The Simshas been the de facto life-sim game since the first game launched all the way back in 2000. It has dominated the genre, being the only game of its kind, at least within the triple-A space, and thus enjoying an enduring and unchallenged legacy. However, numerous pitfalls, mistakes, and poor decision-making have led to the general sentiment aroundThe Simsto wane, especially with the release and continued support ofThe Sims 4.
Still, that hasn’t stoppedThe Simsfrom being some of thebest life-sim gamesever made, if not the best. Well, that is, of course, until recently. A new challenger has entered the fray and threatens to dethroneThe Simsand finally take its place. Regardless of whether it is successful,it is beginning to feel like we’re entering the end ofThe Simsera, and entering a new age of life sim games that ape and perhaps even perfect the formula it established 25 years ago.
InZOI Is Coming To Console
It Is Launching In 2026
I want to make it clear that I’m a big fan ofThe Simsand have been since the early 2000s. Like many of my generation, I became obsessed with it throughThe Sims 2, trapping my precious Sims in rooms without doors before setting them and everything within ablaze using the HottCorp Burning 8-R Series Fire Jet. It was a lot of fun that became a lot more civil with the release ofThe Sims 3and its endless expansions. It was, at least as far as I was concerned, thegolden age ofThe Sims.
However, withThe Sims 4and EA’s capacity to make a DLC pack out of every little feature, practically making the base experience useless without them, I drifted away. That’s why I was constantly searching forgames likeThe Simsthat scratched that same itch. Unfortunately,there haven’t really been any that manage to replicate the same experience asThe Sims, at least to the extent that I was looking for. That was, of course, untilinZOIlaunched into Early Access.
InZOIhas been described asThe Simskiller for quite a while, and I fully bought into that. Not only did itspromises of free DLCentice me, butit also felt like the meaningful upgradeThe Simshas needed for quite some time. However, it wasn’t until its developer, inZOI Studio, announced that it would be coming to consoles that everything changed. That was the one place where there truly were no games likeThe Sims.
Indie games likeThe Sims- such asTiny Life- have managed to somewhat fill that space on PC, but consoles never really had a counterpart. If you play exclusively on PlayStation or Xbox, then you are saddled with strange ports of olderSimsgames or a less-good version ofThe Sims 4. That’s all changing now withinZOIreleasing on PlayStation - and potentially Xbox -an act that finally, at least in my opinion, marks the end ofThe Sims’dominance over the life sim genre.
InZOI Is Taking The Sims' Throne
It Is Beating It In Almost Every Way
Whether or not you loveinZOI,it is hard not to feel like it is doing everything right when it comes to bestingThe Simsat its own game. Its free DLC is just the start, as the game features numerous gameplay features that fans ofThe Simshave wanted to see either implemented or, in some cases, return. A seamless open-world city is a key part ofinZOI, as it was inThe Sims 3, but is entirely absent fromThe Sims 4. You can also directly control your character ininZOI, unlike inThe Sims.
InZOIalso just features a lot of content thatThe Sims 4, especially, locks behind paid DLC. It’s hard not to root forinZOIin some respect, even if it has someunderbaked features that need improvingand aspects that have proven to be controversial. I don’t necessarily loveinZOIsignificantly more thanThe Sims, butthe fact that it is adding something new and different and approaching it all with a fairer monetization method means that it’s a better option for manywhen it comes to a life sim experience.
The Simsneeds competition. It is clear that without it, the experience remains stagnant, as EA has committed to not releasingThe Sims 5. That reticence to expand beyond the 11-year-old game has meant thatTheSims 4is not player-friendly, at least not in the way it used to. The sheer number of DLCs both cost a fortune to buy and require a far more powerful PC than most cozy gamers will likely want to have.Competition, whether frominZOIor otherwise, will hopefully push EA to do something differentwithThe Sims.
The Sims Needs To Do Something Different To Stay On Top
It Needs To Ditch The Sims 4
It seems abundantly clear to me that, in order to stay on top,The Simsneeds to do something different, asinZOIis doing now, or else it truly will be over for the life sim giant. It has rested on its laurels for far too long and allowed theworstSimstrendsto fester, resulting in a worse experience for fans. Rather than continue to supportThe Sims 4under the belief that players don’t want to move on from their current in-game families, houses, and more, EA should look to the next project.
However, it can’t just be the technical and graphical innovation thatinZOIis. Instead, it needs to do more, something unique that no other game in this space is doing, much like what the originalThe Simsgame offered in 2000. In doing so,The Simscould reclaim its throne and once again make itself the very best life sim game on the market. If it takes too long, theninZOIwill eventually move out of its Early Access phase and begin implementing even more innovative features thatThe Simsis lacking.
The Simsdeserves to have an enduring legacy as it has provided so many hours of fun to fans like me. However, it cannot remain the stale, DLC-stuffed experience it is today.InZOIis the existential threat that The Sims needs to improve itself and move beyond its current limitations. I sincerely hope this healthy competition will be the end of the current era ofThe Simsand usher in a new era of excellence.
