The Sims 4 is an ever-growing game as EA continues to regularly release fresh paid content whether it be in the form of a kit, a stuff pack, or a full-blown expansion pack. The iconic series' fourth entry stands as one of the most fully fleshed out to date thanks to this constant flow of DLC drops, with packs covering everything from city life to horses. With so much content reliably launching, however, there are bound to be both bad and good eggs amid the endless DLC sea. It's almost overwhelming to consider each pack alongside the bunch with the question of which one to first buy.
If you're a longtime fan or a new Simmer yourself, you may find yourself wondering which of the lengthy list is truly the best Sims 4 expansion pack. This is especially useful information to have under your belt as a Sims series stan, after all, whether it aids you in any of your future purchases or influences the way you view your current ready-to-play set of DLC. With a whopping 15 expansion packs to date for The Sims 4 and countless smaller releases, what then stands out as the best?
While you may already have your own opinion on the matter, it may just end up aligning with ours here. We've determined our favorite of the bunch and will explain below what the best Sims 4 expansion pack is and why we feel that it is so. If you want to take a deeper dive into all 15 of EA's content releases, you can also check out our Sims 4 expansion pack tier list for a more general glance at the life simulation game's vast variety of DLC.
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Best Sims 4 Expansion Pack
As mentioned in our own in-depth Sims 4 expansion pack tier list, Seasons is hands down the best Sims 4 expansion pack you can get. Not only does it provide the most bang for your buck so to speak with its content, but it also changes the entire course of your in-game experience, forever. This expansive DLC adds everything from diverse weather patterns to actual calendar holidays to The Sims 4. Without Seasons, the game feels downright barren. The base game has no dynamically changing weather, including scorchingly hot summer days and stormy snow-ridden winter nights.
What's more is that this weather affects every in-game world, including those that come with newer expansions. Seasons therefore adds a unique immersive layer of fun to every expansion pack that followed its game-changing 2018 release. Each season and kind of weather comes with new activities, too, including harvesting honey, playing in leaf piles, forming snow angels, splashing in puddles, exploring the outdoors as a scout Sim, and so many more. The atmospheric changes also affect your Sims' choices, daily activities, and relationships, making Seasons' weather feel quite literally essential to the gameplay experience.
For players more interested in bigger holidays than smaller daily weather-based activities, Seasons brings all of the major celebrations to The Sims 4. Once you install the expansion pack, you'll experience the game's version of Christmas, New Year's Eve, Thanksgiving, Valentine's Day, and all sorts of more minor holidays in between. We're talking an entire day dedicated to speaking like a pirate and another to winning the lottery. It's all just so silly, much like the Sims series has always been. From cursed present-receiving gnomes to Santa (known as Father Winter in-game) himself, Seasons' holiday features slay (or should we say, sleigh).
Those are just the few most notable features of the best Sims 4 expansion pack, Seasons, but there are many more to look forward to. For instance, the prospect of an entirely new skill and accompanying work. This DLC unlocks the gardening career, allowing Sims to craft beautiful bouquets and unearth all sorts of mysteries as botanists. Thanks to this inclusion of green-thumbed Sims, realistic yet fun weather, a calendar system and exciting holidays to look forward to, and other such elements, we'd recommend Seasons as the best Sims 4 expansion pack, even now.
Honorable Sims 4 Expansion Pack Mentions
While Seasons is the best Sims 4 expansion pack around, you may already own it yourself thanks to its sheer amount of unmissable content. If this is the case or if you're looking for even more DLC recommendations, we've got a few honorable mentions listed below. Many of these packs are just as worthy of purchase as Seasons, and you may find that some of them suit your tastes perfectly. From cute puppies and kittens to skyscraping apartments in a city known for its nightlife, the features found in these packs are certainly diverse. Here is our small roundup of just five more honorable Sims 4 expansion pack mentions.
- Cats & Dogs
- City Living
- Cottage Living
- Growing Together
- Island Living
If you're searching for a way to spice your Sims' households up with some beloved pets, Cats & Dogs is just as essential as Seasons for a well-rounded gameplay experience as it adds a real-life aspect of families that honestly should've always been in The Sims 4. City Living, Cottage Living, and Island Living all bring unique worlds and various events, features, and objects with content relevant to their respective subjects. Cottage Living includes barn animals, farming, and good old Agnes Crumplebottom herself. City Living has apartments and festivals, while Island Living has mermaids and stunning waterside homes. Growing Together is a great choice for all flavors of players, too, with the depth it adds to all stages of life in The Sims 4.
