Let me start with, I am not a console player, last console I seriously played on (and sometimes still do) is the Super Nintendo.
But I was curious how the gameplay was for The Sims 4 Console and was lucky enough to get some time with it at Gamescom. Keep in mind, the game is still in the pre-alpha stage, so things may change still.
I also would like to thank SimGuruDuke and Dustin for explaining the controls to me, for giving some (background) information and answering my questions.
Also must say, seeing and hearing SimGuruDuke talk about The Sims 4 Console is a true treat. You can tell he is passionate about The Sims, and truly loves console games, so when he talks about those two combined, it’s like he is lighting up. Seeing someone that passionate working on a game, especially a senior developer, is one of the best things for a game.
It was not allowed to take any pictures or make videos of gameplay, but I could take a picture of “me playing the game”, so that is all I could add to this post, all other images are from either the trailer or somewhere else.
General impression
The Sims 4 on console looks really good. Dustin, part of the marketing team, mentioned that the graphics are similar to when you have the settings on pc to all high. That means you don’t need a super computer to still get the good graphics The Sims 4 has to offer. I did miss the incredibly beautiful lighting from The Sims 4 on PC, which is one of my favourite parts of the graphics. Since it’s still in pre-alpha, they may or may not add this later on before release. But other than that, it looks like you are getting the exact same thing as The Sims 4 PC base game + Holiday pack and if you pre-order, you also get The Sims 4 Perfect Patio Stuff.
Being still in the pre-alpha stage, there were bound to be some bugs still in the game and I found a few minor ones. Every bug I found, I reported to SimGuruDuke.
Controls
When you look at the interface of The Sims 4 on the Playstation 4, it looks exactly the same as it does on the PC. All the normal buttons are there on the sides, all the options. Except for one, Crin found that the 3 little dots in the top right corner, those that will guide you to the options, are not there,, this is because you can get to that by just a click on your controller. And I haven’t checked, but I assume ‘laptop mode’ isn’t one of the options, and perhaps some other that become obsolete on a console.
The controls were not yet perfected and will be tweaked some more before the game launches, so it is possible my experience is different than of what it will be at launch, please keep that in mind.
To get to the user interface (UI) you have to press a button, this certainly takes some getting used to, but once you get the hang of it, you don’t notice it as much anymore.
Using the UI however, took me a bit more getting used to.
Some times I had to use the arrows to move around in the menus, other times I had to use the joystick and I kept forgetting when to use what. I think I played for about half an hour, and at a certain point I got the hang of it more. Though I still think the buttons weren’t always cohesive.
CAS
The CAS interface confused me tremendously, but it does seem to have all the options you have on PC. You can select filters (I just saw them, because I could not figure out how to get to them, really should have asked one of the people around me). And I also couldn’t figure out how to push and pull on the body. I did manage to do that in detail, but not the general areas. I am fairly sure this is all possible though, I just couldn’t figure out how.
Build/Buy
Building with the controller was actually a lot easier than I had expected. Based on my earlier experience of CAS, I was doubtful I would get the hang of it in build mode. Since I love to build in The Sims, I wanted to try and build a starter home for my Sim. I actually managed to get a fully built starter home within 20 minutes. This really gave me the confidence that all of the interface is just a matter of practice and what you are used to.
Future content
The ever feared topic by any SimGuru, but we still asked, what are the plans on other DLC besides Perfect Patio.
The answer was of course, the same as on twitter, the only thing they can confirm is that Perfect Patio is part of the pre-ordered game (which, is huge when you think of it, they have never given away a whole stuff pack as a bonus before) and that players will get the chance to buy Perfect Patio later if they didn’t pre-order.
They did express they want to add all the other DLC as well when the time is there, to continue to give the console player the same experience as the pc player, though the release of the DLC may be in a different order. This gives us hope that DLC will come to the console, even though they can’t confirm yet
Release dates
The worldwide release of The Sims 4 console is November 17, 2017 but having a membership to EA Access or getting the Deluxe Party Edition will allow you to play it sooner
• Joining EA Access to unlock early access via the Play First Trial (10 hours, base game only) starting November 9;
• Getting The Sims 4 Deluxe Party Edition to enjoy early access starting November 14;
• Getting The Sims 4 Standard Edition to experience the game at worldwide launch on November 17.
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