Revisiting The Sims 1 made me appreciate Sims 4 more

Going back to playing The Sims 1 has made me realize that I’ve taken some aspects of The Sims 4 for granted.

As someone who grew up during The Sims 1 era, I’ve always been fond of revisiting the game for nostalgia purposes. Don’t get me wrong—the eerie burglar sound effect is still imprinted in my mind, but the original game has always had its unique quirks and memorable moments.

The problem is… as much as I wanted to do so, getting the original game to run on today’s hardware took so much work – like literally jumping through hoops. Plus, it’s been so long since I played that I no longer have the original CDs.

So, when I finally got access to the Legacy Collection, I was ecstatic. After all these years of playing The Sims 4, I was convinced this would feel like a breath of fresh air – or so I thought.

The Sims 1 is actually really, really hard

My first memory of playing Sims 1 was accidentally electrocuting Bob Pancakes to death for trying to fix a TV (sorry, Eliza). At the time, I had no idea that repairing a TV with low mechanical skill was a big mistake. I ended up learning so many things the hard way, though it was part of the fun.

Well, after about 20 years, I was confident I could play the game better with all the knowledge I have now. At least, that’s what I initially thought. 

I was never more wrong when I accidentally made my Sim skip work and burned the stove right after booting up the game. All these years, I’ve been so spoiled by The Sims 4’s gameplay, as it’s a lot more forgiving, that I had forgotten things are a lot different in the first installment.

Leveling up skills is easy and feels much more intuitive in The Sims 4 — and it’s a lot safer, too. Say, if you want your Sim to get better at cooking, then you’d just have them prepare meals often, their cooking skill bar will rise whenever they do so.

Revisiting the original game reminded me that you must read books to level up certain skills. Doing things that are just out of your skill set immediately often straight up leads to death – and that’s not even the hardest part.

So much to do, so little time

Unlike newer Sims games, Sims in the first title had more needs, and they decayed extremely fast. You’d think you have enough time to go to a community lot and chill after work? 

Nope, now your Sim is probably either hungry or in need of a shower. And by the time you finish doing those, they’re too tired to do anything else. From here on, it’s like a domino effect. Since they’re too tired, they’re not in the mood to level up their skills, so getting a job promotion is hard.

Also, sometimes there are pathing issues, so it can take a while to get even the simplest things done, which can make them late for work.

If your Sim has just started working from the lowest position, so much of the money they brought home would be spent on food that it’s just so hard to get rich. That’s why the meme of selling your door in this game to order pizza is so relevant.

This wasn’t my first time playing the game, but I was still taken aback. Even though it’s no secret that The Sims 4 has been getting mixed opinions as of late, this made me immediately want to go back to playing it.

Regardless of how awful my Sim felt after work in Sims 4, I could still get many things done and even go to other places to have dinner or hang out with other Sims. 

Then there are also specific mechanics, like the one in Crystal Creations, that make it easier to maintain their mood. Because there’s a lot of freedom in this game, I don’t always feel stuck at home and have to plan my day strategically.

The Sims 4 is more than just being in survival mode

The Sims 4 may have its fair share of issues, but after revisiting the first game, I’m just glad that things have come a long way. At the end of the day, I still found The Sims 1 fun in a challenging way, and it also made me realize I’ve taken some things for granted in the current game.

One that comes to mind is how much more realistic The Sims 4 is. This is mainly because you can seamlessly have a generational playthrough. 

Another aspect is how you have days off as there are real weekends because, in The Sims 1, you have to work every day. Technically, you can still skip work if you want, but it isn’t a good idea to do so twice in a row.

Add having to take care of their needs to the list, aside from maintaining relationships and managing the whole household; overall, playing the first game can get pretty tedious quickly—unless you’re using cheats, of course.

Either way, I’m glad the current installment gives so much more meaning to life and things to do than just ‘surviving.’ For now, I think I’d prefer a lovely vacation in Sulani or maybe camping in Granite Falls.