The best Sims 4 expansions, game, and stuff packs

What are the best Sims 4 expansions, game, and stuff packs? Every time I sit down to play The Sims I find that my IRL clock promptly slips into fast-forward mode and time flies. It's so easy to spend hours bossing my sims around, but there's only so much you can do in the base game. The most popular Sims 4 mods and Sims 4 cheats will keep you going, but nothing beats some fresh DLC.

EA continues to release packs of various sizes for The Sims 4 on a regular cadence, but if you're just getting into the game now, or are working on a tight budget, scrolling through the game's store page is overwhelming. To help you decide how to spend your money and time, I've listed the best Sims 4 expansions, game, and stuff packs, and why they're so fun to get into.

Expansions

The best Sims 4 expansions

Seasons

Seasons sounds like it could just cover the weather, but there are plenty of holidays and seasonal activities to get stuck into as well. In Autumn/Fall it's great to take part in the wholesome Harvestfest festivities, cook a big feast, and watch as pesky Holiday Gnomes spring up in your house. Love Day, Winterfest, and New Year's Eve are scattered across the rest of the year to persuade us to splash the cash on some decorations, open presents, and celebrate. There are even surprise holidays like 'Prank Day', and smaller hobbies to try like flower arranging.

Considering we're on the fourth instalment of the Sims, you'd think Seasons would be baked into the base game at this point. Sadly, we still need to part with our hard-earned pennies to  experience dynamic weather. It's definitely worth it to trudge through snow in puffy coats and see the look on your Sim's face when they're scared of thunder.

City Living 

There's no way I'll ever be able to afford a three-bedroom apartment in London, so I'll just have to stick with the City Living expansion to simulate what it's like to live a lavish metropolitan lifestyle. There are festivals to attend, neighbours to embarrass yourself in front of at Karaoke bars, and not to mention a swanky view of the cityscape right outside your window. This expansion also introduces new careers including positions in Social Media, the Arts, and Politics. Remember, you'll still need a well-paying job to live your dreams in the big apple.

Cats & Dogs

The name gives it away, and if you're an animal lover this is a must-buy. Not only can you create the perfect pooches and kitties, you can customise their coats to have green spots, or pink boots, if that's your thing. This expansion adds Brindleton Bay to your neighbourhood, an area that's brimming with parks that are perfect for walking your pets. If you're keen to make petcare your sim's priority, you can also follow the veterinarian career path, and build your own clinic, which is a lot easier than the five years you'd have to spend studying in real life.  

Get Together

Fancy your sim as a social butterfly? Get Together makes it easier to meet others with similar interests and make friends with folks in their age group. No matter what you want to focus on, be it food, reading, or even DJing, this expansion gives a taste of the wonderful things that can happen when you join a club of like-minded people. While this is all about visiting bars and getting your groove on in dance parties, Get Together also features Windenburg, a beautiful suburb that's packed with everything from huge swimming pools to historic ruins.  

Discover University

College life is when you're supposed to experiment, and this expansion gives your sims lots to do as they work towards their degree. Not only does this pack have some of the best Create-A-Sim items in the game, it's nice to take a break from managing a household to hang around on campus and get whisked away into some student shenanigans. There are two universities to choose between and each has a unique culture to soak up. Naturally, this pack is filled with new careers and skills, including branches into the Law, Education, and Engineering sectors.

Eco Lifestyle

We could all do our bit to try to live more sustainably and Eco Lifestyle does a good job of broaching the subject in The Sims 4. You can upgrade your home with solar panels and wind turbines, get into DIY and become a freelance Crafter, and vote for change on the issues that mean most to your sim every week. This expansion pack fleshes out the 'off-the-grid' function and finally makes it a more viable form of gameplay. The range of build/buy items give us a slew of outfits and objects to play around with. Who doesn't want to decompress after a long day by making some candles and dumpster diving?

Get to Work

Work is probably the last thing you want to think about when you're sitting down for a long Sims session with a cuppa, but I promise this work is fun. If you've ever dreamed of running your own business, you can get your sims to take all the risks and build their art galleries, bakeries, and fashion empires from the safety of your computer chair. You can also follow the Detective, Doctor, and Scientist career paths, which introduces aliens to the game. It's up to you whether you decide to fully embrace your extra terrestrial powers of erasing minds and analysing other sims, or go under the radar as a human.

Game packs

The best Sims 4 game packs

Parenthood

Parenthood expands the horizons of both young Sims and care-givers. On the child’s side, it introduces a new set of attributes that track development, including how responsible they are, or how well they have their emotions in check. It feels more meaningful than just watching meters tick up and down, with Sims able to gain new traits—good and bad—that will affect them later in life.

The expansion makes being a parent feel like a proper job, rather than just something passive. Trying to control an unruly toddler is challenging, and you'll need to find the sweet spot between much-needed discipline and being lax parenting. Children and teens also have more traits like, for example, being picky eaters. It’s nowhere near as stressful as being a real-life parent, but it adds a lot of depth that was missing in the base game.

Vampires

Supernatural packs aren’t to everybody’s tastes, but if you’re keen on exploring the occult, Vampires is a great place to dive in. Your vampires will have a range of abilities: they can unlock doors in other homes, make their enemies hallucinate, or enter the minds of other Sims to learn all about their personality traits.

The thirsty undead have weaknesses to spice up our playthroughs, too. Your sim might hiss uncontrollably during conversation or—my favourite—feel guilty when chomping on the neck of somebody without their permission. Speaking of which, vampires don’t have hunger or bladder meters, and instead need to keep their Vampire Energy topped up, which completely changes your daily routine. Supernaturally, there are also lots of spooky candlesticks, coffins, and spiderwebs with which to kit out your creepy mansion.

Jungle Adventure

This game pack isn't essential, but it's one of our favourites. The best part about this game pack is that you can take a vacation to sunny Selvadorada and wander around its beautiful jungle. If you're keen to explore, there are ancient ruins and artifacts to unearth, and even hidden temples that you can poke around in. It's build/buy items will brighten up your home, and it features lots of plants and stonework to make your garden look absolutely stunning.

Stuff packs

The best Sims 4 stuff packs

Tiny Living

Andy couldn't stop building tiny houses when this expansion launched, and Chris got creative as he tried to cram everything into his titchy builds. If City Living's huge apartments are feeling a bit echoey and you're looking for a challenge, this stuff pack will make you question what you really need in your living quarters. There are pull-down beds and genius space-saving items in the build/buy menu. The Create-A-Sim additions also look super cute and comfortable.

While this is one of the cheaper add-ons, it offers exceptional value for money as it shakes up the gameplay and feels very different to how a lot of us usually approach the Sims. Rather than save up our Simoleons to fill our space with pretty junk, it encourages us to furnish a cosy home with the essentials.

Paranormal

Whether you're dead set on ghost hunting, or want to have a chat with some friendly spirits, you'll need this stuff pack to get your Paranormal Investigator license. Just like Tiny Living, this DLC is surprisingly reasonable for the content it offers. The Ghost Hunter profession that we first tried in The Sims 3 has been resurrected here, and haunted houses have been added as a new lot type. It's fair to say that performing seances changes the course of your daily routine, and it's a blast from the past reuniting with Makin' Magic's Bonehilda.

Toddler

If you loved Parenthood and want even more ways to make your toddler's childhood the best, this is a worthwhile stuff pack. It's filled with cute new objects, from bright, knee-high fences to jungle gyms and slides. You'll also unlock the option to host playdates, so it's a great excuse to transform your garden into a huge obstacle course. Watch your toddlers race around and max out their imagination skill, and please dress at least one of them in the adorable dungarees and monster shoes.

Kids Room

After installing a playground in your backyard, it's time to turn your attention to interior design. If you want the full family-oriented experience this stuff pack is the final piece of the puzzle. The main focus is on adding more furniture and adornments to your rooms, and this makes it much easier to stick to any specific colour schemes or themes that you have in mind. The styled rooms look like they're straight out of Toy Story, too.