The Sims has brought us many fond memories over the past two decades and today it’s officially the 20th birthday of the franchise, which means it’s time to celebrate! To do so we’ll be taking a trip down memory lane and look back at the top 20 of our favorite things about the games.
1. The Goth Family
There have been many alternate versions of them over the years, but no other family is more iconic for The Sims franchise than the Goths. No matter if it’s Bella in her favorite red dress or her stoic husband Mortimer rocking his suit, you can bet your money on these Sims to pop up in your game right when you need a friend.
2. Creating your crush (or rival) in CAS
Need more friends for your Sims other than the Goths? Just hop into Create a Sim and make them yourself! Make your real life friends, celebrities you stan or maybe someone you’ve secretly had a crush on for years. And while you’re at it have them and your Simself live happily ever after, pop out some babies to see what your potential future offspring looks like… I won’t judge! It’s the ultimate dollhouse scenario and I’m here for it. But why stop there?
Let’s face it, we all have someone we dislike or maybe even hate. Sometimes there’s no good reason, you just… despise the person. As long as you keep things civil in real life, there’s no harm done when you create a Sim to mistreat instead. Oopsie, where did that pool ladder go? Oh well…
3. Dumb ways to die
Speaking of missing pool ladders… Did you know The Sims has introduced a lot of creative & hilarious ways to kill off your Sims? From choking in their own laugh to eating toxic pufferfish sushi, from setting off poisonous traps to lighting up fireworks indoors… the list goes on and Sims can die in the silliest ways. The animations have evolved a lot over the years and death has never been funnier.
4. Cheats… cheats everywhere!!
It’s pretty safe to say that at least 99% of the player base has used any of the following cheats: Motherlode, bb.Moveobjects on or testingcheats true (or any variants) while playing The Sims. As long as it doesn’t break any game features the SimGurus endulge us by adding more and more cheats to abuse. There are sooooo many cheats for The Sims it’s getting hard to keep track of them all, so we did it for you. Check out our complete overview of ALL the cheats for The Sims 4.
5. Can’t afford pizza? *sell door*
If you’re one of the heathens who never cheats in their Sims games, you probably will resonate with this method of financial survival: selling random objects to afford food or other bills. It’s challenging, but sometimes you need to get very creative when you play without cheats. All too often I had to sell the sofa or a window in order to keep the repo man away. Sometimes I still failed though, which brings me to the following point…
6. Burglar or repo man stealing your toilet
Nothing was safe when a burglar or repo man decided to show up at your doorstep. Especially in The Sims 1 and 2 these NPC’s had the habit of taking the most annoying items from you, which resulted in awkward situations for your Sims. Thanks repo man, now my whole family is pissing themselves… Great.
7. The Sims 1 being totally NSFW
Back in the day I didn’t blink an eye when sensual dancers Chip & Bunny popped out of a huge cake at one of my parties, but truth be told… The Sims 4 could never. Times change and The Sims 1 is a perfect reflection of that. Dancing in cages and other questionable life choices were a big part of the game. The Sims Livin’ Large was the first ever pack for The Sims and it introduced a vibrating heart-shaped bed for your Sims to “play” in… Yes, it vibrated and was specifically added to allow WooHoo to happen.
8. Calling WooHoo WooHoo
The term WooHoo was introduced in The Sims 2 and I love the silliness of the word. It makes the game more family-friendly for those who wanna keep it that way, but it implies enough for those who know what it’s about.
Fun fact: Did you know The Sims 4 is the only game so far that allows teens to WooHoo? It’s called ‘messing around’, but it still counts towards their total amount of WooHoo.
9. Hilarious object descriptions
Developing such a popular game such as The Sims is a big deal. But that doesn’t mean the SimGurus aren’t allowed to make any fun. Next time when you hop into Build & Buy, make sure to read some of the object descriptions. When checking out new objects for the game, these descriptions are always sure to make me laugh.
10. The CAS of The Sims 4
Simmers who have played multiple versions of The Sims will know, CAS changed a lot over the years. The game has become more & more intuitive and Create a Sim is a perfect example of this. While we can argue about missing features such as a color wheel, the Sims 4 CAS is the best so far. It’s easy to work with & a huge improvement from previous games.
11. The open world of The Sims 3
Going open world was one of the best choices the developers could have made for The Sims. There was always something going on in the neighborhood and it made the game feel alive. Events continued to happen while you tried to keep your household together, without them dying of a random meteorite or getting cursed by a unicorn when you weren’t watching. It’s up-tempo, which made it a lot of fun for its time.
12. The gameplay of The Sims 2
Coming home from high school with a pimple on your forehead, being wacked in the face by Mrs. Crumplebottom for kissing your date, annoying school mascottes pranking the dorms while you try to study for university. Just a few examples why The Sims 2 gameplay is probably the best of the franchise. The game was detailed and full of surprises, which made it fun and engaging. The depth of The Sims 2 is just perfect.
13. The Freezer Bunny
The Sims franchise is full of little easter eggs and recurring gags throughout the games. One of them is the Freezer Bunny, which earned its name by appearing in the grocery freezer on a community lot in The Sims 2. Since then the Freezer Bunny became an icon for The Sims and made many more appearances in sneaky places such as toy boxes and artwork.
Watch the Behind-the-scenes of The Sims 4 Get to Work
The video shows artists New Politics, Echosmith, Big Data & Katy Tiz working on their recordings for their Simlish songs.
14. Collabs with Pop Culture icons
While not all collabs turn out great *cough* Katy Perry Sweet Treats *cough*, most of the collabs between The Sims and celebrities are very exciting. I remember playing The Sims Superstar and running into Avril Lavigne & Christina Aguilera for the first time; 12-year-old-me sure was hyped for it, I can tell you that.
While not all artists appear in the game as a Sim, a lot of songs have been translated to Simlish. It’s a lot of fun seeing your Sims rock out on your personal favorites, mine would be Don’t kill my vibe by Sigrid in The Sims 4, it’s great! Other memorable mentions would be music by Lily Allen, Soulja Boy, Paramore and Nelly Furtado. The Black Eyed Peas even had a whole game centered around them and their music: The Urbz.
15. Crazy costumes & mascots
The Sims franchise is full of weird creatures who show up (sometimes uninvited) in your game. I love the llama’s appearing everywhere in the games. It’s such an odd animal to be obsessed over, but that’s what makes them perfectly iconic. Or what about the creepy bear costumes in The Sims 4? Or Jane the pink gorilla from The Sims 1? Why are they there? Nobody knows…
16. Alien abductions & pregnancies
Aliens are real in The Sims and they’ll let you know they are there. Ever since The Sims Livin’ Large your Sims can get abducted into an UFO, only to return a couple of hours later. The consequences differ per game, from changed personalities to negative moodlets. One thing is certain: your Sims will not forget about it that easily. Especially male Sims in The Sims 4 will have a rather permanent reminder; they come home pregnant.
17. Living out fantasies with occult Sims
Want to be a werewolf, vampire or maybe even a mermaid? Live your fantasy-filled occult lifestyles in The Sims, because why not?! Admittedly occult Sims aren’t for everyone, but having the option to play as one is a very welcome addition. It’s fun to see how the occult Sims have developed over the years, and I’m looking forward to any possible new occults coming to The Sims 4.
18. The Expansion Packs & other DLC’s
Now don’t at me for this one, but I actually love the high amount of packs for The Sims. Does it feel like a money-grab by EA? …Maybe. Do I care? No. Here is why: it’s more content of a game that I love. I don’t mind paying someone to give me more of something that I love. It’s an investment. Honestly, if you’d convert my hours spent playing this franchise, into the lifespan of a person, my playtime would be a toddler by now. So for me personally it was worth every single penny I spent on this game.
One of the greatest things I always look forward to with The Sims is adding new packs to my collection. I remember the excitement of going through all the new things from each new pack as a kid and it’s honestly one of my fondest memories of my youth. It’s just so exciting checking out the new content every time something new is released for The Sims. I still get hyped every single time.
19. Great Mods & Custom Content
The Sims has one of the biggest modding communities worldwide and it’s amazing how talented the content creators are. There are mods to simply “fix” things in the game, but others add whole new features and gameplay. Not enough options in CAS or Build & Buy? Just download some more and the best thing about it: it’s completely free too!
20. The community of The Sims
Can you believe there are currently about 20 million active players globally for The Sims 4? It’s insane! Just think of all the diverse people all around the world playing the same game and coming together as a community where diversity is embraced, it’s pretty amazing. With updates such as the LGBTQ content, diverse religion representations & more, The Sims has become one of the most inclusive games out there.
It all wouldn’t have been possible without you, the Simmers. So pat yourselves on the back for being a great community! Without you this website wouldn’t exist either, so from the Sims Online crew to you: thank you for the support and love for this amazing game.
So what is your fondest memory of the Sims franchise? Which of the games is your favorite? Let us know in the comments below! 😉
