Yes! All these careers would've been so good. I just expected more for the price. If they would've added some careers like this I could justify the cost.
I’m so tired of empty worlds. These worlds are huge but barely have lots. I like the feeling of my sims living next to other sims and having neighbors. The base game hoods had that feeling but the new ones do not.
That was easily my biggest gripe with cottage living, and it still is! So much long awaited gameplay for so many people and theres ONE empty lot for me to build on. As a builder thats annoying, then i have to bulldoze a lot of beautiful builds real simmers put time into, AND theres still like 5 residential lots. Just bums me out when there's space for a few more empty lots.
Yes, same. I drive through my area and get so much inspiration from houses and joy to go build, and then open my sims worlds and that joy flatlines. It's just not hitting the mark. I'm thinking of conjoining a few houses on one lot for single parents or couples etc to give it that feel.
@@bxllxs5331 i think I only had one save where my sims lived in the house and it was so boring. Living in apartments makes it feel like your sim is part of a community because you’re always seeing other sims around and there’s a festival right outdoor
Why did they Nix the Grandpa like that?! If this was the sims 2 he’d be in the family tree, bio of his disappearance, and then he’d be a grave at a neighbor’s house!
I feel like we should investigate people who don't like a rabbit-hole cinema - If you're a decent, normal, respectful human being, when you go to the cinema, you just watch a film. You don't annoy the other movie goers by talking through it! With that said, it would be fun if there are a few options that the game presents like if you're watching a romantic movie and the cinema is almost empty you get an option for your sims to woohoo... And maybe there should be an option to buy popcorn with the ticket for a small hunger bump if that isn't already included... but for the most part it should just be a click on it and watch a film interaction. Now if it has a few conversation options that are only available when a "watched movie" moodlet is there, that would be great too
@@neilbiggs1353 I would like normal style Cinemas, if I could just buy the ticket, pop-corn or other snacks, plop the Sims in the sit and watch, with a chance of occasional bathroom break (the woohoo or at least snogging option does sound fun though - especially as that with Whicked Whims would be great for an adult cinema/club style establishment). But all of that would be the case, if Wedding Stories did not happen. As they showed that the amazing people who made Get Together (and Clubs mechanic) - clearly aren't working at EA anymore and thr ones who are still in, can't make a working group activities.
like yes, but at the same time idk it kind of sucks that jessie felt she needed to decline the code. but i'll always support jessie monetarily on other platforms :)
Tbh - the fact they added that new trait mechanic, that basically are what traits were supposed to be, kinda fixes this issue. And they added developed traits as well. Which like expands on this.
Ever since the first trailer dropped for Growing Together, I thought "what's the catch?" And yep, there is a catch; an empty world with limited interactions. I am glad they finally added characteristics and more to relationships, but it took them 9 years to do 😐
as a sailor, i will say that having a fishing spot on the end of a pier would be very unsafe bc the lines could get caught in propellors or even just on the boats and people in said boats. i really doubt that was some intentional world building though.
It's still interesting that they built such a nice pier and... it's 100% set dressing. I believe sims will be able to ride boats there, but it would be nice if, say, clicking on the decor boats lets you buy your own one. And the store being completely unusable when they could have absolutely made it into a rabbithole venue at the very least is also annoying.
I think it may have been intentional because I haven't physically been to SanFran, but I know from being here on the east coast that water that's used by boats is not an area that allows fishing or swimming, like in Jersey you don't go swim where boats are docked at. I think it may have been a small mistake on Plumbella's part because she was focused on all the water but like the water at SanFran isn't very people friendly- unless it's a dedicated beach (which tend to be a bit further south). Considering the Sims HQ is in California I would think the devs would have an easy time designing this world considering they live and work in that area.
I always find it funny when people from other professions find little things in the sims that would not fly at all in the real world. I remember seeing a nurse point out that the infant bedding isn’t considered safe sleep and would be pretty dangerous irl since they aren’t supposed to have pillows and blankets and all that. Also, the way the infants sit is called W-sitting I think, and is really bad for them and should be corrected so they no longer sit like that. Obviously these are small things that the Sims Team probably wouldn’t have known, but I just think they’re fun to notice.
they could have made it so you can "watch the boats" and see boats come in and out of the pier instead. I remember doing that with my dad when I was younger. In AUS we usually get fish and chips, sit near a pier and just watch while we eat (if you're not fishing)
To be honest. Blame the critics who hated rabbit holes in the sims 3. I personally loved them, added more to the world, you got a break from one sim to focus on another while they built up their needs or relationships
@ Bethany Monges No, there is no one to blame other than the team itself! They didn’t bring any alternatives to the rabbit holes - they didn’t care and that’s why sims 4 is bland and thankfully people are criticizing it for the flaws it has even 10 years + in, so now they are „changing“ things
@@paulmiller5195 they are at fault too but the hate that rabbit holes got was huge in sims 3. Even simmers on TH-cam wanting rabbit holes back, was saying no to rabbit holes before sims 4 release
@@Xxsorafan this theory really doesn't make sense honestly because the earlier sims 4 worlds were not like this lol. the set dressing was almost allways for the outskirts and beyond the routable boundaries initially. only city living really felt like it had them in the middle of everything, but it still made sense and didn't feel nearly as hollow and empty as the later packs feel
I'm happy you mentioned funerals! I've been thinking this for a long time. Once a sim has died all the other sims seem to go about their lives way to fast and the deceased sim seems to just be forgotten. I wish mourning was a lot more fleshed out, and it would be nice to have funerals as a planned event. Death is an important part of life, and the Sims being a life simulator it should be a (bigger) part of it.
Totally! Sims will grieve their lifelong spouse for a weekend and then be fine. It should be like half the time you were married or something. Or have pop up random grieving, or maybe serious grief followed by mild grief? Idk anything better
I just learned this yesterday but there is more mourning in the game if you have level 6 charisma, an urn in your inventory (presumably without having already had that sim move on) and a podium, and the sim can give a eulogy and if they’re sad, a touching eulogy
@@ohhaimernie The fact he's not even a townie is... 😬 So when they do put him on the Gallery. You will need to add to family, cheat CAS and then add him as the dad 🤭 We're literally doing their work for them. I love the franchise but one of the core features of the previous games was the lore and small details. Premades felt alive and playable. I'm not even excited for the game anymore. I'm just going to spend my precious time with Sims 2 and 3.
I really can't figure out how I feel about this pack, I want it because it looks like it enriches gameplay so much, but I also sort of resent that because some of the great gameplay features just don't feel like they should be locked behind a paywall, it just feels like paying for something which should already be part of the game
Same. I really want this pack and it would be great for my current gameplay but I don't like how they've locked the features behind a paywall where in previous games they were part of the base game.
Thats exactly how i feel, im kinda disappointed in the build/buy and CAS items so literally the only appeal of this pack to me is the gameplay. It makes me sad because i want those gameplay elements SO BAD but im not gonna buy this until it goes on sale which will take a while
AMEN. I had Sims 3 for AGES with the base game only and was entertained every time. I never felt like I was missing out on anything really because at it's core it was there. I think I eventually bought more to keep it fresh but it was Supernatural and Pets and I was set. I'm so frustrated that I have the majority of the packs but still feel as if I'm missing core game play.
I don't know. For me, it all just comes a bit late. Do they seriously want to tell me that it took them almost 10 years to comprehend what the players want so badly? A pack like this should have been one of the first packs to come. Apart from that, some of it would have belonged in the base game. In any case, I'm not going to buy it until there's a sale. Even if it seems to be one of the better packs...
@@findingbrooki little miss Sam's 'Spend Weekend With...' mod is great for this. Your sims selects who'll pick up the kid (or Pet!) and they'll pick them up. Just use the phone to call them back home. Hopefully it still works after this patch 🤞
i’m still pretty excited for this pack, although i think if they had ditched building the new world and focused on everything else (gameplay, cas, build/buy, venue types, events, etc) it could have been a home run. it’s kinda like seasons where yeah it didn’t get a world, but the gameplay in seasons impacts every single world. i think growing together could have been a good one for that same concept
THANK YOU for pointing out how much of this should have been base game! I’m excited to buy this pack but it is ridiculous that things like milestones, changing tables, moles?? are locked behind a paywall.
Yes I totally agree! I can understand seasons and pets being DLC, given the amount of development needed, but this is a life simulator. Literally everyone ever has experienced being a child and growing up. The base game should be able to provide a fulfilling life simulation experience.
A retirement home or senior community would be pretty simple to make; they could make it a lot trait, like how Get Famous added the 'Celebrity Home' trait. There could be a 'Senior Living' lot trait where only elderly Sims could live. Also, I agree that we need funerals!
But that would require them to make multi-family housing of non family members (aka apartments), complete with elevators, etc., and that's clearly too hard for the Sims team/EA
I think the thing that annoys me most is that something like this should have been implemented during the early days of the sims 4. Plus this should have been mashed together with parenthood and high school years, only then would I feel like it would be on par with the sims 3 generations.
I said with Cottage living that the staged buildings should be shops that sell a specific item, like there should have been bread shops, fruit stands and grocery shops, etc.
@@haleigh6089 I suspect that there will be no more sales like we used to have. They have adopted the 'free to play' model, where they put the basegame for free, but charge top dollar for the addons. Yes they will have sales occasionally but I've noticed they are not as high anymore, and they always give the last pack the least amount of discounts. I've just accepted my fate and got this one preordered. I'm happy I got most of the content on good sales though.
I’ve been waiting for the Plumbella review!!!! Everyone else is second. 1. She’s brutally honest 2. Some random hilarious bug always shows up in her game only
Not relative to the pack, but my cat is obsessed with Plumbella. Like, he's almost always absolutely feral, and hates cuddling, but when her videos come on, he'll just curl up on me and watch. I think it's actually her voice, because even when his view is blocked, he'll still just chill out and look over in the direction her voice is coming from. I think he might be in love with her.
there not being any toddler potties at 3:38 is so strange bc in kaylas build vid for the rec centre she puts them in and even mentions that it was to ensure that toddlers would have a place to go. I wonder why the sims team decided to take them out?
im glad other people noticed that they are in fact still there and jesse just missed em! bothered me when i saw kayla's video and knew for a fact!!! she added them.
As someone from SF, the world is really disappointing to me and only a very few things shown here actually remind me of the city, but I'm really looking forward to the rest of the pack! Edit to add that I'm also tired of all the American suburbia worlds, but like...if you're gonna base it on a place...I would like it to actually resemble that place? This just looks like Willow Creek with a few very vague references to SF 😭
is it really based on SF or just the Bay Area in general? It really doesn't remind me of SF at all, but I could see it maybe being inspired by San Jose or maybe places north of SF on the other side of the bay?
@@aliplay5 I could def see it being based on other places in the bay! But with the bridge right there it looks like they're trying to show the east bay on one side and then the other side is the city 😕. When I saw the first description, it said there was a canning history, so I thought maybe it could be based on Monterey. Maybe it's just a collection of California things with a very, very small hint of SF lol
@@trin4324 seriously, where's EVERYTHING 😭 there's just a slight hint of the embarcadero and the wharf, and the neighborhood around the rec center looks like it's trying to mimic Golden Gate Park (one of the buildings even looks like the conservatory of flowers). But other than that, and the bay bridge, there's nothing 😵💫
Sims has a unique way of being the most disappointing and most exciting game. Like am I excited over DlC that should have been base game? Like it's so expensive for something that is so disappointing but at the same time it's so needed for gameplay. Like let's be honest, a game that relies on DLC for the gameplay to be good is not a good game. But still, I'm excited about each new DLC.
Years ago I saw a comment that said that if the sims 4 ever got a generations style pack, that an Italy inspired world would be great for them because of the Italian culture’s focus on family. That would’ve been so cool if that happened!!! The world would’ve been so beautiful too!!!
Personally my first thought when I hear san francisco is Full House so the family vibe really works for me lmao. The clothes were kind of giving that for me as well so big win for people who dress like they are in a 80s-90s US sitcom (me)
I’ve been wanting a San Francisco style world. Butttt I wanted it to have townhomes, the kind we had in sims 2 where you could build 4 homes on one lot and play families separately. Would’ve been nice so I could live out my Full House fantasy.
Thank you for sharing your fully honest review! I'm definitely disappointed by the missed opportunities like a more interactive world and more gameplay elements for elders. I personally think the inclusion of retirement homes would have been a nice touch for a sim's final chapter in life. One of my grandmothers lives in an assisted living community, and she enjoys activities like bingo night or movie nights, joining clubs, and having opportunities to make new friends. I don't know how much that would take to create for the game, but I think it would've been a fun addition.
Could have also had some super low effort gameplay added in the form of stuff like volunteering at the old folks home by reading to the elderly, facilitating bingo, leading yoga classes etc
would it be very hard for them to add such a pop up event like we get at the bars for example Singles Night etc. but instead do it at the rec center and have like a puzzle night so more sims show up and play puzzles at least? bingo would have been another great opportunity for a fun activity.
This pack looks good but I’m really sad that changing tables aren’t base game, especially with some being matching swatches with base game kids furniture, because I won’t buy until it’s on sale 😵💫
I really like all of the new systems they introduce, milestones, family dynamics etc but I really don't appreciate that they are exclusive to the pack... you could just add a few basic milestones to the base game..... also the conversation topics and compatibility being paywalled seems really unnecessary.....
Milestones, family dynamics, etc. are only with the new pack ?? What ! I thought those were base game. I didn’t look too much into it cause I’m buying the pack regardless but that’s ridiculous that those things are not base game.
@@Kristenn666 yeah, as far as I'm aware the free update adds infants and the skin details like moles besides the usual bug fixes, but non of the new systems will be added in it, which honestly sucks
So here's my thing on the walking stick. If we bring in the ability for canes only for elders and only in a pack, then we continue to push off their usefulness for disabled people. Same idea as the hearing aids, of which dropped base game and separate from the pack base game update, since both deaf and HoH people who were born that way or experienced and accident can use them as well as elderly people who make use of them in a larger proportion. They stated that more medical devices will be added over time, so I'd assume they'd end up there in another medical devices update.
"Deaf" is spelled with a capital D since it is a community. It's only spelt "deaf" when talking about the actual medical condition. Hope this helps! :)
So here's my thing we don't have disabled sims though. We have play pretend medical devices, but no medical condition gameplay. I'd rather have only elders can use walking sticks than objects or assets that are vestigial and/or purely decorative. We have too many pretend clutter and items in game already, I wish people stop asking for things they can pretend their sims are doing, and ask more objects with depth and meaning to your sims.
@@estelladee do you really think canes/other items associated with disabilities don’t add depth and meaning to sims?? Especially for players that have those conditions or have friends/family with them? There are so many other things you can say don’t add depth or meaning, especially in TS4, this is not the hill to die on lol
@@estelladee This may just be me, I am not a voice for the entire disabled community, but I'd rather have medical devices in cosmetic form than medical devices in no form. Even just knowing that young simmers would see them in CAS is valuable to me. Folks can have their preference for "meaningful" objects but this is meaningful to me in real life.
I can’t say I’m that surprised with the state of the world itself, the sims 4 is just like that, pretty but not much to do (I’m not shitting on the entire pack I just can’t help but notice the pattern)
What I’ve gathered (and I feel the same) is absolutely no one is surprised, rather stating “This would’ve been ideal”. I’ve been playing the sims for half my life, sometimes you just know how it’s gonna be no matter what the trailers/teases imply. There is nothing more EA than lying by omission so simmers will expect more :/
i love watching your reviews because they really feel comprehensive and none of your enjoyment feels forced. I also appreciate that you give each pack the benefit of the doubt even tho it can be easy to just be negative when it concerns EA
Thanks for always giving fair reviews, comparing to features that were base game in previous sims games, and trying to consider what it's like for those of us who don't have all the packs (I don't have High School Years so the lack of teen gameplay is disappointing). I love that you gave a rating for value for money too!
I really wish all of those unusable buildings were rabbit holes. I'm currently playing 3 rn, and the rabbit holes are okay bc even though you don't see everything, it's still stuff for your Sim to do. As a result the area feels more lively. Like some of those buildings could have been a restaurant or in door markets, malls, etc.
This, I loved when we could go with our sim to certain lots, even if they were rabbit holes - it felt like something was happening. You saw the buildings like school or hospital. While here they just disappear and that’s it. I miss the open world 😞
yeah, and i think not being able to see inside of a few buildings is a good trade off for being able to go anywhere in the town at anytime with no loading screens
I think what upsets me about this pack, and believe me I really love a lot of the additions to family gameplay, is why is everything behind a paywall? A lot of these additions like family dynamics, comparability, and specific family interactions should have just been base game. In a game like the sims, family gameplay should not be an addition it should be an expectation. This is especially notable given that parenthood exists. I already spent 20 dollars for parenthood, which was supposed to be a premier parenting and family pack for it’s time. Obviously they can only do things in hindsight, but I feel as if this should have been either a base game addition or a massive update to parenthood
Thank you so much for mentioning autistic burnout. I am autistic and I didn't know this was A Thing, and it lead me to do some googling and realize that it was definitely at least 50% of my last "depressive episode" and is giving me ideas of what caused it (wildly unpredictable work schedule) and how to prevent it in the future. Autistic representation and discussion is so so important, you are doing the lord's work hen
I only wish there were boats we could use like in Sulani?? like they already have the coding for that, just give us a small motor boat or even a non-Sulani looking dinghy and the ability to fish from the boat. that would be incredible. or if we could go out on a small boat as a family and maybe have a picnic on the boat?!?! how cute would that be! those piers off of the houses are just begging to be utilized.
@@aliplay5 THIS, it feels like the boats and other beach additions are useless if you don’t live in Sulani. It’s sad tbh, I wish there were more usable beaches, especially in worlds so full of water. I’d like more lots with an accessibility to the water.
I have to say I actually prefer those likes and dislikes, interests thing bc compared to traits it really adds more dimension and creates more difference and diversity in a sim. Even compared with the sims 3 I’d have rather had those things than traits. However since sims 3 traits were pretty good and there were soo many to choose 5 from, it’s not like we really missed out. :) Edit: I also freaking love the gameplay objects, especially the tree house! And random but why did the whole world seem like foreshadowing to houseboats? Like I know I’m delusional and the world is known for fishing and what not, but the amount of footbridges(? Don’t know the English word, googled it) - I’m just saying a houseboat would look good there 😉
even if there weren’t fishing spots (it’s a port so it makes sense that your sims cant fish off the pier-unsafe etc) it wouldve been nice if there was a boat rabbit hole that you could click on to fish out on the water. kind of like the rocket ship.
I know there was a food cart but I also would have loved if the building on the pier was an actual lot where you could get fish and chips or something.
would have been nice: if when you chose traits, they automatically selected complimentary characteristics, likes and dislikes. i’m never going to go thru and pick those out so i’d love if they were already selected then i could change what i wanted to. kind of like how sims 3 would suggest a zodiac sign based on selected traits
So excited to see your first impressions video. I've come to trust your opinion greatly. Disappointing that so much of the world gives us little reason to explore - I've been a little sad at new recent packs not including expansions of flora, as we have seen before. When will we get an evergreen to grow in our yards? Fortunately the game still succeeds due to my level of creativity and imagination. I confess, I'll buy this pack either way, because what is coming is definitely terrific (I didn't know S3, so I don't have the comparison), but your review has been delightful and helped distract me from counting down (for a little bit anyway) until tomorrow's release of Les Enfants. Thank you!!
whats interesting to me is that during lilsimsie's video i noticed that early in development the ep was going to be called "lifestyles & legacies" or something liek that and i find that very interesting... i guess they chose to focus on the dynamics of lifestyles instead of legacies perhaps
I can’t stand the worlds anymore, on top of being small already most of it s not usable and can’t be edited or customized because of all the shells around everything…
Disappointed but not shocked. Thanks for this great review Plumbella❤. It’s the world for me. They made it feel like it would be something open like werewolves but it seems boring.
I'm soooo looking forward to this!!! Thanks Plumbella ❤️ You're one of the simmers that I trust in reviewing new packs. I'm glad that the creative team incorporated Filipino words like Bayani/hero and Tala/star as premade Sim names. Also, the name of the world San Sequoia sounds like 'Saan si Kuya' which means "Where's my brother?" in Tagalog. Growing Together seems familial indeed!
I felt that way too, but you can just. Not get your hopes up. It sucks that EA constantly drops the ball, but we don’t have to be let down every time when we know their track record
I know it sucks to hear but the only way to not be disappointed is to keep your expectations realistic. Yeah, it’s not what everyone wanted exactly, and the price is not worth it, but I’m not (too) mad because I told myself since the announcement it’d be a decent pack but not perfect by any means.
Agreed. I just stopped buying packs lol. I’d buy them and get bored 2 days later. It’s a waste of money. I’d rather just watch TH-camrs play them. The sims team won’t improve until people start to actually show their discontent.
Y'all still get your hopes up? 😭 Lol. Every Sims 4 release has been "Okay...what's the catch" for me for a _while._ I don't think it's...terribly egregious, to be honest. It's not their worst expansion pack by any stretch. It actually makes me want to open it for the first time in forever (I have it Completely And Totally Legally [wink]). :P It's not as good as it should be, but. Eh. It's The Sims 4. Nothing is really "as good as it should be".
I didn't even watch the show. But one of the most iconic American family sitcoms was Full House and it took place in San Fran, so it's not completely odd they chose it as a family city
They should make a bunch of the empty shells in the world rabbit holes, just like sims 3! It makes the world so interactive and interesting with such minimal effort
A little disappointed at no aspirations but I think the conversation topics etc. are worth not getting new traits. The world seems a bit lackluster but tbh I care more about gameplay especially with this type of pack so I'm still super excited!
Just want to throw it out there that Robles is pronounced Rob-less and it's a Spanish surname. It's pretty cool that they have a Hispanic townie in the expansion pack!
To be fair, there is not a lot of water activity in San Francisco either lol. I mean there is beaches, but normal people are not doing water activities at the pier. I was surprised by the choice too because the city is not really a family friendly place. I literally left sf for that reason. But the surround suburbs in the bay are very much multigenerational families, so in that sense it does make sense. And the families that do live in the city are usually multigenerational as well.
Man…. This is why I value your channel so much… your actually honest about the flaws and left out things… why is it so damn difficult for EA to make rabbit holes?!? It was the bread and butter of sims 3, why not do it in sims 4? Can’t swim or fish along the water?!? In a harbour themed world?!? Insanity. I hope they update that before release. All those shells could have option to buy groceries, go get dinner or coffee rabbit holes… the set design becomes pointless when there’s zero to do around it. Pure laziness Can’t carry toddler while baby wearing?!? Seriously?!? 😢😢😢 that was my life for a good year 😂
Great review, answered my questions. We've been begging for this content for years so looking forward to this. Glad to hear it's what we asked for and it's not another disaster!
Thank you so much for your critique! I love hearing the good and bad of it all. My one take away, and living on the American west coast, is that, fishing off the end of piers is very much a thing, and I'm disappointed we can't do it in this world. It sort of makes sense not being able to do it off of boat docks, but pedestrian piers should definitely have that capability. One sees it all the time off of every kind of dock and pier at any kind of body of water. What the heck? My only other note, is that I continue to dream of bigger lots, specifically more 30x30 lots. This shall forever be my favorite standard lot size, and there are almost none in the game. For me, it allows for a nice one story house and a decent backyard. I really struggle to build on all of those darn 20x30 lots in the game. I wish they would mix it up a bit more. Thanks again for your great review!
I immediately thought of like large extended family Full House esque storyline and family with a San Francisco inspired city! Could be super fun to make a family that includes aunts and uncles and bestfriends :)
i think its one of my first video i ever watched from you and what a great review! you didnt seemed bias at all, gave koodos where it was due but didnt hold any punches when it wasnt good enough !
I don’t understand why we can’t have American centered worlds 😩. As an American PLEASE GIVE US SOME DIFFERENT WORLDS JESUS. I want a world like Mexico,France, or Ghana. Also why are expansion pack worlds coming with such small amount of lots, the worlds need to be expanded in terms of size
Lmaooo idk why I get my hopes up whenever they release new content, just for it to be a skeletal as previous packs. There’s definitely some stuff I’m liking about this pack, but you can feel how much they are holding back potential, especially in world building.
I had my doubts after seeing the trailer etc for this pack so thank you for such a detailed overview! It still doesn't really feel like an entire expansion pack to me. I like that you compared it to Seasons in terms of gameplay (which is the kind of thing I love) but I honestly don't have a high opinion on how the Sims team generally handle relationships and personality traits. The things they added in this pack sound really cool but I'll have to see more gameplay before I commit to spending money on this. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
the infant stuck on foot💀😂 love that I can count on Jesse to give honest reviews. to watch your video first during rollout is my top priority. the jingle at the end!🥰
In terms of the conversation topics and sim personalities, I wonder if you did a poll, and people could only chose those or infants as something that should be base game, I wonder what would win? That extra personality feels much more like an essential feature, while the infants are a bonus to people who want that more fleshed out growth stage, but I could be alone in that. I get why at least one of those is locked behind an expansion pack though, there is some considerable development that goes on so those costs do need to be accounted for, I just feel like maybe they picked the wrong part to be base game.
I know I'm late, but the actual coding for the changing tables was added to base game, so if you're a CC user, you can download non EA changing tables that will work in your game!
The funny thing is, there’s a stereotype about San Francisco culture that they like / value dogs more than kids! 😂 My bro lived in the Bay Area - Oakland - for years, and I think one of the devs even mentioned it was kind of a mashup of Bay Area locales, not just the city itself. So excited to hear your thoughts!!!
Glad treehouse woohoo is back. Wish they could woohoo in the theater. So happy about milestones, I’ve missed Sims 2 style memories. Goodness now my sims are going to be burnt out and afraid of a dead end job.
Thank you for reviewing! I hate that they make these large, beautiful areas with nothing in them. Give Sims something to do! Why would I even go there if all there is to do is walk around and use one food stand. It's so weird.
To be fair to the no simming in the water thing, San Francisco waters are like. INSANELY cold on top of having strong currents so its not exactly prime swimming material
I also got frustrated that there are changing tables that are compatible with base game design wise but that are behind a paywall. It makes no sense for me, specially since the look fo the bg furniture is not the best or most refined, so that was disapointing. That and the for plants that are stuck together were a real let down for me. But I'm excited for other stuff so I'm staying positive overall
I’m so glad you have us such an in-depth review. I know we can trust your reviews when it comes to packs and I really appreciate that. Thank you for reviewing this and staying honest, we truly do appreciate the work you do💕
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It's a shame there are no new careers in this pack. Like a retirement home nurse or a marriage counselor those are some ideas. ;w;
Active career as a daycare teacher would have been so nice
Yes! All these careers would've been so good. I just expected more for the price. If they would've added some careers like this I could justify the cost.
Or finally adding a feature to the teacher career where you can join them at work
@@defsouul3127 i love this expasion its coming out tomm in usa 16th baby
Would love to see a new lot/job for early education. Children, toddlers and infants can go there when parents are at work.
“Apart from being pretty, it doesn’t really serve a purpose”: the Sims 4
fr... Im a CAS hoe which is why I have so many hours in the sims 4, gameplay wise I wayyyy prefer sims 3, but we all know how they look 😬😅🥰
That's it. That's legit The Sims Snore in a nutshell! :/. Soo disappointing.
At this point; a Saga
@@cosmicsmurfer2033 sims snore 😭😭😭
@@cosmicsmurfer2033 the sims snore 😭 ur right but she can't even defend herselfff omg
I’m so tired of empty worlds. These worlds are huge but barely have lots. I like the feeling of my sims living next to other sims and having neighbors. The base game hoods had that feeling but the new ones do not.
Same. I think that’s why I prefer the apartments cause there’s more sims around so it’s easier to interact.
That was easily my biggest gripe with cottage living, and it still is! So much long awaited gameplay for so many people and theres ONE empty lot for me to build on. As a builder thats annoying, then i have to bulldoze a lot of beautiful builds real simmers put time into, AND theres still like 5 residential lots. Just bums me out when there's space for a few more empty lots.
There should be about 5 occupied and 5 unoccupied lots for every world, minimum
Yes, same. I drive through my area and get so much inspiration from houses and joy to go build, and then open my sims worlds and that joy flatlines.
It's just not hitting the mark.
I'm thinking of conjoining a few houses on one lot for single parents or couples etc to give it that feel.
@@bxllxs5331 i think I only had one save where my sims lived in the house and it was so boring. Living in apartments makes it feel like your sim is part of a community because you’re always seeing other sims around and there’s a festival right outdoor
I usually get aggravated at glitches but the infant stuck to her foot is HILARIOUS
Lol ig real infants do that tho bc they hang on to your foot 🤣🤣🤣🤣😂😂😂😂😂😂
The bike thing took me out lol 😂
Have u tried to wash an infant yet?? Somehow there are sims titties in the glitch
Man I was so confused 😭
I thought my child was trying to keep me from going to work or something
Why did they Nix the Grandpa like that?! If this was the sims 2 he’d be in the family tree, bio of his disappearance, and then he’d be a grave at a neighbor’s house!
because it’s the sims 4 and continuity just isn’t a thing in this game😭
Im so happy they brought back the rabbit hole cinema. I used to love setting my sims on dates to the cinema in ts3
I feel like we should investigate people who don't like a rabbit-hole cinema - If you're a decent, normal, respectful human being, when you go to the cinema, you just watch a film. You don't annoy the other movie goers by talking through it! With that said, it would be fun if there are a few options that the game presents like if you're watching a romantic movie and the cinema is almost empty you get an option for your sims to woohoo... And maybe there should be an option to buy popcorn with the ticket for a small hunger bump if that isn't already included... but for the most part it should just be a click on it and watch a film interaction.
Now if it has a few conversation options that are only available when a "watched movie" moodlet is there, that would be great too
Oh yes same here
I really love rabbit holes! I don't have to micro manage but they get experience
@@neilbiggs1353 I would like normal style Cinemas, if I could just buy the ticket, pop-corn or other snacks, plop the Sims in the sit and watch, with a chance of occasional bathroom break (the woohoo or at least snogging option does sound fun though - especially as that with Whicked Whims would be great for an adult cinema/club style establishment).
But all of that would be the case, if Wedding Stories did not happen. As they showed that the amazing people who made Get Together (and Clubs mechanic) - clearly aren't working at EA anymore and thr ones who are still in, can't make a working group activities.
I made a cinema/restaurant and I'm happy for the rabbit hole. Sims don't behave well in mine. 🤪
You declining a creator code is why we love you, we can always trust your opinions ❤️ But no new traits in a family expansion?? What a robbery hen
Hmmm -_- 🤨
like yes, but at the same time idk it kind of sucks that jessie felt she needed to decline the code. but i'll always support jessie monetarily on other platforms :)
I kinda understand, they went into detail about what the new stuff do and it makes sense
No *new* traits, but iirc there are "developed" traits that a sim can gain on top of their existing ones, so imo that's the next best thing.
Tbh - the fact they added that new trait mechanic, that basically are what traits were supposed to be, kinda fixes this issue. And they added developed traits as well. Which like expands on this.
The speed with which I clicked
SAME
Gotta know if they’re giving us a broken pack or not!!
This isn’t even a pack I think I will enjoy or buy, but Jess’s excitement for it makes me giddy to watch
Same I was FRANTIC I literally dropped my phone
Ever since the first trailer dropped for Growing Together, I thought "what's the catch?"
And yep, there is a catch; an empty world with limited interactions. I am glad they finally added characteristics and more to relationships, but it took them 9 years to do 😐
i wanted a generations pack sooo bad and i’m so disappointed! most of this stuff is just repackaged Sims 2 content that was included in the BASE GAME!
And you shouldn't have to pay $45 for "family members now care about each other, maybe"
Yes this “expansion” feels like it’s seriously lacking. Seems like it should have been a game update
as a sailor, i will say that having a fishing spot on the end of a pier would be very unsafe bc the lines could get caught in propellors or even just on the boats and people in said boats. i really doubt that was some intentional world building though.
It's still interesting that they built such a nice pier and... it's 100% set dressing. I believe sims will be able to ride boats there, but it would be nice if, say, clicking on the decor boats lets you buy your own one. And the store being completely unusable when they could have absolutely made it into a rabbithole venue at the very least is also annoying.
I think it may have been intentional because I haven't physically been to SanFran, but I know from being here on the east coast that water that's used by boats is not an area that allows fishing or swimming, like in Jersey you don't go swim where boats are docked at. I think it may have been a small mistake on Plumbella's part because she was focused on all the water but like the water at SanFran isn't very people friendly- unless it's a dedicated beach (which tend to be a bit further south). Considering the Sims HQ is in California I would think the devs would have an easy time designing this world considering they live and work in that area.
I always find it funny when people from other professions find little things in the sims that would not fly at all in the real world.
I remember seeing a nurse point out that the infant bedding isn’t considered safe sleep and would be pretty dangerous irl since they aren’t supposed to have pillows and blankets and all that. Also, the way the infants sit is called W-sitting I think, and is really bad for them and should be corrected so they no longer sit like that.
Obviously these are small things that the Sims Team probably wouldn’t have known, but I just think they’re fun to notice.
Umm this game has a man eating cow plant and a skeleton maid.
they could have made it so you can "watch the boats" and see boats come in and out of the pier instead. I remember doing that with my dad when I was younger. In AUS we usually get fish and chips, sit near a pier and just watch while we eat (if you're not fishing)
Calling it now. Next pack/kit/whatever will be all about elders and will be called "Golden Years"
Hopefully that will have daycares in it. Did they do a pack for kids yet? I wish we had cars so we could have parent sims give driving lessons.
If I'm not mistaken there was a survey asking about funeral stuff pack
no it will obviously be called "Get to Death"
@@lourencovieira5424 Dying Together
@@halg5867 death living
sims team loves their pretty, empty, useless boxes
just like the heads of the EA executives!
To be honest. Blame the critics who hated rabbit holes in the sims 3. I personally loved them, added more to the world, you got a break from one sim to focus on another while they built up their needs or relationships
@ Bethany Monges
No, there is no one to blame other than the team itself! They didn’t bring any alternatives to the rabbit holes - they didn’t care and that’s why sims 4 is bland and thankfully people are criticizing it for the flaws it has even 10 years + in, so now they are „changing“ things
@@paulmiller5195 they are at fault too but the hate that rabbit holes got was huge in sims 3. Even simmers on TH-cam wanting rabbit holes back, was saying no to rabbit holes before sims 4 release
@@Xxsorafan this theory really doesn't make sense honestly because the earlier sims 4 worlds were not like this lol. the set dressing was almost allways for the outskirts and beyond the routable boundaries initially. only city living really felt like it had them in the middle of everything, but it still made sense and didn't feel nearly as hollow and empty as the later packs feel
I'm happy you mentioned funerals! I've been thinking this for a long time. Once a sim has died all the other sims seem to go about their lives way to fast and the deceased sim seems to just be forgotten. I wish mourning was a lot more fleshed out, and it would be nice to have funerals as a planned event. Death is an important part of life, and the Sims being a life simulator it should be a (bigger) part of it.
Also, I'm kinda done with the American style worlds as the default.
Totally! Sims will grieve their lifelong spouse for a weekend and then be fine. It should be like half the time you were married or something. Or have pop up random grieving, or maybe serious grief followed by mild grief? Idk anything better
Death is NOT the most important part of life. That’s just sad
I just learned this yesterday but there is more mourning in the game if you have level 6 charisma, an urn in your inventory (presumably without having already had that sim move on) and a podium, and the sim can give a eulogy and if they’re sad, a touching eulogy
@@melodydomain3487 no one said that
Clicked instantly because I KNOW Plumbella will keep it real and chaotic!
Fr
Fr! I knew I could trust simsie to be truthful to us about it :)
Yes! Best reviews on Sims YT!
@@aspynryde7305Simsie? Wrong comment section 😂
"He's not on the family tree"... this told me everything I needed to know
Just that little bit of effort and they can't even do that
THIS!! As soon as they said that I just knew it wasn’t going to be an empty pack 😭
oh god I'm so afraid the pack will be bugged.. and not fixing the family tree in a family pack? oh god
as soon as i heard these words my excitement for this pack simmered so much
@@ohhaimernie The fact he's not even a townie is... 😬 So when they do put him on the Gallery. You will need to add to family, cheat CAS and then add him as the dad 🤭 We're literally doing their work for them. I love the franchise but one of the core features of the previous games was the lore and small details. Premades felt alive and playable. I'm not even excited for the game anymore. I'm just going to spend my precious time with Sims 2 and 3.
I really can't figure out how I feel about this pack, I want it because it looks like it enriches gameplay so much, but I also sort of resent that because some of the great gameplay features just don't feel like they should be locked behind a paywall, it just feels like paying for something which should already be part of the game
Same. I really want this pack and it would be great for my current gameplay but I don't like how they've locked the features behind a paywall where in previous games they were part of the base game.
Thats exactly how i feel, im kinda disappointed in the build/buy and CAS items so literally the only appeal of this pack to me is the gameplay. It makes me sad because i want those gameplay elements SO BAD but im not gonna buy this until it goes on sale which will take a while
Even if it wasn't base game, there definitely should have been some update to Parenthood.
AMEN. I had Sims 3 for AGES with the base game only and was entertained every time. I never felt like I was missing out on anything really because at it's core it was there. I think I eventually bought more to keep it fresh but it was Supernatural and Pets and I was set. I'm so frustrated that I have the majority of the packs but still feel as if I'm missing core game play.
I don't know. For me, it all just comes a bit late. Do they seriously want to tell me that it took them almost 10 years to comprehend what the players want so badly? A pack like this should have been one of the first packs to come. Apart from that, some of it would have belonged in the base game. In any case, I'm not going to buy it until there's a sale. Even if it seems to be one of the better packs...
I think the stay over could be cool for gameplay if you do divorces sims having the other parent select the stay over as a shared custody.
I had to create a "dad-cation" club for my child of divorce sim so she wouldn't get in trouble for eating or sleeping at his place lol
This is a sim mod!
@@violetxmoonlight what mod?
@@findingbrooki little miss Sam's 'Spend Weekend With...' mod is great for this. Your sims selects who'll pick up the kid (or Pet!) and they'll pick them up. Just use the phone to call them back home. Hopefully it still works after this patch 🤞
i’m still pretty excited for this pack, although i think if they had ditched building the new world and focused on everything else (gameplay, cas, build/buy, venue types, events, etc) it could have been a home run. it’s kinda like seasons where yeah it didn’t get a world, but the gameplay in seasons impacts every single world. i think growing together could have been a good one for that same concept
@Savanna EA is not interested in fleshing things out anymore, I guess. :/
THANK YOU for pointing out how much of this should have been base game! I’m excited to buy this pack but it is ridiculous that things like milestones, changing tables, moles?? are locked behind a paywall.
I do agree with you, but I'll take changing tables being in a pack over having to buy them literally alone in the sims 3 store hahaha
And this is why a lot of people pirate instead. So much money wasted!
omg I didnt even register that they were locking moles behind a paywall until you said. EA's greed is ruthless
Yes I totally agree! I can understand seasons and pets being DLC, given the amount of development needed, but this is a life simulator. Literally everyone ever has experienced being a child and growing up. The base game should be able to provide a fulfilling life simulation experience.
Locked behind a paywall and NEVER updated for future packs.
A retirement home or senior community would be pretty simple to make; they could make it a lot trait, like how Get Famous added the 'Celebrity Home' trait. There could be a 'Senior Living' lot trait where only elderly Sims could live. Also, I agree that we need funerals!
This is a mod by Kiara4sims with the retirement home lot trait 😊😅
@@Reese4Jesus That's awesome, thank you so much!
But that would require them to make multi-family housing of non family members (aka apartments), complete with elevators, etc., and that's clearly too hard for the Sims team/EA
I think the thing that annoys me most is that something like this should have been implemented during the early days of the sims 4. Plus this should have been mashed together with parenthood and high school years, only then would I feel like it would be on par with the sims 3 generations.
That kinda sucks that all the prettiest places and buildings are unusable…
Sims 4 in a nutshell
@@LaLadybug where is the lie? You’re so right! XD
I would expect from the sims in 2023 that they would have a feature where you can call your mom and dad and it will randomly generate parents for you.
Mods. They the only thing you can trust in
theres a mod for that
@@SimLove1031 really? Could you give the name?
@@jimjimjimmy7793 console 😭
I do like that you can create parents from genetics feature in CAS
I said with Cottage living that the staged buildings should be shops that sell a specific item, like there should have been bread shops, fruit stands and grocery shops, etc.
Can't wait for this pack to be 50% off so it might actually be 'worth' the price
you can wait a loooong time for that, only now have they put werewolves on sale for 25% and that pack is from june 2022.
@@vivalamew how has it already been a year….
@@haleigh6089 I suspect that there will be no more sales like we used to have. They have adopted the 'free to play' model, where they put the basegame for free, but charge top dollar for the addons. Yes they will have sales occasionally but I've noticed they are not as high anymore, and they always give the last pack the least amount of discounts. I've just accepted my fate and got this one preordered. I'm happy I got most of the content on good sales though.
I recommend instant gaming or other popular key websites. Don’t waste your money.
@@vivalamew yeah and hs years isnt even 50% off yet either
So that's what? Three worlds based on California now? And two based on San Francisco? Someone ought to buy the sims team a globe 😩
Honestly, they're so lazy
Aren't they based in SF? Egocentric 😅
@Danielle Bergmann even then you would expect them to build a better world
@Danielle Bergmann if you're seeing multiple comments by me my WiFi is fucked up rn
I'm amazed they didn't make a world based on Kyoto or Osaka.
I’ve been waiting for the Plumbella review!!!! Everyone else is second.
1. She’s brutally honest
2. Some random hilarious bug always shows up in her game only
Not relative to the pack, but my cat is obsessed with Plumbella. Like, he's almost always absolutely feral, and hates cuddling, but when her videos come on, he'll just curl up on me and watch. I think it's actually her voice, because even when his view is blocked, he'll still just chill out and look over in the direction her voice is coming from. I think he might be in love with her.
That is so cute
loving how the whole world can be resumed into pretty but useless 💀
smh
there not being any toddler potties at 3:38 is so strange bc in kaylas build vid for the rec centre she puts them in and even mentions that it was to ensure that toddlers would have a place to go. I wonder why the sims team decided to take them out?
I think Jesse just missed it. You can see it at 3:59
Yeah, Sarah is right. The toddler potties are definitely still there, you can see them in the video.
im glad other people noticed that they are in fact still there and jesse just missed em! bothered me when i saw kayla's video and knew for a fact!!! she added them.
I think there are 4 bathrooms in the building but only 2 have toddler potties so Jessie's sims might have used only the ones without a pottie
I’m 99.9% sure that they chose this location because of the old sitcom Full House. 😂
Yes! I thought so to
As someone from SF, the world is really disappointing to me and only a very few things shown here actually remind me of the city, but I'm really looking forward to the rest of the pack!
Edit to add that I'm also tired of all the American suburbia worlds, but like...if you're gonna base it on a place...I would like it to actually resemble that place? This just looks like Willow Creek with a few very vague references to SF 😭
Like where are the Victorian town homes and color 😞
is it really based on SF or just the Bay Area in general? It really doesn't remind me of SF at all, but I could see it maybe being inspired by San Jose or maybe places north of SF on the other side of the bay?
@@aliplay5 I could def see it being based on other places in the bay! But with the bridge right there it looks like they're trying to show the east bay on one side and then the other side is the city 😕. When I saw the first description, it said there was a canning history, so I thought maybe it could be based on Monterey. Maybe it's just a collection of California things with a very, very small hint of SF lol
@@trin4324 seriously, where's EVERYTHING 😭 there's just a slight hint of the embarcadero and the wharf, and the neighborhood around the rec center looks like it's trying to mimic Golden Gate Park (one of the buildings even looks like the conservatory of flowers). But other than that, and the bay bridge, there's nothing 😵💫
It’s like they took the blandest parts of the bay area
of course characteristics are locked behind a paywall 😍😍
Sims has a unique way of being the most disappointing and most exciting game. Like am I excited over DlC that should have been base game? Like it's so expensive for something that is so disappointing but at the same time it's so needed for gameplay. Like let's be honest, a game that relies on DLC for the gameplay to be good is not a good game. But still, I'm excited about each new DLC.
Feels like a narcissistic relationship 😅
The game relies on cc modders who are the only reason the Sims is still relevant after all these years.
Years ago I saw a comment that said that if the sims 4 ever got a generations style pack, that an Italy inspired world would be great for them because of the Italian culture’s focus on family. That would’ve been so cool if that happened!!! The world would’ve been so beautiful too!!!
It might have been beautiful, but it would have been hollow just like this one
We need international packs!
You know what it is? I'll tell ya what it is. It's anti-Italian discrimination
isn’t tartosa italian/mediterranean? i always wish they’d saved that world for a better pack and fleshed it out
@@Emily-xr6ny I always thought it to be more Greek but yeah it is Mediterranean which is pretty close
Personally my first thought when I hear san francisco is Full House so the family vibe really works for me lmao. The clothes were kind of giving that for me as well so big win for people who dress like they are in a 80s-90s US sitcom (me)
I was looking for this comment!
I'm like 80% sure that full house was all of their inspiration for San Sequoia
when i hear san Francisco i think charmed even tho the real house is in LA
I’ve been wanting a San Francisco style world. Butttt I wanted it to have townhomes, the kind we had in sims 2 where you could build 4 homes on one lot and play families separately. Would’ve been nice so I could live out my Full House fantasy.
I’m so excited that there’s finally a reason to make a guest bedroom!!!
Thank you for sharing your fully honest review! I'm definitely disappointed by the missed opportunities like a more interactive world and more gameplay elements for elders. I personally think the inclusion of retirement homes would have been a nice touch for a sim's final chapter in life. One of my grandmothers lives in an assisted living community, and she enjoys activities like bingo night or movie nights, joining clubs, and having opportunities to make new friends. I don't know how much that would take to create for the game, but I think it would've been a fun addition.
Could have also had some super low effort gameplay added in the form of stuff like volunteering at the old folks home by reading to the elderly, facilitating bingo, leading yoga classes etc
@@katharineeavan9705 right?? That would’ve been great
would it be very hard for them to add such a pop up event like we get at the bars for example Singles Night etc. but instead do it at the rec center and have like a puzzle night so more sims show up and play puzzles at least? bingo would have been another great opportunity for a fun activity.
@@aliplay5 ugh for real. I wish they would actually consider these things, seems like a no brainer to me!
This pack looks good but I’m really sad that changing tables aren’t base game, especially with some being matching swatches with base game kids furniture, because I won’t buy until it’s on sale 😵💫
I really like all of the new systems they introduce, milestones, family dynamics etc but I really don't appreciate that they are exclusive to the pack... you could just add a few basic milestones to the base game..... also the conversation topics and compatibility being paywalled seems really unnecessary.....
Milestones, family dynamics, etc. are only with the new pack ?? What ! I thought those were base game. I didn’t look too much into it cause I’m buying the pack regardless but that’s ridiculous that those things are not base game.
@@Kristenn666 yeah, as far as I'm aware the free update adds infants and the skin details like moles besides the usual bug fixes, but non of the new systems will be added in it, which honestly sucks
@@5am_nightmares moles are exclusive to the pack as well
So here's my thing on the walking stick. If we bring in the ability for canes only for elders and only in a pack, then we continue to push off their usefulness for disabled people. Same idea as the hearing aids, of which dropped base game and separate from the pack base game update, since both deaf and HoH people who were born that way or experienced and accident can use them as well as elderly people who make use of them in a larger proportion. They stated that more medical devices will be added over time, so I'd assume they'd end up there in another medical devices update.
"Deaf" is spelled with a capital D since it is a community. It's only spelt "deaf" when talking about the actual medical condition. Hope this helps! :)
So here's my thing we don't have disabled sims though. We have play pretend medical devices, but no medical condition gameplay. I'd rather have only elders can use walking sticks than objects or assets that are vestigial and/or purely decorative. We have too many pretend clutter and items in game already, I wish people stop asking for things they can pretend their sims are doing, and ask more objects with depth and meaning to your sims.
@@NonnyStar88 that literally adds nothing
@@estelladee do you really think canes/other items associated with disabilities don’t add depth and meaning to sims?? Especially for players that have those conditions or have friends/family with them? There are so many other things you can say don’t add depth or meaning, especially in TS4, this is not the hill to die on lol
@@estelladee This may just be me, I am not a voice for the entire disabled community, but I'd rather have medical devices in cosmetic form than medical devices in no form. Even just knowing that young simmers would see them in CAS is valuable to me. Folks can have their preference for "meaningful" objects but this is meaningful to me in real life.
Did they say that the events at the rec center would be on different days? They definitely need water activities, its such a pretty area.
here's the thing, I understood that there would be events in the rec center, but I haven't seen them yet
I can’t say I’m that surprised with the state of the world itself, the sims 4 is just like that, pretty but not much to do (I’m not shitting on the entire pack I just can’t help but notice the pattern)
What I’ve gathered (and I feel the same) is absolutely no one is surprised, rather stating “This would’ve been ideal”. I’ve been playing the sims for half my life, sometimes you just know how it’s gonna be no matter what the trailers/teases imply. There is nothing more EA than lying by omission so simmers will expect more :/
TS4 has been relying on set dressing more and more ever since Island Living came out
i love watching your reviews because they really feel comprehensive and none of your enjoyment feels forced. I also appreciate that you give each pack the benefit of the doubt even tho it can be easy to just be negative when it concerns EA
Thanks for always giving fair reviews, comparing to features that were base game in previous sims games, and trying to consider what it's like for those of us who don't have all the packs (I don't have High School Years so the lack of teen gameplay is disappointing). I love that you gave a rating for value for money too!
I really wish all of those unusable buildings were rabbit holes. I'm currently playing 3 rn, and the rabbit holes are okay bc even though you don't see everything, it's still stuff for your Sim to do. As a result the area feels more lively. Like some of those buildings could have been a restaurant or in door markets, malls, etc.
This, I loved when we could go with our sim to certain lots, even if they were rabbit holes - it felt like something was happening. You saw the buildings like school or hospital. While here they just disappear and that’s it. I miss the open world 😞
yeah, and i think not being able to see inside of a few buildings is a good trade off for being able to go anywhere in the town at anytime with no loading screens
I think what upsets me about this pack, and believe me I really love a lot of the additions to family gameplay, is why is everything behind a paywall? A lot of these additions like family dynamics, comparability, and specific family interactions should have just been base game. In a game like the sims, family gameplay should not be an addition it should be an expectation. This is especially notable given that parenthood exists. I already spent 20 dollars for parenthood, which was supposed to be a premier parenting and family pack for it’s time. Obviously they can only do things in hindsight, but I feel as if this should have been either a base game addition or a massive update to parenthood
Jessie as Grim was the jumpscare I was not expecting
Thank you so much for mentioning autistic burnout. I am autistic and I didn't know this was A Thing, and it lead me to do some googling and realize that it was definitely at least 50% of my last "depressive episode" and is giving me ideas of what caused it (wildly unpredictable work schedule) and how to prevent it in the future. Autistic representation and discussion is so so important, you are doing the lord's work hen
This! Plumbella helped me realize I should get evaluated for autism
5:33 usually pier waters aren’t swimmable and tbh at least the ones i’ve been to dont even have fish, you have to go out in a boat to find them :)
I only wish there were boats we could use like in Sulani?? like they already have the coding for that, just give us a small motor boat or even a non-Sulani looking dinghy and the ability to fish from the boat. that would be incredible. or if we could go out on a small boat as a family and maybe have a picnic on the boat?!?! how cute would that be! those piers off of the houses are just begging to be utilized.
@@aliplay5 yess!! i would love it even if it was a rabbit hole with those interactive popups
@@aliplay5 THIS, it feels like the boats and other beach additions are useless if you don’t live in Sulani. It’s sad tbh, I wish there were more usable beaches, especially in worlds so full of water. I’d like more lots with an accessibility to the water.
I have to say I actually prefer those likes and dislikes, interests thing bc compared to traits it really adds more dimension and creates more difference and diversity in a sim. Even compared with the sims 3 I’d have rather had those things than traits. However since sims 3 traits were pretty good and there were soo many to choose 5 from, it’s not like we really missed out. :)
Edit: I also freaking love the gameplay objects, especially the tree house!
And random but why did the whole world seem like foreshadowing to houseboats? Like I know I’m delusional and the world is known for fishing and what not, but the amount of footbridges(? Don’t know the English word, googled it) - I’m just saying a houseboat would look good there 😉
i have been DYING for a stay over function so i can replicate my parents’ divorce lmaoooo
even if there weren’t fishing spots (it’s a port so it makes sense that your sims cant fish off the pier-unsafe etc) it wouldve been nice if there was a boat rabbit hole that you could click on to fish out on the water. kind of like the rocket ship.
I know there was a food cart but I also would have loved if the building on the pier was an actual lot where you could get fish and chips or something.
Okay I have to know, does Jessie know Trixie mentioned her in her most recent video???
I DO IVE BEEN FANGIRLIN
@@Plumbella I am so happy to know that
Which video was it please?
What?? I need more info on this! We’re talking Trixie Mattel??
@@qa2040 it is her video getting ready for the house of Avalon party. Not the video she posted today but the last one she posted
I always love how thorough your reviews are and happy to see you to excited for this pack while still keeping it real! Can't wait to watch 😎
would have been nice: if when you chose traits, they automatically selected complimentary characteristics, likes and dislikes. i’m never going to go thru and pick those out so i’d love if they were already selected then i could change what i wanted to. kind of like how sims 3 would suggest a zodiac sign based on selected traits
Yea there is no way I’m gonna sit and spend 15 min choosing likes and dislikes
So excited to see your first impressions video. I've come to trust your opinion greatly. Disappointing that so much of the world gives us little reason to explore - I've been a little sad at new recent packs not including expansions of flora, as we have seen before. When will we get an evergreen to grow in our yards? Fortunately the game still succeeds due to my level of creativity and imagination. I confess, I'll buy this pack either way, because what is coming is definitely terrific (I didn't know S3, so I don't have the comparison), but your review has been delightful and helped distract me from counting down (for a little bit anyway) until tomorrow's release of Les Enfants. Thank you!!
whats interesting to me is that during lilsimsie's video i noticed that early in development the ep was going to be called "lifestyles & legacies" or something liek that and i find that very interesting... i guess they chose to focus on the dynamics of lifestyles instead of legacies perhaps
I can’t stand the worlds anymore, on top of being small already most of it s not usable and can’t be edited or customized because of all the shells around everything…
Disappointed but not shocked. Thanks for this great review Plumbella❤. It’s the world for me. They made it feel like it would be something open like werewolves but it seems boring.
I'm soooo looking forward to this!!! Thanks Plumbella ❤️ You're one of the simmers that I trust in reviewing new packs.
I'm glad that the creative team incorporated Filipino words like Bayani/hero and Tala/star as premade Sim names. Also, the name of the world San Sequoia sounds like 'Saan si Kuya' which means "Where's my brother?" in Tagalog. Growing Together seems familial indeed!
It’s SO frustrating having our hopes up every time and then being let down :(
Speak for yourself. I'm hyped as fuck
I felt that way too, but you can just. Not get your hopes up. It sucks that EA constantly drops the ball, but we don’t have to be let down every time when we know their track record
I know it sucks to hear but the only way to not be disappointed is to keep your expectations realistic. Yeah, it’s not what everyone wanted exactly, and the price is not worth it, but I’m not (too) mad because I told myself since the announcement it’d be a decent pack but not perfect by any means.
Agreed. I just stopped buying packs lol. I’d buy them and get bored 2 days later. It’s a waste of money. I’d rather just watch TH-camrs play them. The sims team won’t improve until people start to actually show their discontent.
Y'all still get your hopes up? 😭 Lol. Every Sims 4 release has been "Okay...what's the catch" for me for a _while._
I don't think it's...terribly egregious, to be honest. It's not their worst expansion pack by any stretch. It actually makes me want to open it for the first time in forever (I have it Completely And Totally Legally [wink]). :P It's not as good as it should be, but. Eh. It's The Sims 4. Nothing is really "as good as it should be".
I didn't even watch the show. But one of the most iconic American family sitcoms was Full House and it took place in San Fran, so it's not completely odd they chose it as a family city
That’s what I was thinking and her “not American” comment was weird
Even That’s so Raven which is a sitcom but it’s still a black family living in San Francisco
@@sherbear6625 another great example!
Never heard of it. Another example of Sims being American centric. Not like the rest of the world plays Sims
@@Etheral101 yes. It is created by an American company. So that tends to happen....
Thank you for this! Honestly the most informative, you covered a lot more than others. Also it felt like a fair review.
They should make a bunch of the empty shells in the world rabbit holes, just like sims 3! It makes the world so interactive and interesting with such minimal effort
Plus updating older worlds like Willow Creek with this would help people change up their play
A little disappointed at no aspirations but I think the conversation topics etc. are worth not getting new traits. The world seems a bit lackluster but tbh I care more about gameplay especially with this type of pack so I'm still super excited!
Just want to throw it out there that Robles is pronounced Rob-less and it's a Spanish surname. It's pretty cool that they have a Hispanic townie in the expansion pack!
Row-bless ?
To be fair, there is not a lot of water activity in San Francisco either lol. I mean there is beaches, but normal people are not doing water activities at the pier. I was surprised by the choice too because the city is not really a family friendly place. I literally left sf for that reason. But the surround suburbs in the bay are very much multigenerational families, so in that sense it does make sense. And the families that do live in the city are usually multigenerational as well.
About San Francisco being for a family pack: didn't the TV series Full House take place in that city? Maybe that was the inspiration
I do prefer the movie theater be a rabbit hole but also the way they happen in stardew valley is pretty cute.
YESSSS time to base my entire opinion on this pack on what jesse thinks !!!
Man…. This is why I value your channel so much… your actually honest about the flaws and left out things… why is it so damn difficult for EA to make rabbit holes?!? It was the bread and butter of sims 3, why not do it in sims 4? Can’t swim or fish along the water?!? In a harbour themed world?!? Insanity. I hope they update that before release.
All those shells could have option to buy groceries, go get dinner or coffee rabbit holes… the set design becomes pointless when there’s zero to do around it. Pure laziness
Can’t carry toddler while baby wearing?!? Seriously?!? 😢😢😢 that was my life for a good year 😂
Great review, answered my questions. We've been begging for this content for years so looking forward to this. Glad to hear it's what we asked for and it's not another disaster!
I love how the generated subtitles called the pack "grunt together" at one point. I suppose that's how it begins 😂
Thank you so much for your critique! I love hearing the good and bad of it all. My one take away, and living on the American west coast, is that, fishing off the end of piers is very much a thing, and I'm disappointed we can't do it in this world. It sort of makes sense not being able to do it off of boat docks, but pedestrian piers should definitely have that capability. One sees it all the time off of every kind of dock and pier at any kind of body of water. What the heck?
My only other note, is that I continue to dream of bigger lots, specifically more 30x30 lots. This shall forever be my favorite standard lot size, and there are almost none in the game. For me, it allows for a nice one story house and a decent backyard. I really struggle to build on all of those darn 20x30 lots in the game. I wish they would mix it up a bit more. Thanks again for your great review!
I immediately thought of like large extended family Full House esque storyline and family with a San Francisco inspired city! Could be super fun to make a family that includes aunts and uncles and bestfriends :)
i think its one of my first video i ever watched from you and what a great review! you didnt seemed bias at all, gave koodos where it was due but didnt hold any punches when it wasnt good enough !
I don’t understand why we can’t have American centered worlds 😩. As an American PLEASE GIVE US SOME DIFFERENT WORLDS JESUS. I want a world like Mexico,France, or Ghana. Also why are expansion pack worlds coming with such small amount of lots, the worlds need to be expanded in terms of size
You might want to reword the first sentence lol
I am wary of Sims doing anything other than Simmy shit. Snowy Escape...I hear mixed reviews on representation.
yayy!!! a sweatshirt from your store shipped to me today and i am SO excited for it to come!!! love u plumbella
Lmaooo idk why I get my hopes up whenever they release new content, just for it to be a skeletal as previous packs. There’s definitely some stuff I’m liking about this pack, but you can feel how much they are holding back potential, especially in world building.
I had my doubts after seeing the trailer etc for this pack so thank you for such a detailed overview! It still doesn't really feel like an entire expansion pack to me. I like that you compared it to Seasons in terms of gameplay (which is the kind of thing I love) but I honestly don't have a high opinion on how the Sims team generally handle relationships and personality traits. The things they added in this pack sound really cool but I'll have to see more gameplay before I commit to spending money on this. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
I love Plumbella’s reviews, they are very structured and in depth.
I always love your overview videos, Jesse! They’re always really in-depth, well thought-out and informative. You’re my go-to for new pack reviews. ❤
the infant stuck on foot💀😂 love that I can count on Jesse to give honest reviews. to watch your video first during rollout is my top priority. the jingle at the end!🥰
In terms of the conversation topics and sim personalities, I wonder if you did a poll, and people could only chose those or infants as something that should be base game, I wonder what would win? That extra personality feels much more like an essential feature, while the infants are a bonus to people who want that more fleshed out growth stage, but I could be alone in that.
I get why at least one of those is locked behind an expansion pack though, there is some considerable development that goes on so those costs do need to be accounted for, I just feel like maybe they picked the wrong part to be base game.
I know I'm late, but the actual coding for the changing tables was added to base game, so if you're a CC user, you can download non EA changing tables that will work in your game!
I'M SO EXCITED I CAN BARELY CONTAIN MYSELF!!! I hope it's everything we want it to be 💙💙💙💙
Ditto!
The baby transition sounds and the footage of the baby carrier glitching 😂
2:38 "it's pretty but it doesn't serve a purpose" it's me, hi
The funny thing is, there’s a stereotype about San Francisco culture that they like / value dogs more than kids! 😂 My bro lived in the Bay Area - Oakland - for years, and I think one of the devs even mentioned it was kind of a mashup of Bay Area locales, not just the city itself.
So excited to hear your thoughts!!!
Glad treehouse woohoo is back. Wish they could woohoo in the theater. So happy about milestones, I’ve missed Sims 2 style memories. Goodness now my sims are going to be burnt out and afraid of a dead end job.
Omg woohooing in the theatre would be so cute!!
Thank you for reviewing!
I hate that they make these large, beautiful areas with nothing in them. Give Sims something to do! Why would I even go there if all there is to do is walk around and use one food stand. It's so weird.
Thankyou for giving us honest reviews! The only review I trust.
To be fair to the no simming in the water thing, San Francisco waters are like. INSANELY cold on top of having strong currents so its not exactly prime swimming material
I will not purchase anything sims without jesses blessing. She is the trustworthy voice I listen to.
I’m feeling pretty sick today but your videos really help me feel a little better, thank you Plumbella.
I also got frustrated that there are changing tables that are compatible with base game design wise but that are behind a paywall. It makes no sense for me, specially since the look fo the bg furniture is not the best or most refined, so that was disapointing. That and the for plants that are stuck together were a real let down for me. But I'm excited for other stuff so I'm staying positive overall
I’m so glad you have us such an in-depth review. I know we can trust your reviews when it comes to packs and I really appreciate that. Thank you for reviewing this and staying honest, we truly do appreciate the work you do💕
Omg! Im so glad you are reviewing!