HomeNewsThe Sims 4

The Sims 4 Growing Together adds some much-needed spark to Sims' relationshipsBut you’ll need to buy the pack if you want to make the most of the base game update

But you’ll need to buy the pack if you want to make the most of the base game update

A suburban back garden in The Sims 4, with the central focus of the image on a large treehouse. Several Sims are on the deck of the treehouse or climbing the ladder up to its enclosed indoor space. Elsewhere in the garden, young Sims play on slides, in sandboxes, and on playmats, while others build wooden projects.

Last week, I attended a hands-off preview forThe Sims 4’s upcomingGrowing Togetherexpansion pack and its supporting free base game update. This was obviously a real treat for me as RPS’resident Sims fanatic, but I’ll admit I went in with my expectations parked in neutral. After all, the theme of this new-content duo is young families, and that just isn’t part of the game I engage with too much these days.

The Sims 4 Growing Together: Official Gameplay TrailerWatch on YouTube

The Sims 4 Growing Together: Official Gameplay Trailer

Cover image for YouTube video

My main reservation, really, is that some of these shiny improvements feel suspiciously like a proof of concept forThe Sims 5. The fact that the brand-new infants life stage will develop somewhat realistically is cool as hell, but I can’t help feeling it’s a bit out of place here. It’s going to feel weird now to play with a Sim in the generic “teen” life stage, for instance. Obviously there’s a world of difference between a 13-year-old and a 17-year-old in real life, but that was something you could previously ignore within the fiction ofThe Sims' universe. The oddity is surely going to stand out significantly, though, when said teen’s infant sibling is progressing semi-realistically from two months to one year in age.

Exploring San Sequoia promises to be a real highlight of Growing Together.

Several Sims explore a parkland area in San Sequoia. Several Sims walk or bike over a bridge, while in the foreground a Sim with an infant strapped to their back appears slightly lost. City buildings can be seen further off in the distance.

The"infants" updateto The Sims 4’s base game will go live on March 14th, with the Growing Together expansion following two days later on March 16th. The former will be free to all owners of the base game (which is now also free), while the latter will clock in at the usual expansion pack price of £35/$40/€40.