The Sims is one of my absolute favorite games, and with the approaching release of The Sims 4 (September 2nd for PC), I’ve been playing and talking about it almost obsessively. In my opinion, The Sims is a perfect world. I play Sims when I’m stressed out in real life and need to decompress and be in total control. I think my two favorite things about the game are the ability to experiment and the lack of judgement that exists within the game, as well as within the Sims community.
The vast majority of “simmers” have a tendency to create and play as themselves. I know I do. The game helped me learn a lot about who I am as a person. I was dying my hair and giving myself piercings in The Sims before I was doing those things in real life. Playing this game also had a huge part in helping me realize I don’t want children. I can barely handle being responsible for a couple of virtual kids, much less real ones 24/7 for 18+ years.
In The Sims, you can look and act however you want, do whatever you want and be the person you’ve always wanted. If it doesn’t work out, aka you die, all you gotta do is quit without saving. Easy. I can’t think of any reason not to love The Sims.
It was also one of the first games in which same-sex relationships were permitted. There’s a very interesting article on how this finally occurred. I think this development really embodies The Sims. It’s looking forward, it’s open, it’s fun and it’s customizable. The Sims can be unique to each player. So yes, maybe it’s dorky and I have gotten plenty of hate for my love of The Sims, but I stand by it. Sims 4ever.
