EA is very good at consistently adding player-requested content to The Sims 4 with free updates to the base game. Unfortunately, EA is also very good at breaking The Sims 4 with those updates, as evidenced in the latest debacle.
Simmers took to social media shortly after the July 23 base game update to point out some serious issues, including an inability to bring up the pause menu, missing save files, floating eyelashes, and more. But, at least you can now make penis-shaped pools, as the new update has added the ability to install rounded swimming spots, where previously you could only build square ones. Small victories!
To its credit, EA put a lot of great stuff in this latest free update, which dropped in tandem with the $40 Lovestruck expansion pack. The biggest things in this latest Sims update are:
- Romantic boundaries — You can define the conditions under which your Sims become jealous
- Hiding relationships — You can now hide Sims who aren’t members of your household from your relationship panel
- Gender-neutral relationship titles
- Eyelashes, updated hairstyles, and more nail styles
- Curved pools
- Live game updates including “safe for streaming” toggle, new options for neighborhood stories, a conversation panel, and more
Naturally, Simmers immediately began experimenting with the curved pools, highlighting the two different kinds of people playing these games: some made heart-shaped swimming spots, while others made penises. The two genders. Penis pools aside, they were also very excited about the new CAS (Create-A-Sim) options, as modders have long been ahead of the curve when it comes to things like Black hairstyles, makeup, nails, and more.
Unfortunately, not long after the update dropped, players began encountering some game-breaking bugs, with some saying that they couldn’t load any old saves or access CAS to start new ones. Some reported they couldn’t bring up the pause menu, while others said that those new eyelashes were floating on-screen when in first-person mode. There were also complaints of visual glitches, problems with Sims performing certain actions, cursors disappearing on consoles, and more. Tons of mods, which are a driving force that keep so many players plugged into The Sims 4 after all these years, are also reportedly broken.
This prompted the community to point out that this often happens after a major update—bugs pop up and modders often have to adjust their mods after updates so that they’ll run smoothly with the base game. “What is bug testing,” a frustrated Simmer asked sarcastically on X (formerly Twitter). Kotaku has reached out to EA for comment.