The Sims™ 4 City Living Review Summary

San Myshuno and its apartments are fun, festivals add city life, but bugs, thin content, and overpriced packs and DLCs hold it back.

Apartments are highly enjoyable: Apartments are a standout feature, fun to furnish and play in, and offer a different charm from houses. Many reviewers consider apartment gameplay a highlight of the pack.

Festivals add fun atmosphere: Weekly festivals are considered fun, cute, and a great addition that enhances the game's atmosphere. Players enjoy attending events in the city center.

San Myshuno city world praised: The city world translates city life well and looks amazing, especially at night. The night scenery is beautiful and the city is a cool environment.

Apartment living offers unique experience: Living in an apartment is enjoyable and feels super good, with a different charm compared to traditional houses. It allows a plaza-like atmosphere and is a major feature of the pack.

Favorite pack and DLC: Many reviewers consider this pack their most loved or favorite DLC, with some specifically praising it as good DLC. It contains a favorite world for some players.

Various bugs and glitches: Multiple bugs are reported, including issues with saving, noisy neighbors, stuck visitors, and graphical glitches. Some bugs persist even after disabling DLC.

Not enough content added: The pack is criticized for adding little gameplay, with limited activities and items. Many feel it doesn't justify the price and lacks innovation.

Overpriced packs and DLCs: Many reviewers feel the packs and DLCs are overpriced for the content offered. This sentiment is widespread across multiple clusters, with calls for price reductions.

No apartment building ability: Players are frustrated that they cannot build their own apartments or empty lots in apartments. They can only decorate existing apartments, with limited renovation options.

Apartments feel like a downgrade: Apartments are seen as a downgrade compared to previous games, with limited building options and lack of open world. The apartment system doesn't manage floors as expected and has many restrictions.

Apartments as living option: Apartments are a core new living option, with variations in quality and price. They are available in the city world and allow Sims to live in them.

Frequent city festivals and events: Festivals and community events occur frequently, often weekly, at various locations. They add liveliness to the city experience.

Create-a-Sim content added: The pack includes Create-a-Sim (CAS) content with new items. This enhances character customization.

New clothing and decor: The pack adds new clothing, hair, and decor items. These expand customization options for players.

Apartment living challenges: Apartment living includes challenges such as loud neighbors, pests, and bad repairs like leaking pipes. These mechanics add realism and interactivity.

Wall and ceiling glitches: Players encounter a wall cutaway mode glitch and a ceiling glitch in wall up mode. These visual bugs break immersion and building functionality.

Data loss after DLC install: After installing the DLC, existing houses and Sims disappeared for some players. This irreversible loss is highly frustrating.

Loading screen freeze: Players frequently get stuck on the loading page, unable to progress. This constant hang severely disrupts gameplay.

Game crashes at film set: The game constantly exits or crashes during gameplay, particularly at the first film set. This makes a specific story segment unplayable.

Performance drops after pack: Some players reported performance issues specifically after installing the pack. This suggests the new content exacerbates existing problems.

Purchase only during sales: Many reviewers strongly advise waiting for discounts before buying this expansion, as full price is seen as too high. The pack is considered a good value mainly when discounted or bundled.

Top-tier Sims expansion: A significant number of players consider this expansion one of the best or essential packs for The Sims 4. It is frequently recommended over other DLCs, especially for those new to the game.

Ideal for city life: The pack is highly praised for its city atmosphere, festivals, and apartment living features. Players who enjoy urban gameplay find it particularly rewarding.

Not recommended overall: Some reviewers explicitly advise against purchasing this expansion, citing it as not worth the money even on sale. Their feedback is direct and negative.

Skip if not building: Players who focus on building houses may find this pack lacking, as it does not offer much for that playstyle. It is better suited for those interested in city gameplay and apartments.

Community fair range: $0.00 - $20.00.

Urban Apartment & Festival Enthusiast: Decorates apartments, attends festivals, and starts new families in the city. Motivation: Living in a vibrant city with apartments and festivals. Stance: buy.

Sale-Savvy Value Hunter: Waits for sales and buys DLC at a discount before playing. Motivation: Getting good Sims content without paying full price. Stance: sale.

Newcomer Seeking Accessible DLC: Explores the pack as a beginner, often starting fresh and learning through new content. Motivation: Finding a first Sims DLC that adds a lot without requiring prior franchise experience. Stance: buy.

Monetization: The reviews focus almost entirely on overpriced paid DLC/expansion packs, sale-dependent value, and general publisher frustration. There is no direct evidence of in-game microtransactions, real-money gacha, loot boxes, battle passes, currency obfuscation, or pay-to-win mechanics. The complaints are traditional DLC pricing complaints, which the audit rules cap at a maximum score of 20.

Expansion Pricing and Bundles: Many reviews mention that The Sims 4 expansion packs are sold separately, can be bought on sale or in bundles, and are often considered overpriced. Some reviewers note that buying in a bundle gives the cheapest price per pack.

Pack Comparisons Across Series: The pack is frequently compared to previous Sims titles such as Sims 3 and Sims 2, as well as other Sims 4 packs like Vampires, Werewolves, Get Famous, Seasons, and Life and Death. These comparisons highlight differences in content and focus.

Apartment Gameplay and Bugs: The pack introduces apartment living with limited renovation options and open areas in San Myshuno. However, there are reported bugs with building custom apartments and cutaway views showing other apartments.

High Praise from Reviewers: Some reviewers rank this pack at the top of their favorite Sims 4 packs, are personally satisfied, and consider it one of their top DLCs. One reviewer even praised themselves for deciding to buy it.

Pack Age and DLC Quantity: The pack is considered old, and the game has a large number of DLCs available for purchase. Some reviewers collected many packs from a LunarFest sale and tried each individually or in small groups.