The Sims 4 is the longest reigning game in The Sims series, going on seven years heading into September. The Sims 4 recently celebrated The Sims’ 21 year anniversary by gifting players with 21 pieces of content created by modders and custom content creators. However, with fans growing frustrated at the lack of game improvements and the concern that The Sims 4 Kits are just a reincarnation of the ridiculously expensive Sims 3 store, it might be time for EA to move on from The Sims 4 and start fresh with The Sims 5 before the life simulation giant loses their base to potential up-and-coming competition.
When looking back at The Sims 4’s initial release in September 2014, there were a lot of missing and omitted features that players enjoyed from previous Sims titles. The Sims 4 didn’t have a color wheel, opting to revert to a color swatch system similar to that of The Sims 2. There were no pools or political careers, something that’s been in all three previous Sims titles. There were no toddlers, and Sims' babies were essentially objects similar to how it was in The Sims. The Sims 4 was shallow in 2014, and some players may believe that it’s still shallow in 2021.
Another popular feature that did not make it from The Sims 3 to The Sims 4 is open world. Similar to the color wheel, the decision to not have an open world in The Sims 4 was primarily due to computer optimization. EA’s goal was to make The Sims 4 play well for most, if not all, players, which is something The Sims 3 was not capable of doing. The Sims 3's huge open world, especially when combined with multiple installed DLC packs, made the game unplayable for many simmers.
Even players with high-end computers and those who play The Sims 3 modded likely deal with lag and crashes. It was these issues that likely led to The Sims 4 implementing an open neighborhood system where loading screens are present when going to different lots. However, every area in The Sims 4 has an open space free of loading screens. Given everything that has been done from The Sims to The Sims 4, perhaps EA can find a way to balance the openness of The Sims 3 and create the perfect world for Sims 5.
What A Sims 5 Open World Could Look Like
From a realistic standpoint, unless EA scales things down, The Sims 5 likely won’t be completely open world. It’s possible (and more likely) that The Sims 5 will expand on the open neighborhood system that The Sims 4 currently has. Neighborhoods in The Sims 4 are usually compact, with the average number of lots per neighborhood being 4 or 5. The iconic Goth family live in Ophelia Villa, one of the best video game houses in the Pendula View neighborhood in Willow Creek, which only consists of 4 lots. Neighborhoods with larger lots are usually limited to just 2 and the most amount of lots in a neighborhood is 8.
Despite players having to go through a loading screen to visit neighbors in The Sims 4, some objects of neighboring houses are rendered and can be seen from windows. Objects already being rendered in The Sims 4 opens the opportunity to allow players at visit any lot in the neighborhood they're in without a loading screen in The Sims 5.
An open neighborhood system may be the most realistic option for The Sims 5, but a full open world may not be completely out of the question. The Sims 3 is broken partially because the worlds are massive. The Sims 3’s base game world, Sunset Valley, has 91 lots and 25 playable families. An open world could potentially work for The Sims 5 if the scale of the base game world is downsized. While this would mean less lots upon release, expansion packs in The Sims 5 could bring new, bigger worlds similar to how expansions from previous games have done.
The Sims 4 has several years of life left according to producers so players may have to wait a while before The Sims 5 becomes a reality. Whatever EA does decide to do with The Sims 5, players are hoping the game will be a significant improvement from its predecessors. If EA doesn’t give The Sims 5 the love and care that it deserves, it should at least have more ways for players to kill Sims.