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Your sims packs years review
Horrorgirl6
Posts: 3,193 Member
Since it's 2024,I thought it would be good to do a year pack review fir last year.
Growing Together I love this pack! I don't understand where people get this gamepack with a world.The amount of stuff and gameplay you get insane.You get compabilaty and milestone system is good .You get treehouses,game and puzzle tables,and sprinkler pads.I like the community center lot.There is a lot that comes with this pack it's worth the 40 dollars.If you like family gameplay.
Grunge kit I like the style it's nice get more edgy clothes for the sims.I love pastels but I need variety.This good for my gloomy,rebelouse and vampire sims.
The basement treasure kit.I like this need more for poor sims.I wished the big tv work though.
Horse Ranch I get the gamepack complaint .I don't agree with the statement this could been with cottage living .Cottage living was a full expansion on it own and Cats and Dogs vet clinic.If we got horses in either than these we would have less stuff.Also this unpopular oppinion.I think it's okay we have
Horses was always going to be expansion.I could not see them in game pack the resources they have to put in.Now for NY oppinion on Horse Ranch.I like this pack ,I love chestnut ridge .The western aspect is different cottage one.I think we should get American worlds but they should be different .The world delivers and this aseptic delivetrs.I like the sheeps,and goats rasing them is a challenge.I like the nectar making,the cpwpolk dance.I love horses, but the gameplay was lacking.I say its a 30.00 dollar pack.If you like the west and horses you will enjoy it
The return of stuff packs I enjoy this pack.I loved the appliances such as the waffle maker and small pizza oven.I love the stand you can sell your own food.( Try playing with a single mom trying to support her family^^)
Finally For Rent I have mixes feelings. I love the rent mechanic it lives up lots and it's cool try to make a neighborhood with other huge lots.
I think the world it's only nine lots.Why I fine with rabbit holes. I think there is top many here.I think fishmarket could been a lot or with just fish stalls.The night Markey was cool,buy I upset that most stands were decoration.
So these are my feelings. I enjoy the packs last year and I think it's one best years of the sims.I hope this year we get many packs. So how do you feel about last year's packs.
Growing Together I love this pack! I don't understand where people get this gamepack with a world.The amount of stuff and gameplay you get insane.You get compabilaty and milestone system is good .You get treehouses,game and puzzle tables,and sprinkler pads.I like the community center lot.There is a lot that comes with this pack it's worth the 40 dollars.If you like family gameplay.
Grunge kit I like the style it's nice get more edgy clothes for the sims.I love pastels but I need variety.This good for my gloomy,rebelouse and vampire sims.
The basement treasure kit.I like this need more for poor sims.I wished the big tv work though.
Horse Ranch I get the gamepack complaint .I don't agree with the statement this could been with cottage living .Cottage living was a full expansion on it own and Cats and Dogs vet clinic.If we got horses in either than these we would have less stuff.Also this unpopular oppinion.I think it's okay we have
Horses was always going to be expansion.I could not see them in game pack the resources they have to put in.Now for NY oppinion on Horse Ranch.I like this pack ,I love chestnut ridge .The western aspect is different cottage one.I think we should get American worlds but they should be different .The world delivers and this aseptic delivetrs.I like the sheeps,and goats rasing them is a challenge.I like the nectar making,the cpwpolk dance.I love horses, but the gameplay was lacking.I say its a 30.00 dollar pack.If you like the west and horses you will enjoy it
The return of stuff packs I enjoy this pack.I loved the appliances such as the waffle maker and small pizza oven.I love the stand you can sell your own food.( Try playing with a single mom trying to support her family^^)
Finally For Rent I have mixes feelings. I love the rent mechanic it lives up lots and it's cool try to make a neighborhood with other huge lots.
I think the world it's only nine lots.Why I fine with rabbit holes. I think there is top many here.I think fishmarket could been a lot or with just fish stalls.The night Markey was cool,buy I upset that most stands were decoration.
So these are my feelings. I enjoy the packs last year and I think it's one best years of the sims.I hope this year we get many packs. So how do you feel about last year's packs.
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Comments
Growing together is my mixed feelings pack. I'd really love to get the objects, but could do without most of the gameplay. A demo would be welcome to see just how enervating the aspects I don't like are in actual gameplay.
Horse ranch I've waited for so long and wasn't disappointed. All my saves (Star Wars, 1760s and 2050s) have horses in now and the horse owning families are my favorite ones to play. Horse personalitiy isn't as distinct as that of cats and dogs (I had independent horses seek out their owners and outsdoorsy ones come inside, for example), but still good. The animations, the different skills for horses and riders, the horse CAS, I love it all.
My only negative at the moment is the way too family friendly cave dungeon. Fighting a cave bear would be too violent, really? It's arm-wrestling instead? It was funny the first time and quickly became embarassing.
For Rent is a step up from the old apartments, but from what I've seen so far still doesn't hold a candle on the Sims 2 system. Daily catastrophes to see to seems a bit overtuned and I don't want my own sims randomly move out or revolt, so in addition to waiting for the bugs to get ironed out I'm also waiting for a MCCC update that takes care of this. The pack is on my wishlist.
SPs & Kits
Homechef hustle is another one for the wishlist, it's nice, but with horses and wedding I have enough new toys for the moment and will save adding more for a dlc dry period. Same for Basement treasures.
Grunge revival is way better than I expected it to be (and I expected it to be good). I feel that the best swatches were never showcased in the promos.
Edit: Looks like I forgot a handful of kits. Alright, on the wishlist go Book nook, Greenhouse, Bathroom and Poolside, while I'm not impressed by Simtimates and Modern Luxe.
I usually neglect gameplay and focus on the world and build/buy.
Stars are given for world, build/buy, CAS and gameplay ✨
EP's
Growing Together ⛔⛔⛔⛔
I really regret buying this one. And that doesn't happen often. San Sequoia is one of the most unappealing worlds for me.
And I could live without build/buy either.
Horse Ranch ⛔⭐⛔⭐
World is also meh for me. It's too niche. But we can have the horses in all other worlds so we don't look back ^^
(And they made it up to me with Tomarang
CAS is too niche, I can barely use any of these clothes outside of Chestnut Ridge.
But I love the build/buy. Most objects can be used in vintage builds and match well with the objects from other packs.
And the absolute highlight: Horses and Goats!
We haven't been without them ever since. They follow us everywhere. Goats are the perfect pets 🐐💞
For Rent ⭐⭐⛔⛔
Ah Tomarang. One of my favourite worlds! So beautiful. Only minus: only two neighborhoods and 9 lots -.-
Build/Buy is also fabulous!
CAS is dull. I expected more. (Just google 'thailand fashion' and you'll see what I mean)
As if only peasants lived in SE Asia... oh my -.-
SP
Home Chef Hustle ⛔
Jack forced me to buy it because he wanted that Pizza Stove...🍕
Kits
I never regretted buying a Kit (except for Menswear Fashion omg!) they always offer a great addition to existing stuff 🎇
They were clearly a highlight for me in 2023!
Basement Treasures 🌟
Great stuff for run down apartments 🏚
Jeb and Saiwa still hope for a Kit with the Heart Shaped Bed reassembled, though 💞
Grunge Revival ⭐
Ah this one is awesome too! Love it!
I wish we'd get more fashion Kits with special clothes that don't mach with EP themes.
Book Nook ✨🌟✨
A kit about books! And book stuff! 📚
So well done! Vlad is so happy with this kit 💞
Simtimates Collection ✨🌟✨
We never had more fun with a kit 🍑
And it's the only Kit that got a whole Special
Greenhouse Haven ✨🌟✨
One of my favourite kits 🌱
Bathroom Clutter 🌟
More clutter = awesome 💞
Poolside Splash ⛔
We all expected more of this pack. Oh my...
Modern Luxe ⛔
Super boring. Full of stuff we already have from other packs.
🎁 Best of Buydebug ☃️ Short trips to the Oggiverse - Short Clips 🎬 My Builds: Houses 🏘 Rooms 🛋 SciFi 👾 creatively edited Screenshots 🎨
Growing Together I held a grudge against this pack because it introduced the milestones bug that turned me away from my main save for half a year. Now the bug has been fixed and I'm willing to forgive everything because in fact I love this pack. Milestones, compatibility, family relations, trait discoveries and midlife crisis. Especially love midlife crisis, gives something extra for adults and can give their life a new direction. Kind of hate the world and haven't looked into CAS/BB closely, seems boring. Still recommended.
Horse Ranch I only got this pack the other day because of the bug mentioned earlier I witheld buying any content. But this is my dream pack. I have given two of my sims horses by now. I love the horses. I just watch them walk when my sims goes on a relaxed ride. I am into the world and the western theme, these would have been my choice. I admit it seems a little light content wise even at this point and I understand people calling it a game pack. I haven't really checked out the CAS/BB, but I have positive feels about it.
For Rent I truly cherish the option to have more than one families living on one lot. This is a game changer. However I'm not super interested in playing as a landlord. I tried it and it felt okayish. Tomarang world I love to the bits. It's smallish, but the size doesn't bother me much. BB is interesting. CAS I haven't closely looked into, but kinda like it?
Simtimates Collection
I bought this kit while I said I wouldn't buy any content. Oops. The underwear department in game is severely lacking and this kit fixes some of that. As someone who plays vanilla I like it! Simple kit for simple needs.
Modern Luxe
I don't really want to complain about free content, but anyway not super interesting.
Updated with Werewolf Diaries (1)
1 - Useless to me, will probably never use
2 - Might use every once in a while
3 - Decent, but not overly useful to me
4 - Like it, not perfect but very useable
5 - Love it! Will use all the time
EPs
Growing Together
CAS: 3
B&B: 4
World: 2
Game Play: 3
Overall, I'd give this pack a 3 with the caveat that I still haven't done a deep dive into it's content and I may yet change my mind about it. I like aspects of it, but I haven't really found any of it to be game changing for myself personally. I thought babies were fine as they were, and believe the added infant life stage makes childhood drag on a little too long. This pack doesn't help in this matter, as skilling an infant up takes much longer than a short/medium lifespan will allow. I do like the new community center lot type and the new stuff families can do together, but none of it has really changed my game play that much.
Horse Ranch
CAS: 4
B&B: 5
World: 4
Game Play: 4
I'd give this pack a 4 overall. I wasn't one of the simmers champing at the bit for horses, but I like them well enough now that we have them. I love the rustic aesthetic of the B&B that came with this pack and the world is beautiful and fun to explore. The game play is a lot of fun, and I think it compliments other packs quite well. Goats and sheep are a lot of fun and we finally have nectar making back in the game! I don't think I'll end up playing with horses in every save, but I'll have a good time when I do.
For Rent
CAS: 4
B&B: 3
World: 4
Game Play: 4
To be honest, I haven't really played with this pack too much yet as I've been too busy building, so my opinion might change, but as of right now I'd give it a 4. Long before this pack I was already building multi family housing, so it's great to finally make those lots functional. I have little interest in playing as a landlord, so the only game play I'm interested in comes from playing as a tenant, and the little I have played seems enjoyable. I've heard this pack is buggy, but since I've spent most of my time in build mode I've not yet come across any myself.
SP
Home Chef Hustle
CAS: 2
B&B: 3
Game Play: 4
I really don't care for the CAS or B&B in this pack, but the game play makes up for it so I'd still give it a 4 overall. I always had a feeling stuff packs would make a return eventually, but it's still nice to see them back and adding quality game play to the game. The new kitchen appliances are great for my foodie sims, and it's nice to have a selling table designed for selling food. Overall a solid stuff pack.
Kits
Simtimates Collection: 4
Bathroom Clutter: 4
Greenhouse Haven: 5
Basement Treasures: 4
Grunge Revival: 4
Book Nook: 5
Poolside Splash: 4
Modern Luxe: 4
I'd say all the kits that came out last year were solid.
Mixed feelings, I only have GT which I love
(and play constantly to the point of being kind of weary of the little nooboos by now
but part of me feels like these packs live off each other
like the way San Sequoia is perfect for townhouses but theres not much else going for it
and the way Tomarang has such family town feel to it
I feel like if these packs were combined differently
I would have had less things to be unneededly upsetti over
then again who knows maybe id have other things to be upsetti over
and thats why these packs were this way
I will probably play more GT in Tomarang and more FR in San Sequoia once I have both
(Kyle tho, points for Kyle never forget Kyle)
Horse Ranch
I've only had it for couple days but so far vibing
there is some minor annoyances and I always find something to complain about
but my inner horsegal is living her best life with this pack in Chestnut Ridge and everywhere else
funnily enough I usually like to tell i don't need more american worlds but Chestnut Ridge is my favourite this year
it's just perfect extension to my Strangetown and fills the Deadtree shaped void in my heart
All EPs:
I think we suffer bit too much from rabbithole disease and limited items nonsense
which I wish we could have avoided all together
but otherwise pretty decent selection of themes
Home Chef Hustle
I also don't have this yet
I admit I don't often do much food gameplay with my sims
but I do love waffles and pizza so i figure this pack might be useful
if I end up picking it up one day
kind of feels like cool kitchen
except this time its actually about kitchen stuff which is nice
Kits: will be kits...
and I haven't really got spare simoleons this/last year
but if I did these were most interesting to me:
Simtimates
Basement Treasures
Grunge Revival
Book Nook
🏡 Gallery 📖 Stories 🌍 World Project 🥔 MOD/CC Free
Simtimates Kit
Pretty good, but some items have ugly colors.
Grunge Revival Kit
Some items look good, some other items look very poorly made and also look too large.
I don't own any of the other 6 kits they released that year.
Home Chef Hustle
Really good. Actual gameplay items that you can use everywhere and a lot of new things that you can cook.
Growing Together
Kinda regret buying this one. It's... ok, it has some interesting features. I don't like the world at all.
I don't own Horse Ranch or For Rent.
🤣🤣🤣🤣 Aaaaaand I'm dead.
I'm not going to rate the 2023 packs since I only have one, but the one I have is HCH, and I highly recommend it. I never enjoyed cooking in the game half as much as I do after getting this pack. I love prepping ingredients. It also encourages me to use the (CoL) grocery delivery service more than ever, and I plan what to grow in the garden more carefully now, too.
I do want to get Growing Together, but it was too buggy when it came out and now I feel like I might as well wait until it's 50% off. The same will probably be the case with For Rent if it doesn't get some major bug fixes while the bonus items are still available.
Game Packs
This is where I'd put my Fairy GP...
... If I had one.
Stuff Packs
Home Chef Hustle: I just don't see the appeal of the pack. Like appliances are neat, I get why people like that aspect. And if you like new food, you have that. But I'm not impressed with a sales table reskin, where the only advantages are some banner customization, a counter attached to it, and seeing sims eat in front of you. The BB and CAS are not my taste. I have no interest in new foods because, outside of affecting certain traits or making you gain weight, almost all the food in the game is exactly the same. It's nice to have, and I'll give my sims their own unique tastes. But it's all just aesthetics, except the food in The Sims 4 looks so ugly.
I feel like EA tricked us into thinking Stuff Packs would be good after Nifty Knitting and Paranormal Stuff hit the scene. But no, those were just exceptions to the rule and they're still lame. 4/10
The hair is really cute though, I gotta say. Love the hair.
Kits
Overall year: 5.5/10. So much of what we got was forgettable for me. Growing Together was a highlight. But it was better than 2022.
The Sims 4 hasn't introduced a new musical instrument since 2017
The Best:
Horse Ranch (This goes way perfect with my Cottage Living)
Home Chef Hustle (Love the Kitchen)
Modern Luxe (Love the Decor & Furniture)
Book Nook (Perfect with my Docor Dream Home)
It's Handy
Grunge Revival (Teen Look)
Simtimates Collection (Lamour PJs)
Poolside Splash (More Swimwear Swatches)
Greenhouse Haven (Pretty, pretty, pretty)
OK/Meh
Growing Together (Well it's Family play I guess)
Bathroom Clutter (Goes with Growing Together)
For Rent (Unfortunately, too glitchy for now)
Veto For Now
Basement Treasures (No actual playable Heartshape Bed, Big TV & Telephone)
HORSE RANCH: I have enjoyed horse Ranch. Making horses is great, but I would have loved to see them do a horse competition which was not a rabbit hole. A Black Smith shop or something similar would have been nice too. Black Smith would have also been a nice job to add to the pack. Something else they needed to add was being able to Rent a horse, so city dwellers could enjoy horses once in awhile. The part time Jobs they added was nice though. I think they should have added basket weaving to the pack since it was Native American inspired.
FOR RENT: I haven’t played this one much as people have said the Rent lots are buggy. I’m waiting for them to fix the lots now that Christmas and New Years are over. I do love the Idea of being able make apartments in any world. Tomorang should have had more lots. I hear there is a large swimming area which is nice, but there should have been lots over the water too. Again there are lots of rabbit holes. The Animal Sanctuary should have been somewhere we could actually go in and see tigers, even if from afar, there didn’t need to be a lot of interaction, but it would have been nice to get pictures of tigers wandering around or laying on a rock or something. Once they fix lots in For Rent I will enjoy that part. I am glad they added hopscotch and marbles to the pack for kids, and the Tiger plushies. The night market is nice, but all the let’s plays I have seen, it has been so scarce of people.
Home chef hustle was really good, it added 3 new appliances, the sales table, new recipe’s, new kitchen stuff, clutter, and some nice new walls. They need to tone down the fires with the pizza maker though.
My favorite kits were : Basement treasures, Book nook, Greenhouse Haven and the the clutter kits.
I liked the Simtimates collection and poolside splash, wish they had added a floating ring for toddlers though instead of adults, would have been a nice touch.
Modern Luxe and Grunge Revival were ok, but not my favorites, I do like that they made some more vanities, just didn’t care for the look of the one they made though. the Grunge revival kit added too many oversized pieces i thought.
Growing together feels like a collection of a lot of small features but somehow together they tell a bigger story. I think this is a good pack that adds enough to the game to be worth while. I especially like the milestones and social compatibility. However the changing tables and backpack carriers should have been basegame. Those two feel like necessities for infants and shouldn't be restricted to a single pack. An option to switch back to more easy infant gameplay would have been welcome too. The world is nice but too empty, especially Anchorpoint Wharf should be busy with loads of sims. The Gilbert Gardens neighborhoods with the spashpark, swimmable pond and walking paths makes somewhat up for it. The world is also too sparse on collectibles.
Horse Ranch: 7/10
The horses are done very well and offer enough to do for my sims. I really like the option to make nectar. The world is great. The big open neighbourhood is awesome and the town with the grocery store feels like a western. The big downside to this pack is that unicorns are reduced to one single CAS item that has ZERO gameplay consequences. Not enough for actual unicorns but just enough for EA to have an excuse to not have to give a unicorn pack. I got this pack on sale because the theme isn't completely my thing, but for horse lovers this is a great pack.
For Rent: 6/10
On paper this should be the EP that interests me most but I am a bit dissapointed by for rent. There is too little outside of the landlord/tennant gameplay. Advertising a text based animal sanctuary as gameplay in the first blog post was misleading. But I can understand it because there is practically nothing else to the pack. This combined with the small world (only 2 neighbourhoods with 9 lots) this really feels like a GP sold with a EP price tag. I gave Horse Ranch the benefit of the doubt and think Growing together has enough impact on the game to say I disagree with the 'this should have been a GP' argument. But for For Rent I can't give any excuses. For Rent doesn't feel like it offers enough for the 40$/€ price tag. This is one that I can't justify getting at full price. And then there is the bugs...
Home chef Hustle 8/10
Nice to see stuff packs return. It doesn't have the same level as paranormal, laundry day or nifty knitting for me personal but is fun to have all the same. I like to finally be able to make pizzas and waffles.
Kits
In general there are way to many kits. I am glad Kits didn't kill stuff packs after all. But most of these items could have been base game updates or included in other DLC. Only two of this years kits really stand out to me. The others I can't be bothered to give ratings because I can do without just as easily.
Book nook kit 10/10
Modern lux kit 9/10
Horse Ranch 8 out of 10 I don’t understand how people are not for this pack. This pack has brought me so much joy and so many endless hours of gameplay on the ranch. IF only the Equestrian Center was a gameplay experience, what I would imagine to be like Get Famous work studios meet the Finwich fair in Cottage Living like the Plumbob Pictures Studios in get Famous, it would then be a 10 them. The world is gorgeous and so big. I really love playing here. I never would imagine I loving a western them pack so much but this game always surprises me.
For Rent 6.5 out of 10 Really they could not make a pack more up my alley then this one. This has been my building style all along, and I’m so grateful they made a pack on multi - family residential lots as official game play.
However, I have been faced with so many bugs and glitches, it’s become nearly impossible to play. I’m hoping the iron out the kinks. I myself and still learning and testing the mods folder. The argue about HR not being an expansion pack, While I entirely feel that is not true about HR, but in the case of this pack, with such a small world and small lots, and nearly no other gameplay other than the new system, this feels like a game pack, not an expansion pack. I still feel it add value and essential gameplay and is needed for experience of this type of game.
I think the world is gorgeous, it’s like Sulani, but with a little touch of San Myshuno - Who could ask for anything more. Spawning on the streets is not the same as the other worlds which makes it feel less lively- a criticism for HR, but Tomarang street population is far more sparse.
I was most heartbroken about the rabbit holes. The Animal Sanctuary with real animals could have made this thee best pack ever. Also multi purpose lots would have made this game golden. I ‘m still discovering it so I have yet to experience the pet drive. There is no way to trigger it to happen. The cave always kicks me out and I can get no progress. I really see no point in the rabbit holes.
The expansion is a lifesaver and has solved my housing crisis, and allowed me to play the game the way I want to though.
Home Chef Hustle 8 out of 10 I enjoyed this a lot. Cooking feels more fun. Pizza and waffles are my favorite cuisine and my food mods for this were slowing my game. So grateful they added it officially.
Greenhouse Haven 8.5 out of 10 Possibly my favorite kit- it’s right up my alley. I love gardening in real life and I love gardening in the sims. This allows me to garden in the world that have 4 seasons. I guess you could have always done it, but it didn't work for me until this pack came out. I love the windows in there. They are proper floor to ceiling and I use the swatch with a lot of mullions for my my historic French Quarter house renovations. They really had floor to ceiling windows in those types of homes in New Orleans and I feel the responsibility to restore that in house renovations especially.in Willow Creek. The gave us screen doors and windows finally. You can even have a built in screen door porch if you wanted. So cute!!!
Only way they could improve on this is if they added functional gameplay to objects and more objects and selections. It is excellent pair to the Blooming kit. I used them together and hand in hand
Book Nook 8.5 out of 10 This makes every house like fantastic, and finally, libraries can look like real libraries, with walls stacked even at double height. If you want to add richness to any build, make a fantastic library. It’s also perfect for the dark academia aesthetic. I love the furniture. The game really needs more contemporary style couches like this and of this quality of textures.
I must say they quality of the build buy in these later packs have really gotten so much better than the previous packs. Especially Horse Ranch, it made me want to go back to all the older houses and renovate with the new build buy. The gave us proper shutters. ::sighs in happiness::
I don't own it yet, but I think I about ti get it- Modern Lux is next on my list to get. While I have endless custom content installed, I always gravitate to and an prefer the official build buy items. The quality is better and maxi match is less jarring on the eyes.
While there are a number of cas kits I want, I really wanted to get all the build buy first, but I think the Grunge Revival kit is so cute, right up my alley and I will get it soon.
About the EPs: I like all of the EPs this year though I think they need to patch For Rent soon to address the issues like switching a lot out of Residential Rental status. I could see myself doing that so I hope they fix that soon.
Growing Together - I like it. I'm not all a family player all the time but I do like playing with complex multi-generational families and this pack improves that. I like that it pays attention to different life stages and adds more activities. There was a loud contingent that lobbied for "freeing the babies". I wasn't one of those but the infants do add to the game. I age children through the different stages at various times depending on the situation or how long I want to play them, so I sometimes skip through. When I do play them though, it isn't too repetitive. There's a lot of customization for different households and personalities. There's a lot more to do with them now. Also, toddlers seem more independent now. There's more of a transition. I do like San Sequoia which is obviously the Bay Area but I like most of the worlds. I would love it if they would add a feature to be able to convert some of the deco houses into playable ones. I get that maybe they can't but that would be great.
Aurelio Robles has kind of joined the large group of teens that are growing up in my game. I think Aurelio will be in my regular rotation and is in some teen drama now. I'll be clear that I don't only play with teens, I just have probably 20+ of them now. Teen - to - YA gameplay is dominating my game right now so I'm exploring High School Years.
Horse Ranch - I'm still exploring this pack but I'm glad that they added horses. I can't comment on the horse gameplay yet except that I remember a rabbit hole horse race in TS3. I look forward to riding around in the countryside worlds. Also, I think that Horse Ranch and Cottage Living are obviously very different styles of countryside so I'm glad that they added both. Honestly, it wouldn't surprise me that since castles won a recent vote that they may add a playable medieval world or theme where horses would also make sense. The style of countryside in Horse Ranch is the American West, yes, but it is also found in some other countries as well so it's actually not just American.
For Rent - Waiting on the next patch to play with residential rentals - Tomarang is cool and I'll play with it some more. I did add vacationing to it since that makes the most sense for my rotational gameplay. I agree that it could have more townies but I like the parts of the world that I've explored. I really like the night market and would send sims back there. I will be building a rental hostel there for some of my sims to live there for a bit while traveling. I do actually like the botanical garden and while we can't enter the tiger sanctuary, it's a cool concept. Tiger gameplay is fun. Maybe they will add playable tigers and maybe they will listen to the requests for more boats. It's an alternative Asian travel world to Mt. Komorebi for my sims.
Home Chef Hustle - I like the added objects. I haven't done the home chef gameplay but I've used some of the new ways to cook with prepped ingredients and the new recipes. I like having more types of pizza and waffles. It might seem repetitive to some people but I switch between a lot of households so I don't want them to all have the same meals constantly. It's not the only gameplay for me at all but it adds to the coziness of each household that they have their own foods and routines. That's a backdrop for other gameplay. I could see having some sort of competitive home chef gameplay at some point, that could be fun. Put them in a house and have them compete against each other like on tv. If I need something to do, I might try it.
About kits - I really subscribe to the "like what you like" opinion. I love the Book Nook. When I got that, I thought it was a random pick for me but I've read some favorable opinions from others. I think it's a sleeper hit, a great kit. Sure, I love some bookish, nerdy writer sims so it suits my gameplay. I like the encouragement to build cozy libraries. I've also used the pre-made rooms to install an "instant library". Great kit.
I don't have some of the other kits but might add them eventually. I'm not in a rush to have every kit. I did get Modern Luxe during the sale and I've used some of its objects. I have some "rich sims" as well though so the added luxury made sense for my game.
I have a lot to keep me busy. If it seems like I'm someone who just likes everything, I mean, I like a lot about the Sims though not everything. I generally have fun and have a great time. I don't think everyone needs to play exactly like me. Eventually I'll work through various features and my approach is very much to do whatever I want.
I do still want a hobbies pack and more travel. I honestly like collecting the worlds because I always find uses for them even if I go in a different direction than official gameplay. I'm kind of open to suggestions that I might not have thought of. For Rent is an example of that. I do want more new ways to play the game, maybe some new optional goals for gameplay though I'm generally a sandbox player. Fix the bugs though.
Growing Together was okay, but I was disappointed in the world functionally. Visually, it's amazing, but there were less fishing spots than I liked and not enough wild harvestables. I liked the milestone additions whenever I got them and the recreation center is pretty good when you're trying to avoid going back to the home lot out of boredom. I loved the new social events like sleepovers and stay-overs. The BB was decent with great walls and windows, although a bit scattered with objects that had some uninteresting swatches (everything fit the theme of the pack well enough though). The CAS was amazingly good across most life stages and loved the new skin details added. It personally wasn't a hit with me because I am not really into family gameplay, but I did want more fitting CAS and gameplay like the rec center and game table (they're REALLY good puzzles ...)
Home Chef Hustle was great. BB is really good with new appliances, especially the waffle maker. I like making use of prepped ingredients with the mixer, but I did find the new aspiration goals to be too tedious to bother with and the pizza oven stayed outside for a good reason! Anyway, I did have a increasingly personal gripe with pre-decorated shelving and surfaces. Food stands and sale events functioned decently enough, aside from some routing issues though.
Greenhouse Haven was great. I usually always have a played Sims as either a Botanist or Florist, so the kit goes very well in garden portions of builds. Good windows and walls, I do wish some objects were separated a bit more though and a little bit more on swatches.
I'll reserve judgement on For Rent because I don't have it and we don't know yet how much is going to be fixed. It's too new to be ranked just yet.
Home Chef Hustle isn't my cup of tea, but I'll give it a heads up for the decent Stuff Packs revival.
Kits are not packs imho so I won't breathe a word on these.
Expansion Packs
Stuff Packs
Kits
Overall, I’d say that it was a great year for the Sims & that the best packs were Growing Together, Home Chef Hustle, Bathroom Clutter, Greenhouse Haven, Book Nook, & Modern Luxe.