LGR - The Sims 4 Cats & Dogs Review

After three years of waiting .

It's finally here .

The Sims four not pets pack A K A cats and dogs .

The fourth expansion pack for the Sims four arriving at a suggested price of $40 .

And this time around , I was not provided a review code by E A .

So it's back to me buying the pack myself , not going to stop me .

So let's get right to it as the pack title suggests , cats and dogs isn't as broad of an expansion theme as older similar packs like the Sims three pets .

While that one included cats , dogs , horses , birds , rodents , reptiles , turtles , deer , raccoons , and unsettling ice cream trucks , cats and dogs features cats and dogs .

Oh , and raccoons once again as well as foxes , each of which are respectively classified as a cat and a dog for some reason .

Anyway , the whole idea of the pack is that your Sims can now own and care for various fuzzy critters of which there are over 170 premade breeds to choose from .

Not only that , but you can make a completely custom breed or a cross breed existing ones making for some truly inspiring combinations say hello to the hottest new designer dog .

The Greyhound pug scientists were so preoccupied with whether they could .

They didn't stop to think that they should .

And yes , since in this case , raccoons are cats and foxes are dogs , they can be crossbred with rather odd results .

Foxes and dogs , I can somewhat believe since there have been candid hybrids reported .

But domestic cats and raccoons biology eea definitely knows it and don't even bother bringing up the Maine Coon cat .

Despite the suggestive name , it did not descend from raccoons .

Besides I'm joking here anyway , because I think this kind of open ended absurdity is what makes the Sims games great cats and dogs provides the highest degree of customization we've seen in the game thus far well beyond what can be accomplished with Humanoid Sims , for example , the color wheel and pattern tools have returned from the Sims three .

Although unfortunately , it's only for pets right now , whether or not that will ever change , I can't be certain .

But what I do know is that I was seriously cracking up while creating dogs and cats that looked like they were painted by a group of dangerously caffeinated preschoolers .

And it's true .

I've always wanted a taco cat covered in spray painted goldfish with its head stuck in a grilled cheese sandwich .

I guess you could call him in bread .

And of course , there are a number of traits and voices to further personalize each animal like you'd expect with any other sim , you can also choose whether or not they've been spayed or neutered .

So if you want to role play as Bob Barker from the word go , then that's your prerogative .

And finally , there are a good number of new hairstyles , accessories , shoes , outfits and clothing options for your existing SIMS , both young and old , including a healthy dosage of crazy cat person attire and uh this , this right here .

Oh my .

All right .

So now that you have your furry friends , where are you gonna play with them ?

Why not try out the new map location , a seaside town with four neighborhoods known as Brindle Bay .

It's a pretty attractive looking cozy little place in my opinion .

Although its inclusion of more autumnal trees makes me yearn for a season's pack even more .

Uh Yeah , I guess I'll wait another year for that if I have to .

And until then there are places like this where I can pretend fall has arrived and to populate these new lots , there are over 300 new objects available for your SIMS to buy and build mode .

Many of which are expectedly pet themed with paw prints and dog bones , but most notably , among them are no fewer than eight new chairs .

I'm sure there are other objects of note , but as a wise man once said , when you've got chairs , who cares ?

Ok .

Actually , one new thing I'm happy to have here are robot vacuums , not only do pets introduce more messes to clean up than ever , but they provide extra curricular activities for your strange felines to casually enjoy .

In addition to the expected litany of broad use furniture , lights , signs and other clutter objects .

There are plenty of pet necessities on offer piles of toys , beds , feeders , litter boxes and treats of all kinds have been added to the game to make it feasible to fully care for your pet and give them a pleasant home .

Speaking of which , how do you get them home in the first place ?

Well , other than just rolling your own critter and create a SIM , your other option is to adopt a pet on the SIM internet or Waltz on out into the world and befriend a stray sims with cat and dog loving traits will find it especially hard to say no to strays and in all likelihood .

So will you with how instantly cute and playful every animal can be ?

Just keep in mind that a pet takes up a Sim slot in your home .

So , if your household is already full , then , well , I'm sure you'll come up with ways to free up some space once that's sorted .

Great .

Whether you adopt through a service or through the wild .

Getting a pet is a surefire way to keep things interesting .

For example , each pet has a number of traits and those traits affect what they'll be able to do things like affectionate , clever , lazy , aggressive and hairy are more passive self-explanatory traits that determine their overall personality , more active traits .

Like Hunter or Prowler will give pets a separate set of actions they can perform either on their own or if your SIM asks them to do so .

If they decide to obey that is your pets are such appealing little fluff balls that even when they're being stubborn , uncooperative punks , it's hard to be critical of them , but let's do it anyway .

Pets in this pack cannot be controlled directly at all .

You can click their icon at the bottom of the screen , but all it'll do is center the camera on them and you know what I like it this way .

Not only is it a more realistic approach than being able to control them directly , but it provides a little more of a challenge in taking care of them .

And as someone who's been yearning for a bit more challenge and unpredictability in the Sims four , I welcome the change .

What I don't quite agree with is the fact that there is no way to quickly and precisely check the current status of your pet .

There is a total lack of a dedicated user interface for pets , meaning that things like hunger level tiredness or bladder status are a mystery on a moment to moment basis which , ok , that's fine if you're going for realism , I don't know the precise status of my cat's bladder in real life either .

And frankly , I don't want to .

Like I said , I appreciate some extra challenge here and there .

And I don't mind having to pay extra attention to my pet to find out what their bodily needs are .

But the part that really bothers me about this is that you also can't even do something so simple as look up how old your pet is .

Assuming that the interface in the SIMS four is a representation of what your current is aware of at any given moment .

This infers that my Sims don't care enough about their own pets to remember their birthday or what kind of personality they have .

Even the Sims two had this as a standard feature along with plenty of other useful information that I'd expect a pet owner to keep up with like what skills they have or who they've met .

But nope , in the Sims four cats and dogs , you're left with a lot of guesswork for everything from learned skills to their current freaking age .

Another reason I wish there was an information interface of some kind is due to the addition of quirks which go beyond the traits that you can see and create a Sim quirks are charming little behavioral habits that range from being afraid of computers to being enamored watching TV .

Sometimes you'll have a dog that's just obsessed with the pool .

They swim in the pool , they dream of the pool , they are at one with the pool .

Other times you'll have a cat that flips his lid every time someone opens the oven , which is entirely believable as a lifelong cat owner .

While it's nice to be reminded of these quirks as they happen .

I'd really like some way to look at them list of some sort .

But again , nope , not an option .

Another thing that would be useful would be to be able to check your pet's training level and habits , both of which can be addressed by Sims with or without the new pet training skill , whether by specific training , exercises on the spot , scolding or positive reinforcement , pets can be taught to do things like roll , stop scratching furniture and stay out of fights .

You can also put your pets to the test by creating obstacle courses , pitting them against each other for a fast time and tasty treats .

Speaking of tasty , I also like that .

Sims skilled in cooking can opt out of store bought kibbles and bits and whip up their own special meals from squishy bone casseroles to fishy carcass treats .

You'll need all the pet fuel you can get too because cats and dogs can go into heat and start feverishly looking for a mate at a moment's notice when they find one , either by chance or by you guiding their gonads .

A quick nose rub in some floating hearts can lead to a pregnancy .

I remember kids always wear a muzzle before long you'll have fresh new mouths to feed and the whole adorable process starts all over again .

And finally , there is the veterinarian , a new career in the cats and dogs pack .

That isn't actually a career at all .

What I mean by that is that it's not a job , you earn a salary for like a doctor or a cop .

But instead it's more like owning a restaurant business in the dine out pack .

So if you have enough money to buy your own vet's office , then pesto , you're an instant vet no experience needed .

Just open up the doors and let the sick animals waltz on in to get treated by your complete inadequacy .

Granted , the more you heal pets , the more experience you'll earn in the veterinary skill .

But it still seems bit silly to me .

But whatever it's the Sims four things are dumb and dumb can be fun .

And man , can this be dumb fun ?

For example , a cat comes in with a runny nose time for surgery .

Yep .

Nothing stopping you from Neutering the entire world against their will or for some real chaos , un Neutering the entire world .

So go for it if you feel inclined or hey , maybe you actually want to play how it wants you to .

And in that case , it's pretty similar to the doctor career from get to work pets come in with an unknown ailment .

So you inspect their symptoms and come up with a diagnosis that it hands to you on a silver platter without much effort .

At all .

Sometimes you'll need to take a pet into the surgery chamber or mix up a special serum .

But yeah , since pets can't die from this stuff , it never feels like it holds much weight .

And that is the SIMS four cats and dogs expansion pack , or at least the stuff that I find most noteworthy and interesting contained within .

So the question remains , is it completely worth the $40 asking price ?

I mean , this scheme has been out for three years now , is the addition of pets enough to keep it fresh ?

I don't know .

I mean , it's a fun pack and I enjoyed it well enough , but that price tag is steep for the actual new content on offer .

A lot of it only slightly rehashes what we've already seen or falls short of providing what we've seen in previous pet packs .

And then the legit improvements are sometimes held back by things like the lack of player feedback for pet statuses .

On the other hand , I'm entirely aware that for many simmers having animals in the game at all will be enough for you to hand over your money .

If having cats and dogs that you can pimp out for Instagram followers is your thing .

Then this is the pack for you .

It provides plenty of enjoyable game play cute moments and Happy Sims .

And personally , it's tough to explain the ability to bring back a lost childhood pet in some way .

Somewhat recently .

I lost my cat of 17 years .

And well , just seeing her again in virtual form is enough to make me uncontrollably wistful .

The Sims games have always had a special way of bringing about wish fulfillment , making them really something special , unique and awesome in that respect .

And the cats and dogs pack makes that clearer than ever to me .

But in an objective sense , I still think the initial asking price should be flashed in half for what you actually get .

The more I played it , the more it felt like a bite sized game pack than a fully flattered expansion .

And that largely has to do with my expectations coming from having played the more sizable pets packs of the past .

But even more than that , I miss having an easy way to look at simple information like when my pet will age up .

If this was a $20 game pack , I'd recommend it completely , no doubt about it .

But as a $40 expansion , I think your mileage may vary depending on your expectations .

And yet , I also truly understand if those expectations don't go beyond wanting to have some fun with an animal friend one more time , even if it's just virtually .

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And as always , thank you very much for petting L G R actually , maybe don't do that .

That's a little weird .