The Sims 4 is getting an expansion pack themed entirely around love, introducing a feature that allows characters to have polyamorous relationships, use dating apps, and generally spend their entire pixelated lives trying to get up close and personal with other Sims.
The Lovestruck Expansion Pack for The Sims 4 is set to be released on July 25, 2024 and will cost $39.99. By allowing Sims to have multiple romantic relationships without automatic negative consequences – i.e. poly relationships – the expansion pack is introducing a function players have long called for.
A free The Sims 4 base game update allowing characters to be polyamorous is also reportedly set to be released this summer, so players won’t have to buy the expansion pack or use a game modification (‘mod’) for their characters to have multiple relationships.
While the expansion pack is anticipated to be The Sims’ steamiest update yet, don’t expect the game to go full blown 3DXChat quite yet. It won’t feature any explicit images, with sex between Sims still largely suggested by characters disappearing under bed sheets and saying “Woohoo!”: the game series’ long-established euphemism for sex.
While perhaps not notably more explicit, Lovestruck is set to place more focus on romantic relationships than any previous official Sims game or update. The action is set in a city called Ciudad Enamorada, which translates from Spanish to “City in Love”.
There are a slew of new character interactions available in the update: a kiss, a dance, and three different kinds of “Woohoo!” exclamations. Sims will be able to up their ‘Romantic Skill’ level by going on dates with other Sims, and can have specific turn ons and turn offs, which will help determine how relationships and romance progresses with other characters.
In-game Dating App
Sims will be able to use an in-game dating app called Cupid’s Corner, which they can use to match with other Sims, then meet them for dates. A venue called Beso Rápido, which translates to “Quick Kiss”, can be rented by Sims for trysts. Sims that become particularly adept at dating have the potential to be deemed ‘Romantic Consultants’.
The nature of romantic relationships between two Sims in the game will fall into one of four categories, known as ‘Romantic Dynamics’. They are ‘Wholesome’, ‘Strained’, ‘Unpredictable’ and ‘Steamy’, with the latter suitably focused on physical intimacy.
Players will be able to use a ‘Romantic Boundaries’ system for their Sims. These will define how a character deals with traits such as jealousy, plus the issue of relationship exclusivity. You can set a Sim to be able to have romantic relations with more than one other Sim without it impacting their other relationships, essentially making them polyamorous.
Long-time Sims players will likely be happy to see the red heart-shaped bed, a famed furniture feature of the game, appear via the update.
Romantic relationships between Sims have long been possible in the games, the first incarnation of which was released in 2000. The ability for two Sims to “Woohoo!” together was introduced in The Sims 2 in 2004. Unofficial game mods over the years have pushed the boundaries of Sims relationships, for example allowing them to talk dirty to each other.
The game’s makers have introduced more sexual and personal identities into the game in recent years, to keep it better up to speed with modern dating and lifestyles.
Woohoo, indeed.
