Over the past decade, The Sims 4 has added countless features across base game updates and expansion packs. While some enhancements have been praised, others have frustrated players due to poor implementation, limited usability, or excessive glitches. SatchOnSims highlights the ten worst features in the game, ranging from annoying mechanics to buggy systems that impact gameplay.

1. Enchanted by Nature Ailments

The enchanted by nature pack introduced new ailments tied to the apothecary skill. While designed to give purpose to crafting herbal remedies, these ailments—such as creative impulse block or emotional void—offer little actual gameplay value. Despite EA tuning them down, many players still find them frustrating and pointless outside the apothecary table.

2. Curve Walls (High School Years Pack)

Curve walls allow for rounded rooms, but in practice, they are buggy and difficult to use.

  • Placing them requires multiple rounded rooms and manual wall deletion.
  • Many windows are incompatible, and flooring often misaligns.
  • Objects near curved walls are hard to place.

Even EA’s live stream showcasing curve walls demonstrated glitches, making this feature largely avoided by builders.

3. Lifestyles (Snowy Escape Pack)

Lifestyles track a Sim’s behavior and habits over time, but the system is overly convoluted:

  • Sims automatically unlock “outdoorsy” or “indoorsy” without meaningful player choice.
  • Other lifestyle badges like “technophobe” or “single and loving it” have limited or unclear gameplay impact.
  • Most players never see multiple lifestyle outcomes, making it feel pointless.

4. Neighborhood Action Plans (Eco Lifestyle Pack)

Neighborhood Action Plans let players vote on community-wide rules like power conservation or tech support bonuses. The concept is interesting, but implementation is flawed:

  • Townies vote automatically, often choosing the same rules repeatedly.
  • Players have limited control, and the results rarely feel impactful.

5. Infants (Growing Together Pack)

While EA made infants free for the base game, their behaviors are mostly locked behind the Growing Together expansion. Infants can be a nightmare to manage:

  • Multiple adults trying to care for the same infant can cause constant dropping glitches.
  • Infants often interfere with gameplay, prompting many players to age them up immediately.

6. Sexuality & Romantic Boundaries Updates

The Sims 4 introduced multiple systems for sexual orientation and romantic boundaries. While intended to add realism:

  • The system separates romantic attraction and woohoo preferences, complicating interactions unnecessarily.
  • Players now have to navigate limits on who Sims can interact with, detracting from gameplay simplicity.

7. Ranch Hands (Horse Ranch Pack)

Ranch hands were designed to care for farm lots but are largely non-functional:

  • They stand idle for hours, perform minimal actions, and rarely fulfill their duties.
  • Similar issues extend to other service Sims like butlers, maids, and nannies.

8. Residential Rentals (For Rent Pack)

Residential rentals allow players to create mini-apartment buildings, foster care homes, or halfway houses, but:

  • Landlord payments often fail, making the system frustrating.
  • Tenant events can trigger bugs, leaving players unable to manage their properties effectively.
  • Save file corruption is common when using this feature extensively.

9. Collections System Flaws (Enchanted by Nature & Other Packs)

The in-game collection system suffers from several design issues:

  • Certain collections, like Positivity Posters or Magic Bean Plants, are incompletable because they were tied to limited-time events.
  • Completing collections often yields no rewards, making them feel pointless.

10. Seasons Pack & Weather System

Seasons adds dynamic weather and holidays, but its implementation introduces numerous problems:

  • Torrential rain occurs even in typically sunny worlds, damaging electronic objects.
  • Gardening becomes difficult with objects and interactions locked behind weather conditions.
  • Holiday events, while fun in concept, are repetitive and intrusive for long-term gameplay.

Final Thoughts

These ten features highlight some of the most frustrating mechanics and poorly implemented systems in The Sims 4. While many are conceptually interesting, EA’s execution often falls short, leaving players with bugs, glitches, and overly complicated systems. Fans hope future updates and expansions will refine or remove these pain points, improving gameplay for all.

Source: SatchOnSims – YouTube