools by themselves and lounge in the sun, but beware that your toddlers aren’t always happy about this! Something with “bad at sharing”?
New careers for young and old
For the first time in The Sims 4, kids are getting a career in the form of an afterschool activity. Kids and teens can join the Scouts by using their phones. They are able to walk around in their cute uniforms and they can complete tasks to earn certain badges. I love this system as it doesn’t feel like a grind, but rather more of a hobby. Kids seem to have much more purpose now and I think they are a much more enjoyable age group to play. Scouting works especially well together with The Sims 4 Parenthood as it helps you earn certain values while you work your way up in the Scouting ranks. Read our guide to learn more about Scouting!
Thanks to the new gardening overhaul, gardening got interesting enough to become a career path! The way the career works is similar to the Politician or Social Media career from The Sims 4 City Living. You can kickstart your career by doing a task from home. On your workdays you can pick to work from home as well and progress in the career by completing the tasks your Sims gets assigned. The career comes with a new Flower Arranging skill which is fairly easy to level up.
Patchy and the Bees
This title may sound like a Disney movie, but I actually mean two new features from the Gameplay of The Sims 4 Seasons. Patchy is a funny scarecrow that can come to live and if you befriend him, he will actually help you maintain your garden. Look for him around noon. Eventually you are even to pickpocket him for some new collectables. The interactions with Patchy are endless, you can even get into a romantic relationship with him… Yeah… That’s a thing.
You can also turn into a real beekeeper, including outfit and all. Just like with Patchy, you are able to build a relationship with your Bees and they can even do certain tasks for you. Make them attack another Sim or play nice and help someone cheer up! For more buzzing information about the bees and how to take care of them, make sure to read our guide!
No matter the Weather, always bring your own sunshine
Previously the game looked as if it’s in an eternal state of Summer-like weather, but not anymore! The weather will now gradually change as the Season progresses. You can see the snow melt away as the Spring comes near and the temperatures rise. It is very fun to look at and I love how naturally it all feels.
Well, natural? Maybe to an extent, as you can manipulate the weather with the weather machine. You can make blizzards appear during Summer, turn a perfectly clear sky into a thunderstorm, or even change the whole season… anything to terrorize your neighbors! If you hover over the weather UI (near the clock) you can see how wrong the weather forecasts are thanks to your impressive machine, if your Sims succeeds that is. I think it’s a nice touch that here and there your Sim might screw up and get totally different results than they hoped for.
The weather itself is super detailed as well. The animations are amazing and I love how it just slowly starts to snow, instead of throwing a hardcore blizzard your way in just the blink of an eye. All in all the weather is very well done and the environmental elements reacting to the Seasons is just stunning to watch.
How does The Sims 4 Seasons affect other content?
The integration of the older content is incredible. You will find that The Sims 4 Seasons doesn’t add a new world. What the SimGurus decided to do instead is to alter literally all the previously released worlds and give each their own climate. Oasis Springs won’t have snow, while Windenburg is a stunning white landscape during the Winter season. All the environments react so perfectly to the Seasons, it’s just simply overwhelming. I didn’t know which of the eight worlds to visit first.
Gameplay of previous packs have been altered for Seasons as well. Vampires can go outside if the sun isn’t shining and the SimGurus have confirmed to be working on an update to make them able to shelter from the sun using the new umbrella’s. Laundry that is hanging outside while it raids, won’t magically dry up in the pouring rain.
Are we hot or cold for The Sims 4 Seasons?
Hell yes we are hot for The Sims 4 Seasons!! It is honestly the best pack so far. I know I keep saying it, but the pack is so well made and it adds so many details. So overall my opinion is very positive. But let’s break down the conclusion a little bit more.
The CAS items have a nice hot to cold weather ratio to them. Apart from that one hairstyle all the hairs are amazing, there’s a nice variety of textures for all kinds of Sims. Clothing wise there’s not one item I totally hate, as I can look further than my personal taste and see the items for what they actually are. If you look at the quality of the items alone, I have nothing to complain about.
The Build & Buy is fantastic as well. I love the vibe to them and there’s a huge amount of items to pick from, which is always great. Everything is matchy-matchy and I know I am not the only Simmer out there who can appreciate that. My only pet peeve is that this is already the fifth EP without a kitchen. All other items around the house go well together, except that one room. Maybe we can send a petition to EA, who’s with me?!
I really enjoyed myself while playing around with my Sims during the different Seasons. The animations are very well done and there’s plenty to do for each age group. All in all the Gameplay really brings together that family feel and you can make your own silly celebrate with your own set of traditions. Be weary tho, if you add Streaking as a tradition, the whole neighborhood streaks with you! You have been warned.
