Watching unfortunate sims meet the Grim Reaper in a variety of strange ways has been a staple of the franchise, the Sims 4 deaths continue this tradition. Sims are capable of kicking the bucket in some truly bizarre ways, and, while some players aim to keep their creations alive and well for as long as possible, some take pleasure in seeing all of the weird ways in which a sim can meet its maker.
While the classic accidental death by ladderless pool from the older games has been amended, The Sims 4 introduced a long list of lethality with which players must contend.
Updated on August 30th, 2022 by Tanner Fox: Though rumors concerning the long-anticipated fifth mainline installment of EA's The Sims series continue to swirl, The Sims 4 remains the most current entry in the beloved life simulation franchise. Released in 2014, the title has earned quite a few expansion packs and updates which add loads of new content to the already robust game.
With these new additions, of course, came new dangers for which players must be vigilant. From the omnipresent threat of starvation to worries of Rabid Rodent Fever, hungry cowplants, and hysteria, here's every single way a sim can be made to shuffle off its mortal coil.
The Scent of Death (Seasons)
Added shortly after the game's release, the Death Flower is an extremely rare and unabashedly useful item that can be used to craft ambrosia and as a bargaining chip to prevent the Grim Reaper from taking a dying sim.
That said, it also has a few negative side effects. Introduced in the Seasons expansion, the death flower can be used to scent flower arrangements. This will instantly age any sim who smells the scent, and elder sims will be killed off provided they aren't affected by vampirism. While an interesting way to go, this is an exceedingly rare event that most players aren't likely to ever encounter.
Poison (Jungle Adventure)
This Jungle Adventure death ranks low due to the amount of effort required to trigger it, the ease of curing it, and the length of time it takes to actually kill a sim.
Poisoned debuffs are occasionally found while exploring the jungle. However, exploring is rare anyway, and there are also items players can quite easily buy to immediately cure it. Combine this with the fact that sims have several in-game days to purchase a cure or fight it off naturally—which often happens—and it winds up being a surprisingly difficult way to meet the Grim Reaper.
Insects (Jungle Adventure)
Insect-related deaths are another jungle-based death, so, again, it's quite rare. However, these are less survivable unless the player actively works to prevent them.
Fireflies can set sims on fire, and lightning bugs can give them a nasty shock, leading to fire and electrocution deaths respectively. However, both only occur very rarely in the jungle, and both are easily combated with a couple of readily available supplies and some cultural knowledge.
Wishing Well (Romantic Garden Stuff)
As the saying goes, be careful what you wish for. Sims who wish for immortality may want to find an alternative way to do it, as, similar to dealing with a conniving genie in a bottle, every wish comes with a catch.
Rather than earning the ability to live forever, sims who wish for immortality will instead be turned into ghosts who will haunt a household in perpetuity. Technically, it doesn't really count as a legitimate death, but it's still a pretty woeful fate.
Overexertion
This is another death that ranks low due to the fact it only affects elders. If an elder sim partakes in too many strenuous activities, like lifting weights, jogging, or woohoo, then they can die of overexertion.
This one is easy to trigger, as players can literally woohoo an elder to death or force them to run until they die, but experienced Sims players likely have enough know-how to avoid this.
Rocket Ship Crash
If a sim is in the astronaut career path, they can be sent to space in a rocket ship that can be built in the backyard. It's also possible to find a ship at Geekcon (City Living) and in the science lab (Get To Work) for a quicker option.
Asking them to race, sending them with no skills, or sticking fruit in the ship's exhaust before take-off will cause a crash and the likely demise of a budding astronaut-to-be.
Death By Hysteria
Emotional deaths can be difficult to trigger, and this one is probably the most difficult of all. Sims must become hysterical and keep on laughing in order to trigger it.
Sims tend to require moodlet boosts and an increasing supply of two or more items that trigger laughter at once in order to expire this way.
Rock Climbing Wall (Fitness Stuff)
If a sim is a fitness fanatic with a head for danger, then the rock climbing wall can provide an adrenaline rush that may just be their last.
Once a sim's skill is high enough, they can partake in the fire challenge which sends out jets of fire while they are climbing. The chance of being caught on fire is fairly high, though there is often someone around to put the sim out—unless, of course, they partake in the challenge while home alone.
Cowplant
Cowpants can be dangerous, but the danger is somewhat limited. If they are fed regularly, they're pretty harmless. However, hungry cowplants can sometimes offer sims cake, which is an obvious trap—and a probable reference to the Portal video game series.
The cowplant will consume the sim instead, leaving them drained. If they make the same mistake again within 24 hours, then it's curtains. An undeniably goofy way to go, but it's also pretty uncommon.
Electrocution
Death by electrocution is really weird, as it seems to involve a lot of luck. Sims need to first get the dazed moodlet by trying and failing to repair electrical items. If they then repeat the mistake a short time later, they'll actually die. Both debuffs can also be caused by lightning.
Simmers have been known to spend hours trying to fix fridges in puddles or get electronics to break in short succession with no luck. However, if sims are left to their own devices for too long, an accident involving electricity is bound to happen.
Pufferfish (City Living)
This death is another that requires some effort, but it can be caused accidentally. First, sims need to eat Pufferfish Nigiri at a San Myshuno food stall to gain the recipe. Then, the sim needs to attempt to cook it at home, and a poor result has a 50% chance of it being their last meal.
Those who are trying to tempt an enemy to this deadly meal need to be very careful, as sims will often autonomously eat the dish, regardless of quality.
Sauna (Spa Day)
Once again, this is a death that requires a specific DLC to activate. That said, those with the Spa Day add-on may need to watch their sims carefully, as the outing can turn unexpectedly fatal.
As a default, Sims will not stay in the sauna for too long, and this death is usually only triggered by specifically blocking the sauna's exit or repeatedly commanding a Sim to stay still. However, it is one of the easier deaths to deliberately trigger for evil The Sims 4 fans who are so inclined.
Cardiac Explosion
This death comes from a sim being far too angry. Sims who are cheated on, are declared enemies of other sims, or who are pranked severely can all get very angry—especially if they are hot-headed.
Too much anger can result in a fatal cardiac explosion, so those who want their sims to stick around should probably send them for a cold shower to cool off.
Drowning
Drowning autonomously is quite rare, but it's surprisingly easy to deliberately trigger. In older Sims entries, players could simply remove the pool ladder, but, in The Sims 4, players need to build a fence or wall around the pool. Sims will drown in any water they cannot get out of once their energy moves into the red.
It's also possible to "drown" by falling—or jumping—into Get Famous' Luminary's Exotic Water Garden while it's full of hungry fish.
Starvation
While sims can die from autonomously deciding not to eat, they aren't quite that stupid—for the most part, at least—and this death will require a little prodding to enact. Removing all cooking facilities from a house usually does it—or, failing that, a locked, bare room.
This death also takes a few days, and sims can fairly easily recover. Ultimately, starvation usually only comes about when it's triggered on purpose.
Being Mortified
Dying of embarrassment is likely to become more common as sims begin to live in tinier houses. If a sim gets too embarrassed from wetting themselves, walking in on someone in the bathroom, or having an embarrassing social encounter, then their time may be up.
This can often happen accidentally, as sims who soil themselves are given a +5 negative moodlet, making it easy to tip over into mortified. If a sim soils themselves, it's best to have them hide under a duvet for a while to avoid a disaster.
Sunlight (Vampires)
Considering many of them have been around for centuries, it's amazing how many vampires in The Sims aren't actually that smart. Despite knowing that the sunlight can and will kill them pretty quickly, they often go out for a stroll in it, and many have perished this way.
Killing a vampire with sunlight is also especially easy by the simple use of a locked door, meaning that vampiric sims aren't quite as indestructible as they may seem.
Rabid Rodent Fever (My First Pet Stuff)
Rabid Rodent Fever will kill a sim, but it is a little tricky to catch unless there's another sim around who has it. To have a sim come down with it, players will need to make sure a pet's cage is very dirty and generally neglect said pet until it hates the sim so it will bite them when they interact with it. This will give them the disease.
It's then a case of waiting it out; it can be easily passed from sim to sim during day three of the illness when it is highly contagious for the final 24 hours before the Grim Reaper comes calling. Therefore, once acquired, it can easily take out multiple sims with virtually no extra effort.
Death By Murphy Bed (Tiny Living)
Purchasing a Murphy Bed is arguably one of the most dangerous activities in The Sims 4. If a sim's bed is broken and their handiness skill is low, then getting trapped inside is almost guaranteed. However, a newly purchased bed surely won't cause any issues, right?
Wrong. Many Sims fans have discovered that the Tiny Living expansion comes at a high cost, as the bed appears far more lethal than intended. This is likely to be patched out, but the bed can easily kill a sim after opening the bed just a couple of times, as many unfortunate players have discovered.
Weather (Seasons)
Those who have The Sims 4's Seasons expansion need to make sure their sims are dressed for the weather. Sims who don't use the new hot and cold weather clothing categories when outside can very easily end up being killed by overheating or freezing.
This is one of the most common accidental deaths, with freezing being more frequent, as sims seem to enjoy going for a dip in the winter or wandering outside in shorts when it's snowing.