Summary
The Sims 4launched ten years ago, and in that time span has updated its base game to make the game more inclusive in several ways. ThoughThe Sims 4has given players more options to diversify their Sims' sexual orientations and preferences,The Sims 4: Lovestruckhas taken these options further to makeThe Sims 4more inclusive than ever before with how Sims experience romantic and sexual attraction, express that attraction, and the kind of relationships they prefer.
People experience romantic attraction, sexual attraction, and navigate relationships in a vast variety of ways, which hasn’t always been reflected inThe Sims.The Sims 4: Lovestruckdoes its part by introducing several new relationship typesand ways for Sims to experience romance. Other inclusive changes include gender-neutral terms for partners and new relationship statuses. All of these can be customized independently by the player. With these new tools, Sims can now have functional asexual romantic relationships, polyamory, and even go on dates with their friends for queerplatonic relationships.
Why Bring Inclusivity to The Sims 4’s Relationships
Inclusivity is important for any game, but it’s especially important for life simulators likeThe Sims 4as it’s designed to reflect life. Even if there are fantastic elements to the content, such as occult gameplay, the core ofThe Sims 4is to reflect real people. To that end, including options such as medical aids, cuisine from different cultures, and accurate representations of race and sexual orientations are important inThe Sims 4.The Sims 4’s depiction of relationships has been fine to date, butThe Sims 4: Lovestruckadds a lot of depth that didn’t exist before.
Polyamory is Now a Thing in The Sims 4
One of the biggest changes introduced is thatSims can now have polyamorous relationshipswith help from the new jealousy preferences indicator, which Simmers can now set as an option in Create-a-Sim. This is an optional feature, but is one that is massive for inclusivity. Another big win is being able to customize how Sims experience romantic attraction to other Sims, rather than just who they’re attracted to. Sims can now experience romantic attraction but also be romantically reserved and specify that they don’t experience sexual attraction, creating Sims that are actually asexual rather than just headcanon.
Using Tools to Make Relationships Richer in The Sims 4
The Versatility of Romantic Boundaries in The Sims 4: Lovestruck
The Sims 4: Lovestruckincludes polyamory through a new tool called Romantic Boundaries. This tool also extends the definition of what is considered cheating, with emotional cheating now up for consideration. In the new Romantic Boundaries category, where jealousy can be set, actions such as a romantic partner being complimented, flirted with, or any other kind of non-physical romance can trigger jealous feelings. There are three Romantic Boundary categories, and each one escalates physical contact fromromantic physical contact that excludes WooHoo,to the final category, which includes WooHoo. The fourth category allows these boundaries to change in-game.
Not every player needs to engage with these options, but it’s important for these options to be there so that theplayers who do want to see themselves represented inThe Simshave a chance to create Sims who experience the world like them. The new options included inThe Sims 4: Lovestruckgives players the chance to do exactly that. Even something as simple as changing how Sims express their love is inclusive and changes howThe Simsis played.
The Sims 4
WHERE TO PLAY
Unleash your imagination and create a unique world of Sims that’s an expression of you. Download for free, and customize every detail from Sims to homes and much more. Choose how Sims look, act, and dress, then decide how they’ll live out each day. Design and build incredible homes for every family, then decorate with your favorite furnishings and décor. Travel to different neighborhoods where you can meet other Sims and learn about their lives. Discover beautiful locations with distinctive environments and go on spontaneous adventures. Manage the ups and downs of Sims’ everyday lives, and see what happens when you play out scenarios from your own real life. Tell your stories your way while developing relationships, pursuing careers and life aspirations, and immersing yourself in this extraordinary game, where the possibilities are endless
