History YMMV / TheSims4

*** Even the CAS items were disappointing—since the entire expansion was based on the sequel trilogy, none of the iconic costumes from the originals and prequels were included, alienating anyone who intended to buy it just for Leia's space buns (which were actually a base game item), Luke's robotic hand, or Padmé's beautiful dresses. *** By the time the pack was released, it had become a common joke that it only appealed to [[{{Fangirl}} fangirls]] who wanted to make a family and settle down in suburbia with their ''Star Wars'' crushes like Kylo Ren... except Kylo Ren was specifically made to be non-romancable, so you couldn't even do that!

** The ''Star Wars: Journey to Batuu'' pack. It was a "story-driven" expansion for a sandbox game, which immediately made it unpalatable to many. Then it turned out that the story content was quite shallow, repetitive, and mostly consisted of clicking the same interactions over and over again, which upset the already-small contingent of players who were actually looking forward to that aspect of the pack.
*** The included world, Batuu, was a very small vacation neighborhood that Sims couldn't live in permanently with conveniences like toilets are few and far between, and it was also the literal ThemeParkVersion of a Star Wars planet, being based almost entirely off of the ''Ride/StarWarsGalaxysEdge'' part of the real-life Disneyland.

** The ''[=StrangerVille=]'' game pack created a heavy divide between the fans for its RPG-style gameplay and story. Some feel like the change is a refreshing, bold new take for the series, with an interesting story. Others feel that a story-driven pack goes against the freedom and creativity the series' sandbox elements offer. Then you have other arguments, such as its (lack of) replayability, whether we should have had popular returning features instead of this, it being a pack not centered on realism, etc.

*** The included world, Batuu, was a very small vacation neighborhood that Sims couldn't live in permanently with conveniences like toilets are few and far between, and it was also the literal ThemeParkVersion of a Star Wars planet, being based almost entirely off of the ''Ride/StarWarsGalaxyEdge'' part of the real-life Disneyland.

* AudienceAlienatingPremise: Famously, the ''Star Wars: Journey to Batuu'' pack. It was a story-driven expansion for a sandbox game, which immediately made it unpalatable to many. Then it turned out that the story content was quite shallow and mostly consisted of clicking the same interactions over and over again, which upset the already-small contingent of players who were actually looking forward to that aspect of the pack. The included world, Batuu, was a very small vacation neighborhood that Sims couldn't live in permanently, and it was also the literal ThemeParkVersion of a Star Wars planet, being based almost entirely off of the Disney ''Galaxy's Edge'' park. Even the CAS items were disappointing—since the entire expansion was based on the sequel trilogy, none of the iconic costumes from the originals and prequels were included, alienating anyone who intended to buy it just for Leia's space buns, Luke's robotic hand, or Padmé's beautiful dresses. By the time the pack was released, it had become a common joke that it only appealed to [[{{Fangirl}} fangirls]] who wanted to make a family and settle down in suburbia with their ''Star Wars'' crushes like Kylo Ren... except Kylo Ren was specifically made to be non-romancable, so you couldn't even do that! The end result was a pack that appealed to absolutely no one—it was too story-driven and created too many [[ContinuitySnarl continuity snarls]] to interest typical Sims players, it was too shallow and sequel-trilogy-focused for die-hard ''Star Wars'' fans, and the few people who were interested in mixing ''Star Wars's'' sci-fi adventures with regular, domestic ''Sims'' gameplay were put off by the non-romancable [=NPCs=] and the fact that you can't actually live on Batuu. It should come as no surprise that it was [[https://screenrant.com/sims-4-journey-batuu-game-review/ not well-received]].

** The somewhat sudden change on mood influenced by many, many factors including room decoration, traits, and lot traits, might make it harder to accomplish whims that you want. It also extends on aspiration goals, as some including having to do a particular thing with the correct mood (such as one of the cooking aspiration need to be accomplished while "inspired" and Computer Whiz has one of the objectives being having to play videogames for two in-game hours straight while "focused"). The fact that some of the "Very" variants of the moods (such as "Inspired" and "Very Inspired") resetting the mood-based whims didn't help either. It was compared unfavorably with the Wants from ''The Sims 2'' (which only rerolls after sleeping or after fulfilling it) or ''The Sims 3'' (which the player can save up to 4 wants as soon as it appears)

* ContestedSequel: On one hand, there are those that bemoan so many of the missing features (two of them was the open world and Create-A-Style, which were featured heavily during the trailers for the initial release of ''The Sims 3''), the redesigned interface (supposedly allow for more powerful and accessible gameplay features, but not only it looks increasingly complicated, but the iconic bottom-left dashboard is gone, with the button to toggle buy/build and life mode is now on the top right, while hotkeys largely remains what it is), and also terrible ArtShift toward a more cartoony style seemingly based from ''Videogame/TheSimsFreeplay'' (which many sees as a downgrade from the previous games and even the second game). On the other hand, there are those who found the mood-based gameplay reimagined from the Moodlets system from the preceding game, increased building features, and features gradually introduced by the expansion packs, refreshingly new to the series. One opinion common among fans is that the game is somewhat of a sidegrade to ''3'', and what one finds better will likely depend on whether they value the depth and open-world of ''3'' or the streamlined focus of ''4'' more.

** While most players probably didn't think too much about it, a patch renamed the "Insane" trait to "Erratic". Since the trait is meant to represent [[AmbiguousDisorder mental illness in general]] and is the only "mental illness" in the game, the old name - [[InnocentlyInsensitive however accidentally]] - [[UnfortunateImplications could be seen as ableist]][[note]]The general public connects the word [[InsaneEqualsViolent to violent behaviour]]. As such, some see it as a derogatory term[[/note]] The new name describes the odd behaviour just as well, without the negative connotations.

** In contrast, an update fixed things so that Social Services no longer provides free bassinets, and you have to buy your own, even if your Sim is in labor and you still don't have one. As of now, if you don't have a bassinet, the game will provide you one upon the birth of a baby (or more in case of twins)

* UnderusedGameMechanic: The general consensus with expansion packs is that they don't do enough to explore the mechanics they introduce, instead giving players shallow gameplay with a quarter of the content seen in past versions of the pack. This is especially true of ''Island Living,'' which had almost no gameplay outside of one-note mermaids and... living on an island.

* ContestedSequel: On one hand, there are those that bemoan so many of the missing features (two of them was the open world and Create-A-Style, which were featured heavily during the trailers for the initial release of ''The Sims 3''), the redesigned interface (supposedly allow for more powerful and accessible gameplay features, but not only it looks increasingly complicated, but the iconic bottom-left dashboard is gone, with the button to toggle buy/build and life mode is now on the top right, while hotkeys largely remains what it is), and also terrible ArtShift toward a more cartoony style (which many sees as a downgrade from the previous games and even the second game). On the other hand, there are those who found the mood-based gameplay, increased building features, and features gradually introduced by the expansion packs, refreshingly new to the series. One opinion common among fans is that the game is somewhat of a sidegrade to ''3'', and what one finds better will likely depend on whether they value the depth and open-world of ''3'' or the technical polish and streamlined focus of ''4'' more.

* JustHereForGodzilla: Most people who bought ''[=StrangerVille=]'' got it not for its story, but for the colorful and decently-sized neighborhood, the Military career and laptops.

** The somewhat sudden change on mood influenced by many, many factors including room decoration, traits, and lot traits, might make it harder to accomplish whims that you want. It also extends on aspiration goals, as some including having to do a particular thing with the correct mood (such as one of the cooking aspiration need to be accomplished while "inspired" and Computer Whiz has one of the objectives being having to play videogames for two in-game hours straight while "focused"). The fact that some of the "Very" variants of the moods (such as "Inspired" and "Very Inspired") resetting the mood-based whims didn't help either.

* ContestedSequel: On one hand, there are those that bemoan so many of the missing features, the redesigned interface, and also terrible ArtShift toward a more cartoony style. On the other hand, there are those who found the mood-based gameplay, increased building features, and features gradually introduced by the expansion packs, refreshingly new to the series. One opinion common among fans is that the game is somewhat of a sidegrade to ''3'', and what one finds better will likely depend on whether they value the depth and open-world of ''3'' or the technical polish and streamlined focus of ''4'' more.

** The somewhat sudden change on mood influenced by many, many factors including room decoration, traits, and lot traits, might make it harder to accomplish whims that you want. It also extends on aspiration goals, as some including having to do a particular thing with the correct mood (such as one of the cooking aspiration need to be accomplished while "inspired" and Computer Whiz has one of the objectives being having to play videogames for two in-game hours straight while "focused")

** In contrast, an update fixed things so that Social Services no longer provides free bassinets, and you have to buy your own, even if your Sim is in labor and you still don't have one.

** Instead of having a world that's free to explore, the world map is limited to an amount of locations the Sims can travel to instead of letting them travel by themselves. While this makes travelling from one place to another significantly easier, many fans complain that it renders things like cars useless.
** The removal of "Create-A-Style" was criticized heavily, with Mods and Custom content being created specifically to counteract this. Largely because it limits the players creativity, leading to every Sim looking more or less the same.

* ContestedSequel: On one hand, there are those that bemoan so many of the missing features, the redesigned interface, and also insufficient ArtShift. On the other hand, there are those who found the mood-based gameplay, increased building features and several minor additions refreshingly new to the series. One opinion common among fans is that the game is somewhat of a sidegrade to ''3'', and what one finds better will likely depend on whether they value the depth and open-world of ''3'' or the technical polish and streamlined focus of ''4'' more.

** Some lot traits can be a real pain, especially if they are fixed and can't be removed. Have fun keeping your Sims happy in a place infested with rats and power outages. Alternatively, you could say it's part of the challenge.

** You can "woohoo" with the Grim Reaper...

* GameBreakingBug: Occasionally the game engine will gum up and the characters will suddenly stop responding to commands. Sometimes this extends to the entire UI, and the buttons will all stop responding. If the UI is affected, the only way out of the game is killing the program in Task Manager, and if you do that, well, hope you manually saved recently, because the game also lacks autosave features.[[note]]According to research done by some players, this is due to the game's clock becoming desynchronized with the Sims' action queue, and it will sort itself out if you leave the game alone for a while.[[/note]] It's pretty jarring because the scale of the game is smaller than ''The Sims 3''.
** As of the latest patch it's increasingly far less likely to happen; however, installing script mods (such as those that introduce custom foodstuffs) might reintroduce this bug.

** The Moschino stuff pack was controversial when it was first announced, as many fans thought the items would be gaudy, unusable, or easily replicated by free custom content. However, the pack came with an in-depth photography system ''and'' a new career in addition to all the new clothing and furniture, which has led many fans to recommend it above the other Stuff Packs for its extra gameplay content and additional value.

** Out of all the ''Realm of Magic'' sims, Morgyn Ember is easily the EnsembleDarkhorse. Their high-level magic skill and [[HotWitch good looks]] have made them far more popular than any other Spellcasters, including their fellow Sages. Players frequently make over (or delete) L. Faba and Simeon Silversweater, but leave Morgyn alone, as they're "already perfect." It's also not uncommon for players to have their Sims marry them and/or use cheats to have children with them. They're also alluded to being non-binary and gender non-conforming due to having custom gender settings in CAS (masculine frame, feminine clothing preference, cannot get pregnant or get others pregnant, and uses the toilet sitting down)

** Out of all the ''Realm of Magic'' sims, Morgyn Ember is easily the EnsembleDarkhorse. His high-level magic skill and [[HotWitch good looks]] have made him far more popular than any other Spellcasters, including his fellow Sages. Players frequently make over (or delete) L. Faba and Simeon Silversweater, but leave Morgyn alone, as he's "already perfect." It's also not uncommon for players to have their Sims marry him and/or use cheats to have children with him.

** After early 2021 was filled with middling content and the introduction of Kits, in late spring the ''Cottage Living'' expansion was announced with great fanfare including the return of legacy character [[ThePrude Agnes Crumplebottom]]. After its release, the general consensus was that not only was it focused on content that Simmers wanted, but also lived up to its expansion pack name by ''actually expanding several base game features'' such as Gardening and Cooking by allowing the former to be a viable career as a small town farmer and opening those skills up to children with sufficient mental skill and parental oversight respectively. Also praised was the expansion of wildlife and pets to include wild rabbits, wild foxes (that behave like foxes instead of reskins of dogs), wild birds, farmable chickens, cows, and the perenial running gag Llamas making their proper debut. And lastly, the world area of Henford-on-Bagley was praised for being a very large world space, having a well-executed character-driven storyline with mechanics to push it along, and even getting prominent builder simmers to design all the playable lots like previously done in ''Snowy Escape.'' The general consensus has been that its the first expansion in over a decade [[ItsTheSameNowItSucks to neither tread old ground]] nor [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks be controversial for not doing so.]]

** For a period of time, a glitch in ''Sims 4'' made it possible for family members to have romantic relationships with each other and even have whims to do so. This included children, meaning a parent could have the desire to "woohoo" with their child or vice versa. This was fixed rather quickly.

** You can "woohoo" with the Grim Reaper.

''Snowy Escape'' all builds were commissioned by

** Strangerville also had to potential to be a nod to the previous installments of the franchise, specially The Sims 2 and Strangetown, explaining some unknown elements of the series canon such as Bella Goth's disappearance or the nature of the aliens Polination Technicians, but the developers instead opted to simply make a shallow parody of Stranger Things.

** Similarly, after the controversial ''Journey to Batuu'' pack was met with criticism, EA released ''Snowy Escape,'' a more grounded expansion pack that added Lifestyles, Sentiments, and other commonly requested features. ''Snowy Escape'' was then followed up by the announcement of a Paranormal stuff pack, which was voted on by the community.

* ContestedSequel: On the one hand there those that bemoan so many of the missing features, the redesigned interface, and also insufficient ArtShift. On the other hand there are those who found the mood-based gameplay, increased building features and several minor additions refreshingly new to the series. One opinion common among fans is that the game is somewhat of a sidegrade to ''3'', and what one finds better will likely depend on whether they value the depth and open-world of ''3'' or the technical polish and streamlined focus of ''4'' more.

* ThatOneAchievement: Alphabet Legacy, which requires you to play ''26 generations'' in a single household. There's no way to get this easily, even if you play on the fastest game speed even if you take shortcuts with adoption, unlike every other achievement except...

* ContestedSequel: On the one hand there those that bemoan so many of the missing features, the redesigned interface, and also insufficient ArtShift. On the other hand there are those who found the mood-based gameplay, increased building features and several minor additions refreshingly new to the series.

** Financially, buying an easel and creating paintings gives stupid amounts of money per once sims gain enough skill (which they usually do very quickly.) Painting alone can easily replace a job. The writing skill can also be a game-breaker; once Sims get a high enough writing skill, they can sell books to publishers and collect daily royalties, which more than make up for the initial cost of a computer and then some. As long as sims have a computer and an easel, they can make enough money to cover living expenses and most luxuries, making actual jobs pointless unless you want the career rewards they unlock or you need them for completing an aspiration.

* ThatOneAchievement: Alphabet Legacy, which requires you to play ''26 generations'' in a single household. There's no way to get this easily, even if you play on the fastest game speed, unlike every other achievement except...