The Sims 4 High School Years Review: Fashion Rules

Do The do you want to go back to high school? Absolutely not. But do I want to throw my Sims into a gauntlet of social hierarchy, education, and puberty? Of course! Sims 4S ‘ High school years the expansion adds a much-requested feature to the game: a high school for teenage Sims to attend, in addition to all the other gadgets that come with it.

High school years, which was released in late July, is primarily centered around teenage Sims; most of the game is important only to them. Set in Copperdale, the new town, teenage Sims have a big lifestyle change – you can follow them to school now. Before, when the teenage Sims went to school, they just went to the abyss. High school years it comes with a pre-built high school, but it can be changed and rebuilt to your liking.

The experience for Teen Sims is mostly what you would expect from high school. Sims go to classes, hang out around their lockers and at lunchtime, and sometimes have to serve detention. There are after-school activities like chess club and cheerleading, as well as new teenage side hustles like streaming video games and selling clothes on a thrift app. If you, like me, are not one Sims 4 player who usually makes or plays with teenagers and families, I think High school years expansion may seem like a trivial innovation. But for players who are involved in family life, High school years it fundamentally changes the day-to-day gameplay, and that’s huge. It’s one of those expansion packs that, for some players, will touch the majority of households and gaming sessions, but for others, like me, it doesn’t feel as impactful as, say, Living in the cottage, Cats and Dogsor Season.

All that said, I still think High school years it’s a worthwhile expansion for most players. Though I’m less interested in the dynamics of high school life, like having my Sims ask other Sims to prom or navigating awkward social situations around lockers , High school years it has a ton of extra content that i like. Namely, the Create-a-Sim add-ons and furniture options in the expansion pack are incredible – some of the best I’ve seen added to an expansion.

Although the clothes, hairstyles, and accessories are tailored for teenage Sims, they also work for adults. (Kids, on the other hand, don’t get many extras except for some new hairstyles. Teen/adult clothes don’t work on kids, but some hairstyles do.) New clothes include a whole bunch of different styles — we we’ve got a goth anime top, dark academy-inspired schoolwear, cool preppy looks, and cool streetwear options. Clothing options expand in one of the game’s new features, which is a collaboration with online retailer Depop. Sims can buy and sell clothes through an in-game app called Trendi or through a thrift/boba store called ThiftTea. It makes sense that fashion is so good and diverse, because that’s an essential part of the teenage experience: trying things on, experimenting, and finding your own style.

This extends to the added furniture and build options High school years, too. The focus is, of course, on teenagers – which means many new options are designed specifically with teenage bedrooms in mind. Which makes sense; it’s one of the few spaces in a home where a teenager can really take ownership and express their personal style. It is clear that Sims 4 the team had this in mind when creating the new collection. There are tons of new bedding options, plus lots of decorations and little details like clutter and LED lights to spread around your Sim’s bedroom.

Image: Maxis/Electronic Arts

There are also a number of new features added Sims 4‘s base game as a free update, regardless of whether High school years the extension is purchased. These are some of the most exciting additions, even though they’re small details, because that’s often what matters most Sims 4. Body hair, sexual orientation, desires and fears, and curved walls add more to a game that’s already pretty deep. Traits of desires and fears have replaced “whims”, which were small goals that Sims had, linked to traits and emotions. Fulfilling these whims meant accumulating satisfaction points to use in the game. Desires, in particular, work similarly to whims, while fears are created by things that happen in the game, like rejection or fire. It’s a feature that makes the overall system feel more tailored to individual Sims – but if you’re not interested, it can be turned off entirely. I haven’t noticed a huge difference, specifically, between wishes and whims, but I think it’s good that fear is something Sims can now experience and overcome.

The unfortunate part of all this is that Sims 4The new expansion and update to the base game launched with a bunch of bugs — some of them particularly problematic. One of the major bugs had Sims rapidly aging automatically, which led to the premature death of some Sims. Likewise, the other major glitch added some unintentional wishes, like wanting to meet family members, and some other less painful glitches. These didn’t necessarily make the game unplayable for everyone, but EA recommended that players stay away from save files that could be negatively affected.

Electronic arts said an update towards the end of this week it will be decided to fix these bugs and others. It’s certainly not an ideal introduction for a long-awaited expansion pack like High school yearsbut once this fix is ​​out, the expansion is worth a look.

Sims 4S ‘ High school years the expansion was released on July 28 spades, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows pc, Xbox oneAND Xbox Series X. The game was reviewed using a download code provided by Electronic Arts. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not affect editorial content, although Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased through affiliate links. You can find additional information about Polygon’s ethics policy here.