A new Expansion Pack will be fluttering onto our screens shortly with the upcoming release of The Sims 4: Enchanted By Nature. The Pack promises all kinds of new gameplay features, Build/Buy Mode items, and, naturally, fairies.
It’s not all totally new content being added to The Sims 4, either. Gardening and Plant Sims are getting a fresh lick of paint during the Sim Your Summer season. A pre-launch patch added a bunch of new options to both Create-a-Sim and Build Mode. And, some additions are throwbacks to earlier Sims games, too. Those of you who played The Sims 3: Supernatural probably have a long-standing history with fairies, after all.
Fairies aren’t the only thing with their roots in an older title in the franchise. As a long-term Sims 1 enjoyer, something in Enchanted By Nature’s full gameplay trailer seriously stood out to me.
The houseplants. The Sims 4 is finally getting living, growing, maintainable houseplants. With mix-and-match plant pots, no less!
I always love to fill my builds with all kinds of plants and gardening clutter. So, when Enchanted By Nature was confirmed, I was most excited about the ferns and foliage it would offer. It didn’t occur to me for a minute, though, that living houseplants would return. Especially not for the first time in a mainline Sims since the series’ very first release.
Maintainable houseplants were a staple in The Sims 1
It’s no secret that The Sims 1 is an absolutely brutal game. In some ways, it’s less of a dollhouse simulator than a life-oriented strategy game. So, it makes sense that even the houseplants would be a trial to take care of.
You spend most of the time you play fighting for your life – or, well, your Sims’ lives, mostly – to try and stay afloat while skunks spray your pets and your kids get threatened with military school. The Grim Reaper himself seems to come along and dowse everything in petrol when you aren’t looking, so your house party just might end up going down in flames. Presuming that Drew Carey doesn’t come along to ruin it first, of course.
And, to boot, you have to water every single plant in your house every day or they’ll die and ruin your Sims’ moods. Unlike The Sims 4, the original dollhouse sim is no walk through Willow Creek Park.
Admittedly, horticulture is only a tiny part of what makes The Sims 1 so difficult. But when you’re already struggling to take care of your Sims, worrying about their plants is just the cherry on top. The Sims 4 can arguably be a little straightforward sometimes in comparison. Having an extra challenge can take gameplay a long way, even if it is just remembering to water the succulents.
Enchanted By Nature was the last pack I expected to add realism to The Sims 4
It’s also just a nice thought that plants aren’t all either fake, self-sustaining, or somehow being taken care of by little house pixies – although that’s going to be an option as well. Some outdoor plants, like those grown from harvestables or crops from Cottage Living, already need to be maintained. The bonsai trees added with Seasons are about as temperamental as you’d expect. In a way, this made it feel weirder that you could neglect houseplants scot-free. It just makes sense that others would be added to the ranks as well.
The Sims 4 isn’t unique for having houseplants you can’t interact with. The Sims 2 and The Sims 3 also removed the option of watering your own houseplants, reserving all gardening interactions for non-decorative outdoor plants. It’s a feature that was basically forgotten about over the past two-and-a-half decades.
It’s interesting to see old features making a comeback after so many years – it has been 25 years since The Sims 1 came out, after all – and makes me wonder what else could get reintroduced from way-back-when. Can we get the heart-shaped Niagara Love Tub from Hot Date added next, queen?
