Fans of The Sims 4 have new content heading their way. Although the base game has been available for almost a decade, the Growing Together expansion pack is slated to release in the coming months. Some might be surprised at the advent of new content for The Sims 4 while The Sims 5 - aka "Project Rene" - is already in development, but Growing Together is shaping up to be a fan-favorite pack due to its themes around family gameplay. However, family pets appear to have been left out of the fun.
The Sims franchise is known for its wide variety of paid DLC content, allowing players to customize the base game depending on their interests. Notably, almost every Sims game has included an expansion that contains pets, even if some argue that animal Sims should be included with the base game. While adding pets is significant, The Sims franchise struggles to integrate cross-connected gameplay between DLC packs given it's hard to know which ones will be purchased together. While playersneed The Sims 4: Cats & Dogs to have pets in their families, it's still odd to see a complete lack of pet-based gameplay in its next family-oriented pack.
No Pet Content in Growing Together is Indicative of a Franchise Problem
Although the announcement trailer for The Sims 4's Growing Together pack reveals various new features for Sim families like an infant life stage, it's disappointing to see pets are omitted. Growing Together emphasizes family connections between Sims, The Sims 4: Cats & Dogs is centered around the bonds created between people and their pets. Thus, it's odd for Growing Together to walk back on the importance of Sim pets as family members.
Long-time fans of The Sims franchise may already know that this lack of cross-connected paid content isn't new. From The Sims 3: World Adventures to The Sims 4: My Wedding Stories, paid DLC packs often add new content without integrating everything into the core game systems. The same issues apply in a way that could undercut the value of Growing Together in the eyes of pet-centric Sims fans.
How The Sims 4: Growing Together Could Include Pets in its Family-Oriented Gameplay
Although the release date for The Sims 4: Growing Together is fast approaching, there's still a chance that the expansion pack will include pet-related content that hasn't been announced. If so, it would be great to see animals included in family dynamics, particularly in terms of training, caretaking, and building relationships. A family member could have a favorite pet, just as elder Sims will have favorite grandchildren in the upcoming pack. Also, the addition of infant Sims could inspire new interactions with pets that are unique to the life stage.
While it appears that expansions and game packs will remain estranged from each other throughout The Sims 4, the upcoming Sims 5 has a chance to rectify this issue. Not only could The Sims 5 level up how Sims interact with pets, but pets should ideally be included with the base game. In addition, packs could be designed for use with each other, allowing for special events and mechanics to be available depending on what packs are in play. Ultimately, the lack of pet content in Growing Together isn't just a missed opportunity, but another example of a long-term issue to be solved.
The Sims 4 is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, and Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S.
