How To Make The Most Of Every Sims 4 Expansion Pack

At this point in time, there are ten expansion packs for The Sims 4: Snowy Escape, Eco Lifestyle, Discover University, Island Living, Get Famous, Seasons, Cats & Dogs, City Living, Get Together and Get To Work. Unless you can catch them during a sale, at this time each expansion pack will cost you about $40.

If you're like me, you don't have an extra $400 just lying around to buy all of these packs. With so many options, it can be daunting deciding which ones are worth the buy. In order to help with this decision, I've broken down each expansion pack, what they bring to the game, and how to make the most of them. 

Snowy Escape

The Snowy Escape expansion pack unlocks Mt. Komorebi, a getaway destination in a snowy mountain town. The area offers snow activities such as skiing, snowboarding, and sledding. There is also a resort in town that features a natural hot spring. The pack also adds Japanese-inspired decor to the build menu.

To best use this pack, I would take your Sim on a vacation to the mountain town for a day or two. Switch into warm, cozy clothes during your stay, or take a dip into the hot springs on the mountain to stay warm. Explore your Sims' athleticism by trying out mountain climbing or test your balance with one of the snow sports mentioned earlier. 

Want to take the experience home with you? Head on over to the build menu to add Japanese-inspired pieces to your living space. The pack also adds new options to the Create-A-Sim screen such as new hairstyles and new clothing items. I would definitely use these new additions to prepare your Sim for their trip!

Eco Lifestyle

This expansion pack brings the reality of environmental issues to The Sims 4. It adds more sustainable decisions to the game, such as recycling, using solar panels, and more. Additionally, reusable and upcycled items are added to the build menu, and the Sims are given the option to come together as a community and make decisions for the neighborhood. 

The decisions that are made will affect the quality of the environment in the game. For instance, the community's energy source contributes to the air quality and the neighborhood's waste control decisions correlate to the cleanliness of the town.

I would use this pack not only to bring your Sim closer to nature but also to educate yourself about environmental issues. While the game doesn't go into a great amount of detail, it provides enough base knowledge to get you started making changes in your real-life lifestyle. You can use the pack's new sustainable items to revamp your home and reduce your Sim's eco-footprint.

You can also use the pack to come closer to your community by attending community task force meetings and establishing rules for the neighborhood. You can also learn even more about nature and gardening than ever before. Like every pack, there are also clothing and character features added to the game with this pack.

Discover University

This expansion pack adds the college experience to The Sims 4. Your Sims are given the opportunity to go to the University of Britechester or Foxbury Institute. The developers added experiences that reminded me of my own college experience, such as studying at the university library and decorating a dorm room.

This pack is beneficial for adding a valuable part of the young adult experience to the game. I would use this pack to live out different types of college experiences and see what memories you can form. Not to mention, earning a degree can lead to a boost in Sim's career. 

You can use the hairstyles and clothing from the expansion pack to give your Sim the true college aesthetic, whether that be light academia or school mascot vibes. Lastly, it's a great chance to attend a few ragers and experiment with new things while away from home!

Island Living

This tropical expansion pack unlocks the land of Sulani, where Sims can engage in water activities and indulge in the culture of the people there. It is divided into three separate islands, all with their own perks and stories. It is with this expansion pack that Sims are able to meet mermaids and swim with other sea life.

In my eyes, this pack acts as a contrast to the Snowy Escape pack. They are both vacation destination-style maps, and I would recommend sending your Sim here if they are in desperate need of some fun in the sun. 

I would send your Sim here for a few days and spend the time exploring each island. The activities your Sims can participate in include snorkeling, swimming in the ocean, building sandcastles, and more. The items added by the pack allow your Sims to look as beachy as they can. Your Sim can also contribute to the community by helping to keep the beaches clean and learning about local lore.

Get Famous

Your Sim has the opportunity to gain fame beyond their wildest dreams with this pack. In the Get Famous expansion pack, your Sim can become a famous actor or actress, or become famous in their respective fields. The fame has realistic effects on the Sims — fans will swoon over them and critics will have an opinion on everything they do. 

This pack adds Del Sol Valley to the map, which seems to be loosely inspired by the Hollywood and Beverly Hills areas in real life. Your Sim can visit this area to network and advance their career.

This expansion pack doesn't change the surrounding environment too much but affects social interactions and the way others react to your Sim. I would use this expansion pack to give your Sim a taste of the lavish life and experience the thrill of being recognized everywhere you go. 

Seasons

As its name would suggest, this expansion pack adds seasons and their corresponding weather conditions to the Sims' lives. On a larger scale, the pack expands on the game's sense of time by adding a calendar with holidays to the timekeeping mechanism. The environment outside the Sims' houses changes to reflect the time of year and events that might be happening.

This pack is essential in making the game feel more real, as the weeks in the base game just come and go with no external distinguishing factors. Seeing the seasons change gives more of a visual reference to the Sims' life ranges.

In my opinion, the most valuable item addition from this pack is its new clothing options, as I was looking for more clothes that were directly designed for hot or cold weather. I would take advantage of the beautiful new environmental changes such as rain, snow, and color-changing trees.

Cats & Dogs

This expansion pack allows us to add our furry friends to the game or create new ones. The Cats & Dogs pack adds all of the items and features one would need to care for the pets in real life, as well as the pets themselves. The game also adds a pet-friendly seafront getaway to the map as well as a vet's office.

The obvious benefit from this expansion pack is having more time to cuddle with furry friends. It adds a layer of responsibility to the game alongside taking care of babies and toddlers. It is also a unique experience to create pets from scratch, one that I would recommend for everyone who has played. 

I would also use the added items to make my Sim's house or apartment as comfortable as it is for them as it is for the Sims themselves. There are small homes, food dishes, and more to be placed!

City Living

The City Living expansion pack is the first pack I ever bought. Having lived in apartments for the past few years of my life, I wanted to replicate that in my Sims' experiences. The residences in the base game are all house or mobile homes, and the idea of my Sim living in a cozy apartment in the hustle and bustle of the city was enticing. 

The city features 4 different neighborhoods, each inspired by different arts. Each neighborhood hosts festivals that correspond with its celebrated art, and you're able to visit the different neighborhoods to participate in the events and make new friends. You're also able to learn a lot from these festivals, such as recipes or social skills. 

I would make the most of this pack by using it to move into an apartment over a house or to use the added items to blend in more with the city folk. I would also take advantage of all of the festivals that come to the city, as they are a great way to mingle with neighbors and try out new food and drink products. The festivals are a great way to fill the Social and Fun meters.

Additionally, the new clothes can be used to give your Sim a more sophisticated look. 

Get Together

This expansion pack essentially allows you to create a loyal group of followers who will do whatever you say, dubbed "clubs". The Sims can create or join different clubs that focus on different topics and interests. This pack is beneficial if you want two Sims to interact and get along even if they are very different from each other.

Personally, I think this pack doesn't add a whole lot to the game. However, it's a great one to have if you plan to throw plenty of parties or have group trips. It forces all of the Sims in any given group to collaborate and get along, which can also be beneficial for scene recording. 

Get To Work

The Get To Work expansion pack allows players to do what we've been dying to do for years: go to work with our Sims. Granted, you can only tag along with certain career paths, namely Doctor, Detective, and Scientist. This pack allows you to travel to the Sims' place of work and actively complete the tasks required of them in order to receive a promotion.

The pack also adds retail stores and the ability to own or buy a business. These can be fully customized from the ground up and will attract more and more customers from the neighborhood over time. 

I would use this pack to add another layer of playability to the game. Depending on your Sim's profession, if it falls into one of those listed above, this pack allows you to live out every second of your Sim's life without having to wait at home while your Sim completes their work tasks.

It also gives the player more control over promotions, because you can see how many tasks you are completing and how it affects your work performance. Although there are cheats that can help with promotions, this expansion pack allows you to monitor your progress in certain careers in a much more organic way. 

Every one of the expansion packs adds a considerable amount of content to the game. Whether it be adding exotic destinations to the map or adding features that change the Sims' way of life, the packs expand the extent to which we can customize the game.

Each pack adds something different to the game, and I would recommend looking into what you might be lacking from your gaming experience when deciding which ones to purchase.

Are you looking for more getaway locations for your Sim? You might want to try Snowy Escape or Island Living. Looking for more items to add to the gameplay? Try Eco Lifestyle or Seasons. Looking to add a new social dynamic? Cats & Dogs, Get Together, Get Famous, or Get To Work might be up your alley. 

No matter which packs you pick, you'll be adding hours of playable content to your gaming experience, and who doesn't want to do that?