#GrowingTogether: What to Expect

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Growing Together: Sims 4's Newest Expansion Pack

Sims 4 players are rejoicing worldwide.  On February 2nd, the iconic life simulation game unleashed news of fresh content - an update that frees infants from their previously pixeled bassinet prisons and the highly-anticipated Growing Together expansion pack that imbues the game with deeper intergenerational family ties.  Through these updates, Sims 4 developers hope to fulfill some of the most desperate, longtime wishes of their passionate players.

After all, Simmers are fiercely particular about their pixel people families. Players spend hours crafting the perfect homes, molding the perfect Sims, and playing through simulated life cycle after simulated life cycle, from birth to death.  One of the most echoed and pointed complaints about Sims 4 was this: that the beginning of a Sim's life cycle was extremely limited. Babies were crying, pooping, sleepy objects entirely confined to their designated bassinets.  Although  caretakers were able to scoop their babies up to feed or soothe them, there were no baby bath times, play mats for tummy time, or even baby showers. The Infant Update and Growing Together expansion pack changes all of that - and then some. 

Infant Update

Coming to all players on March 14th is an enormous base game update.  This update will introduce Infant - a brand new life stage - to the game.  Naturally, players will be able to create and modify infants in Create-a-Sim, but that isn't all. Sim Parents can fully change diapers in a fresh interaction; they can also put their infant down for naps or bedtime.  Instead of simply crying and soiling virtual diapers, the new infants will be able to express their needs, emotions, and sentiments. Developers promise that new Sim Parents will experience infants as they are meant to be experienced: through an intense, sleepless fog. 

​But it is through the expansion pack Growing together that Sims 4 developers have truly "freed the infant."  The pack, which releases on March 16th, adds Infant Milestones to the game. These milestones grant babies new abilities that form their adorable personalities and follow them as they grow older. The pack also introduces Infant Playmats, Changing Stations, and baby carriers to the game. Older Sims will be able to transport their bundles of joy on their backs, put their babies down on their bellies for play time, pass their babies to other Sims, and throw  baby showers, a brand new in-game Event.

It doesn't end there! Growing Together offers 18 discoverable Infant Quirks that change an infant's behavior. Among these Quirks are: Self-soother, Early Riser, Messy Eater, Frequently Gassy, Good Appetite, Snuggly Sleeper, Happy Spitter, Free-Air Tinkler, and more.  

Infants promise to be irritatingly lovable as they toot, babble, giggle, and free-pee into toddlerhood. 

A Whole New World

On March 3rd, 2023, Simmers will learn more about Sims 4: Growing Together during a Twitch live Stream. Then, players will get a better picture of all that the freshest expansion pack has to offer.  However, between the new pack trailer, developer Tweets, and EA Blog Posts, Simmers have a good idea of what to expect. 

Naturally, Growing Together boasts a brand new world for Simmers to explore. 

San Sequoia, once a quaint fishing village, is a safe suburban town filled with craftsman homes and family-friendly hubs.  The town overlooks an expansive ocean bay with an iron bridge dominating the horizon.  San Sequoia  is filled to bursting with three distinct neighborhoods - Anchorpoint Wharf, Gilbert Gardens, and Hopewell Hills. Here, families can catch movies, go on power walks with grandma at Urban Park, or cool off on the new Splash Pads. 

If this were not enough, Lil Simsie announced that she designed many of the suburban homes in San Sequoia.  This all but ensures that Simmers will enjoy the effortlessly gorgeous stylings of the popular Sims streamer without having to wade through the saturated Gallery. ​

Create-a-Sim

Growing Together offers the best of suburban wear.  It appears filled with the easy tanks and simple knitwear suitable for versatile play. Infants get adorable fruit-themed outfits like apple-dappled onesies and strawberry-printed shirts. Players can expect a slew of cute costumes, carriers, and backpacks for young Sims.

However, the Create-a-Sim star of the incoming pack is skin details.  Developers have added birth marks, vitiligo, moles, and other skin markings to make each Sim more unique than ever before.

Build-Buy

While developers have not yet released an official asset list for Growing Together, the trailer unveiled the kinds of cozy furniture bits and bobs one might expect from a suburban paradise. 

Growing Together features: 

• New bookcases
• triangular windows
• sleeping bags
• play mats
• changing tables
• functional treehouses
• new rocking chairs
• puzzle tables 
• new bunkbeds
• New curtains
• New sofas
• Infant toys
• New desks

And much more! Sneak a peek at the official trailer screenshots below. 

The treehouses appear to be structures that Sims can build together in-game.  They feature fun tube slides, fireman poles, fairy lights, and slots where the players can arrange the toys and items their Sims most desire. 

Gameplay

Make no mistake: Growing Together is brimming with new, meaningful gameplay.  In fact, familial relationships seem overhauled in a big way.  Not only did developers add new experiences and interactions to the game, but they have also inserted new features that affect Sim personalities and relationships at all age levels. 

Families enjoy several new group activities to experience together. At Urban Park, Sims can partake in Snowy Escape-like actions such as: walking as a group, learning to ride a bike, jogging, and hiking on nature trails.  They can take in the sights and even go fishing alongside their grandparents after watching a movie at the newly refurbished cinema. After a long day of eating good food at the restaurants along the pier, families can wind down with children's stories at the library or cool off in the new Urban Park Splash Pads. 

Sim families will soak in all of these life-experiences while navigating the Teachable Moments that form personalities and shift family dynamics. Will the exhausted new mother allow her in-laws to finally move in? Will the jokester big brother clash with his more studious younger sister? Is dad more on edge than usual or is he going through a classic Midlife Crisis? In Growing Together, these life Milestones work together alongside Social Chemistry to create unique Sim experiences. Not all Sims will enjoy the company of any given counterpart, and not all families will successfully navigate the many milestones of their members. Failure and triumph during these crucial growing pains will form the foundation of a Sim's personality traits. Even Infants get their own milestones!

Toddler Updates

Developers did not forget about toddlers for this update.  In fact, like Infants, Toddlers get 18 Toddler Quirks that change their behavior and shift over time.  Some examples include: Aggressive, Picky Eater, Early Riser, Little Singer, Good Appetite, Loves Water, Hates Bedtime, Loves being Carried, and more. If this were not enough, Toddlers can interact with Infants in a variety of heart-warming interations. 

Child Updates

Growing Together also offers an update to the child life stage. For the first time since the launch of base game, children enjoy four new aspirations:

• Slumber Party Animal
• Mind and Body
• Playtime Captain
• Creative Genius. 

Sim kids will have a blast building treehouses alongside their families, aggravating their parents with pranks and pillow fights, crafting intricate friendship bracelets, and engaging in cozy slumber parties complete with cute sleeping bags.

Notably, kids can learn how to ride a bike under their caretaker's watch, but make sure those helmets are secure because children can also lose teeth.  However, not even the Tooth Fairy can keep a Child's Confidence as high as a parent's expert guidance can; children will need to form secure attachments to thrive later in their adult years. 

Check out these new child-toddler interactions! Squee!

Elder Updates

Growing Together allows beloved Sim adults to age gracefully into Sim Elders.  Grandma can now Power Walk at Urban Park, complete puzzles, play Scramble at the new Activity Table, serve as caretaker of the family Keepsake Box, give Life Lessons, Reminisce on Good Times, and even have a favorite grandchild. 

Elders take a more specialized ​role in families. They can take care of children while their exhausted parents catch some shut eye and keep their minds sharp at the Recreation Center. 

Sims 4 developers appear to have delivered the massive, generations update for which players have longed. After all, for many, the Sims family experience is the bedrock upon which the franchise thrives.  Through Growing Together, the Sims 4 hopes to render that foundation rock solid.

What are you most excited about? Talk to us on Twitter @SimmersDigest or on Facebook and Discord as The Sims Nation. 

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