Must-Have Mods for The Sims 4: Part 1
There is absolutely no fucking way I could ever play The Sims 4 without mods and custom content (CC) again in my life!
As someone who has been playing this game since it was just The Sims, I always wanted to try mods but I never had PC to do so. The majority of my years playing The Sims 4 was spent on my Macbook. When I was in middle and high school, I would play on whatever laptop I had at the time. But when I hit college, I was all about Apple products. As a broke college student, funding my own passions at that point, I would find my ways to play The Sims 2 and 3 with “free” methods of having different game packs after paying for the base game.
After college, and multiple grad school experiences, I moved onto playing The Sims 4 on my PS4 because that’s where I play the majority of my video games anyhow. For a good 3 to 4 years I played on PS4, with the vanilla experience of no mods but buying up packs and kits when they were on sale — I refused to spend too much on The Sims 4 on my PS4.
Now that I play on my Mac mini M2, and the base game for The Sims 4 is free, I am more inclined to buy up all the game packs (minus the Star Wars one), kits, and stuff packs. It also means I can mod the fuck up like crazy and overload with cc that makes my game more realistic, stylish, and to my taste level.
Here are the primary mods that I love and will continue to play with as long as the brilliant modders continue updating and revising them:
1. Wicked Whims Mod by TurboDriver
Wicked Whims is my favorite mod of all times! As an adult, I love adding in realistic elements to my gameplay with The Sims 4. This mod isn’t for kids or anyone under the age of 18. Must be an adult to use in my opinion.
Wicked Whims allows you to add in sexual interactions and themes for your Sims, which EA would never everrrr do because the came is rated E for everyone. Don’t worry, TurboDriver and the other creators who worked with them on Wicked Whims have a conscious and none of what they directly produce is abusive towards underaged Sims. While playing with Wicked Whims, I am able to have complex cheating dynamics, very interesting and passionate sexual intimacy between my Sims, and nuances that play into sexual activity as an adult — such as a menstrual cycle, tampons and pads, birth control, STDs, pregnancy, and getting an abortion.
Two lovers in my gameplay, happily using a full wall mirror for their intimacy — all thanks to Wicked Whims.
It took me awhile to make my way through the sex animations that are required to make Wicked Whims as a effective as a mod. I picked animations from creators like MotherlodeSims, Fruitydelicious, and E404 from the Lovers Lab. If you don’t want to go through every animator available on that site, you can choose to go with the recommended animations for Wicked Whims from TurboDriver. I cannot deny I was 😯 gobsmacked when I saw the animations actually happen with my Sims during gameplay. It gets 😈 WILD 😈 depending on which animations you prefer and use often enough to mark as favorites during gameplay.
Of course, this Wicked Whims mod comes with plenty of settings that you can leave in their default state or modify to your preference. For instance, I turned off peeping toms, keep certain clothing items on while whimsing, monogamous only acceptance of sexual advances, and many other settings. You can even get down to the details of size of eggplants and whether STDs are more prevalent for all Sims, even your Townies a.k.a. non-player characters (NPCs).
Don’t worry it’s not all about risky behavior! You can use condoms and birth control pills for your whims with the Wicked Whims mod — they even throw in lube for pleasure or full body use, and kits of pads and tampons for menstrual cycles. Regular degular Woohoo provided in the programming from EA works for many simmers, so don’t feel like you have to install Wicked Whims. For those fluid and sex positive simmers, come on in — the water is hot 😈!
2. MC Command Center Mod by Deaderpool
Every Simmer should install this mod, whether you play with other expansive, realistic mods or not. MC Command Center (MCCC) is essential for managing so much throughout the entire game, whether you’re actively playing one of your households or not. You can consider it the CPU for your gameplay, because it’s that powerful. The more you explore it's functions and features, the better your gameplay and world will be.
I love MC Command Center because it allows me to manage pregnancies of my Sims and also Townies. I also love summoning Townies who might be dating my Sims, or family members of my household who have moved out, to my house without using the invite over function programmed by EA. You can also quickly change your Sim’s clothes without need to “change outfit” via the regular pie menu functions — even for Townies!
Spotted, a Sim who could have their clothing and accessories modified with a click using MC Command Center.
Love to use Create-A-Sim (CAS) to style your Sims? You can copy outfit details like jewellry, makeup, tattoos, and more across all wear — everyday, formal, sleep, party, swim, hot weather, and cold weather — using MC Command function called MC Dresser > Copy/Paste. Hell, you can even purge your elder Sims if you want to open up more space in your worlds by using function called MC Cleaner. Want to change the fashions of a Townie randomly making de-stressing concoctions on your grill? Jump into Modify Household in CAS and/or MC CAS. Want to set cheats that you always love using or without having to type them in? Jump into MC Cheats.
There is pretty much no limit to the central control MC Command Center provides you as a simmer — whether you play without mods or cc, or can’t live without them. My personal favorite thing to do with MC Command Center, among others, is to change the pregnancy phase to in labor for Townies who annoy me or are enemies of my Sims 😊.
3. Extreme Violence Mod by Sacrificial Mods
I actually didn’t install the Extreme Violence mod until about late April 2023. It’s a great mod, but I already had Life Tragedies Mod from Sacrifical Mods and it was doing enough for me with my storylines. However, if you have ever watched simmers who play with mods where their Sims fight each other or Townies, that it is most definitely this mod from Sacrificial Mods. You can do everything from unaliving, to non-deadlly fight actions, or non-violent actions!
I love Extreme Violence for a mixture of all of the available functions. I have Sims that are psycho murderers. I have Sims that love to beat up their Townie enemies. I also have Sims that are drug dealers who have to rob a client every now and again. All of this is possible because of this mod! It also really adds to the Life Tragedies mod, which is less violent but still death and dying is possible depending on the particular tragedy. What’s even better about Sacrificial Mods is as long as you enable that given mod’s functions in your save file, you can go about your gameplay without anticipating when something violent or criminal will happen, so it’s like a pleasant surprise of WTF?!
TW: Landon unalives a robber who broke into the Gates family household, during a birthday party for a family member!
This means your Townies will autonomously commit violent or non-violent actions towards other Townies or even your Sims. It’s hilarious and sometimes even better context for my storylines because it can happen without you expecting it. For instance, I have been minding my Sim’s business at home when the movie character, Jason, shows up near my house and starts unaliving random Sims. Or, when an enemy of my Sim snaps and decides to attack them whenever they see them. It’s the best mod for realistic violence and criminal behavior.
Some simmers don’t like to play with too much realism, so this mod would not be for you if you’re that type of simmer. For everyone else who loves a good mod, you will want to have Extreme Violence mod in your game — control how violent it can get by household, by sim, or by save file!
4. Better Exceptions Mod by TwistedMexi
At first I didn’t see a need for the Better Exceptions mod because I was new to using mods overall. But I was so fucking wrong to think that! This mod is extremely helpful for those who play with more than 3 mods and plenty of custom content (CC) for clothes, shoes, jewellry, hair, and others set when using Create-A-Sim (CAS). Why? Because Better Exceptions tells your ass what is fucking broken in your gameplay! And if you’re a simmer who plays with mods, you know they often need updating or break.
This is especially fucking awesome when EA decides to release a new patch, hot fix, or any other programming changes that update The Sims 4. When this happens, most mod creators are really quick at updating their mods to work with the latest patch update file for everyone’s game. Sometimes they might not need to do any updates to their mods because they remain compatible. Better Exceptions can give you the full low down on which one of your mods is creating an issue with your gameplay. Make sure you read the exceptions output that will happen when this mod runs during your gameplay to find the problem(s)! Otherwise, you risk fucking up your game and even save files.
For the most part, my notifications from Better Exceptions detail issues with mods that are more complex that I have installed, like the Real Estate mod from Sim Realist; or, when I have duplicate mods and/or CC in my game that I updated but didn’t remove the old version or I added in two folders within my Mods folder when I was organizing my files. The report always generates a viewable HTML page that tells you which mod caused the problem with 10 - 100% gauge or tuning issue occurred. You will also find when you scroll down any duplicate mods, more details on the tuning issues, and many other helpful highlights of issues with your game related to what you have added that isn’t official EA content.
Since adding Better Exceptions from TwistedMexi to my gameplay, I have become a better organized simmer too. It helps me find the issue mod or CC when my Mods folder is organized by creator name subfolders for things that can live in subfolders — some mods cannot be in subfolders and can only live in the parent Mod folder. I advise you to organize your Mods folder first before you install Better Exceptions to make life easier on yourself when you do get a notification from this mod during your actual gameplay.
This is another CPU type mod to me because it only helps you be informed so you can take action with your mods and CC; similar to MC Command Center without all of the control settings that make your entire game more interesting and manageable.
5. Child Birth Mod by PandaSama
This mod is the most amazing of them all. Child Birth Mod allows you to have realistic child birth experiences with your pregnant Sims. Everything from morning sickness, developing severe complications with your Sim’s pregnancy, to having ultrasounds to find out the baby’s gender and how many babies, and different delivery options — home birth with a midwife, c-section, at the hospital with OB/GYN, etc.
As a simmer who doesn’t enjoy playing with the baby to pre-teen Sims, this has really made me more excited to have my Sims become parents. With the Child Birth mod, The Growing Together pack is even better because you labored to get your infant Sim(s) born into the world. PandaSama is always adding more updates to this mod as well. There is now lactation CC for pumping breast milk, having issues with mastitis, and storing breast milk in bottles for use or sell.
Jacqueline Hancock giving birth to a new baby, while her OB/GYN guides her through the delivery — watch a live birth from simmerthingz on Twitch
I love taking a pregnancy test in the game now because there is a very distinct action your Sim will make on the toilet as they pee on the stick! I especially love that you can cuddle in bed with your pregnancy Sim, do breathing exercise and use a yoga ball, and share pregnancy news with your partner or the other parent. What’s even better is Child Birth mod works so well with other mods in this list. Wicked Whims works with ease and it adds more context for your oopsie sessions where a condom or birth control wasn’t used.
This mod also works perfectly for the Relationship & Pregnancy Overhaul Mod by Lumpinou. There hasn’t been one instance in my gameplay where having this mod installed hasn’t enhanced my storylines, or overall enjoyment of The Sims 4. If you are squeamish or want to avoid reality all together, you shouldn’t install the Child Birth mod — your babies won’t just appear out of nowhere as they do with EA’s programming for Sims in labor.
6. Relationship & Pregnancy Overhaul Mod by Lumpinou
There is absolutely no way I would ever play The Sims 4 without this mod from Lumpinou. The Relationship & Pregnancy Overhaul (RPO) mod is the BEST mod ever. Argue with your mom about it! For a storyteller like myself, I need all the context and nuance I can get to make sure my unique households have the ups and downs that come with relationships and pregnancy. It doesn’t get more realistic and varied than RPO in my opinion.
If you don’t want the entire Relationship & Pregnancy Overhaul mod, you can take the parts you like as Lumpinou made key aspects of this mod downloadable separately.
Orson Hoskins hosting his weekly cookout for cokeheads
My favorite components of this mod are the Cheating (Infidelity) Expansion & Overhaul — provides the best scandals and behaviors by those cheated on and the cheater themselves; Dating App: Meet&Mingle! — makes dating Townies and other Sims much more fun and relatable to IRL because everyone is after something different, plus you can go on blind dates; Paternity Testing & Drama — for those who have multiple Sim partners this can be very messy, and for the sweethearts it can be the cutest thing ever; and lastly, Custody & Permanent Separations — are a must for my gameplay because I can send unwanted kids to their other parent, whether because of a divorce, separation, or baby momma/daddy situation, plus child support comes in handy with my SNB Bills mod by SimRealist.
There are over 15 mods that make up the Relationship & Pregnancy Overhaul mod, so pick your favorites or just install the entire catalog! Adoptions, pregnancy loss, chemistry, family dynamics, you name it it’s in this robust mod. It makes me wonder why EA can’t get as creative as these clearly talented mod creators do, because they seem to eventually release updates that pair well with mods that are already widely used by simmers who play with modded games.
Lumpinou’s mods don’t stop with this massive Relationship & Pregnancy Overhaul mod too. You can find mods from them that are LGBTQIA+ context, expanded in-game Milestones (came with the Growing Together release and infants update), religion, and unconventional relationship dynamics like open relationships.
7. More Columns in CAS Mod by weerbesu
Last but certainly not least is a mod that makes Create-A-Sim (CAS) more bearable. More Columns in CAS is such a lifesaver for those of us who love to spend hours styling and creating sims, it can be hella annoying to only have two columns to work with when combing through your clothing, jewelry, hair, makeup, and more options.
With More Columns in CAS, you get to decide how many columns are visible when you’re creating and styling your Sims. I prefer to have 4 columns myself, but you can go up to 5 columns with this mod created by weerbesu. Though I have seen other simmers who have 6 columns, likely from a mod made by another creator. With 4 columns, I can comfortably shuffle through styling for everyday, formal, sleep, party, summer weather, and cold weather with my Sims. As a simmer who unabashedly has a shit ton of CC because I’m always CC shopping, it’s so much fun being able to see all of my wears and things in full view.
Now, what More Columns in CAS mod doesn’t do is sort and filter your CC by creator or category and style for you. You’ll still need to rely on the in-game filtering UI and functions while in CAS, and most creators do their best to include their name mark or logo on their CC image that will show up when you’re looking through clothing, shoes, etc. while in CAS too. I do wish More Columns in CAS did have a filtering function baked in, but it’s not up the mod creators to make CC easier to find when that’s something CC creators should account for when designing the CC they make available.
Don’t worry about 3, 4, or 5 columns taking up the entire screen while you’re in CAS either. I have had plenty of space to see my Sim, jump across categories and not have any crashing occur. What complements More Columns in CAS mod for me is having CAS Close Up Stand Still mod from helgatisha and any of of the thousands of CAS background options out there from so many creators.
You can definitely expect to spend even more hours in CAS with a cleaner UI and all of your favorite CC at more widely displayed for endless scrolling. For simmers who stick with the 2 columns in CAS that are programmed by EA, I truly don’t understand how your eyes handle that!
