This week’s article is an intuitive review on The Sims 4 new stuff pack. Tiny Living came out on Jan 21, 2020, to the surprise of many simmers. Expecting the next pack to be focused on kitting and hobbies, I was ecstatic to kickoff 2020 with a stuff pack focused on current trends.
Tiny House Credit: “Gardener’s Tiny Starter” by SassySimsBuilds (Gallery)
Overall, this stuff pack was aesthetically pleasing and had many elements which contribute great things to the game. However, some pitfalls include missing content and inconvenient game mechanics. After watching The Sims 4 official live stream introducing the pack and purchasing it myself, I gathered a great deal of information that may help simmers decide whether this is the next pack for them.
Content ?
The Tiny Living stuff pack includes 32 CAS items and 34 buymode items–pretty well-rounded when compared to past packs. On average there appeared to be more CAS, but slightly less build mode items than your general stuff pack.
It adds (4) new hairstyles, all of that are super cute and can be applied to any gender or age. There are (3) new accessories which are pretty (I LOVE the new glasses) and (15) clothing items. To me, the clothing is a show-stopper for this pack. They are very detailed and add to the fuzzy-warm feeling of Tiny Living.
With this pack comes an interesting spin. A build challenge. Tiny Living prompts the player to attempt at creating their own functional tiny house for their sims. Different sizes of houses receive varying tiers of lot boosts, separate from the lot traits. The smaller it gets, the more buffs are added to the lot.
The furniture is adorable with great shading, interactions, and color. My favorite is the tripod lamp with the clutter slot in the middle. Of course, we cannot overlook the anticipated Murphy bed which comes in a few different styles (a bit pricey in my option, but it is technically electronic).
While this pack has some great content, it seems to lack key features that would be expected in a stuff pack whose primary purpose is to transform the way you build. Items that I wish were in the pack would include compact stoves, smaller fridges, bunk beds, and ladders.
Gameplay ?
The aspect of this game that excited me the most was the proposition of a new challenge. As far as I have witnessed, this is a new and innovative type of stuff pack for The Sims 4. Instead of simply adding content to our game, it offers us a different way to play. This is especially true for simmers who primarily build.
Some may argue the ingenuity of this pack, explaining that these types of challenges have already been created by the players. This is a very good point and is something to consider. However, I believe that this stuff pack takes it a step beyond a simple build challenge to something that provides you with in-game rewards such as cheaper bills and faster relationship-building.
After setting my newly made sim up in her adorable micro house. One of the things that I noticed was that it didn’t take my sim forever to move from one each of the house to another. Everything was only a few steps away, which was great.
The Murphy bed does break every night without upgrades. This became old very fast which prompted me to upgrade it as soon as my sim had the skill (maybe not such as bad thing?) Luckily, my sim hasn’t died from it yet. ? At the end of the week, it was a relief to not worry about electric bills. It was also super easy to build friendships with visiting neighbors.
Verdict
Tiny Living has quality content and was build with a great challenge in mind. While it does feel like it is missing a few things, I felt good paying roughly $10 USD. This pack would pair really well with the recent game update, Laundry Day’s style, and Discovering University’s mini-fridge.
I hope this information will help those of you on-the-fence decide if Tiny Living is worth your money. Let me know in the comments below how you feel about this stuff pack and whether or not you decide to buy it for your sims!
