Plenty of Expansion Packs in The Sims 4 add various types of content to the game, from new worlds to new careers. However, some of the expansion packs are better than others and have more value for money than others.
Here is our take on the best expansion packs in The Sims 4.
S Tier – Cottage Living
Cottage Living comes out as the best expansion pack in The Sims 4. It adds many new features, from looking after animals like Cows, Chickens, and more. It allows you to live out in the countryside if you want an “off the grid” experience and learn to live by using the resources around you. This gives a more challenging experience to the gameplay, should you want it.
Overall, this is a very cute expansion and adds a lot to the gameplay mechanics, allowing you to live your country bumpkin dreams.
S Tier – Growing Together
If you like the family element in The Sims, this expansion is perfect for that. This expansion adds a lot of interaction between generations, including an expansive set of milestones. These milestones and moments can lead to some comedic moments, including mid-life crises for your older Sims.
While Infants was a free update, a lot of this expansion revolves around them and the interactions you can have with them and helping them turn into good (or evil) people as they age.
It is a great expansion pack and can be quite chaotic, depending on how many children are in the family.
S Tier – Discover University
Discover University is very fun but can be stressful as it requires a lot of micro-management of your Sims for them to succeed. If you’re looking for that extra bit of challenge, this expansion is perfect for that and can have you managing your time carefully in the game.
However, you can also be carefree and flunk your exams, instead focusing on doing keg stands and socializing with friends.
A Tier – Seasons
Seasons is fantastic, as it adds a little variety to the game, from allowing your Sims to sunbathe and get a tan to playing in the snow and potentially getting hypothermia and a visit from the Grim Reaper. Your Sims may not make the smartest decisions regarding the weather, so you’ll need to be extra mindful of their activities. Alongside the weather changes, it adds two new clothing categories, giving you more options to make them as stylish as possible.
A Tier – Eco Lifestyle
Another expansion that adds an extra gameplay element and a bit of challenge should you want to engage with it. This expansion pack allows you to live “green” and adds the eco-footprint system to the game. To succeed in this expansion, you have to make sure that you are living sustainably. That means minimal electricity being used, having a green footprint, and voting for changes in the neighborhood.
A Tier – Snowy Escape
If you enjoy spending time away from the house in The Sims, this is the perfect expansion for that. This expansion allows your Sims to go on holiday on a Snowy Escape (get it?) inspired by Japanese landscapes, with plenty of exploring through a beautiful new world. Also, if your Sims are the sporty type, this expansion is perfect as it allows them to experiment with Snow sports.
B Tier – High School Years
Much like Discover University, this expansion adds a lot of depth to the game and allows you to expand on the days of your Sims teenage years so that they can have a fulfilling experience. This includes going to Prom and allowing your Sim to be a nerd or a troublemaker, depending on what you want their path to be.
This expansion can be a lot of fun, but it can grow tiresome after you’ve spent some time playing it, and it can get mundane quickly if you aren’t someone who enjoys the family aspect of The Sims. That’s why we placed it here on our list of the best Sims 4 expansion packs.
B Tier – Horse Ranch
Horse Ranch is fun and allows you to live out your Horse Person dreams. However, it could have been in the same expansion as Cottage Living or Cats and Dogs (and just rename the expansion.) Instead, you have an expansion that can sometimes be a bit lackluster, as it revolves around owning your ranch, tending to Horses, and learning how to line dance with friends.
B Tier – Cats and Dogs
Cats and Dogs are fun, but the gameplay gets boring after a while. Again, this expansion pack could have been merged with Horse Ranch since they all fall under the pet category. While it is fun to make your cats and dogs in the game and watch what chaos they get up to, it isn’t as fun as in previous Sims games, where you could control the animals yourself.
Instead, you have to watch them live their lives and hope they don’t run away.
C Tier – Get Famous
Get Famous is fun and adds some great career choices to the game. They are very involved, so it requires a lot of work should you want to play the expansion. If you’re trying to avoid your Sims getting famous in any capacity, you may have a bit of a task on your hands, as they can gain fame from all sorts of tasks they may undertake in their daily life.
Fame is a fun mechanic, but it can also be a bit overwhelming to manage, as there are quirks your Sim will get, and other Sims want to pester them at every corner.
C Tier – Get to Work
Initially, this expansion was a lot of fun when it came out, as it added interactive careers where players could see what their Sim was getting up to and join them at their workplace. However, the gameplay slowly becomes lackluster and doesn’t add a lot to the game.
The Scientist career is the most fun, as it allows you to wreak some havoc with the SimRay and transform Sims into objects or freeze them, should you grow tired of them or your Sim is just particularly mischievous.
C Tier – City Living
City Living is an okay expansion, as it adds apartments to the game, adding a new gameplay element. However, aside from being spammed with notifications about the upcoming markets and festivals, there isn’t a lot to do. It can be fun at first if you haven’t experimented with it, but it soon gets tiresome unless you like your Sim to be out and about at every available opportunity.
C Tier – Island Living
Island Living adds a brand new neighborhood to the game and an Occult for those who enjoy a fantasy aspect to their gameplay. However, the gameplay can get a bit bland after a while, as it revolves around festivals and conservationism. The new career is enjoyable, but it only makes sense to play if you live in that neighborhood.
D Tier – Get Together
Get Together is probably the worst expansion added to this game. If you want a sense of community and get-together-ness, this is the perfect expansion for that. It allows your sim to be nosy by joining clubs and getting all of the insider info on the other club members. There is also a sense of creativity as you can create a club for whatever you want so that your Sims and friends can celebrate whatever they want. From baking to gardening to partying all night, clubs allow you to do just that.
However, if you aren’t fond of the nightlife aspect of the game, this expansion isn’t for you.
That’s everything you need to know about our rankings for The Sims 4 expansion packs. The popular franchise from Electronic Arts and Maxis has entertained fans for many years.
Of course, this is just our opinion, so you may feel that these expansions are in the completely wrong order or that we were right with our opinions. What’s your favorite expansion for The Sims? Let us know in the comments below!
