It is the path of love in The Sims 4, following the announcement of the new Lovestruck expansion pack. At the premiere on The Sims 4 YouTube page, the pack has already received mixed reviews. The pack will be released on July 25 on all consoles, and there is a pre-order bonus, which will give you exclusive items if you buy the pack before September 5.
Dating Apps
The Sims community has long requested dating apps. Lovestruck adds just that with the Cupid’s Corner app. This allows players to set up a dating profile through the phone and meet other Sims who meet the criteria the player sets.
This app seems similar to Tinder, but there is no swiping. Instead, there’s a tab that players can click on to view their Sim’s matches. If a Sim strikes their interest, they can heart it.
With this new dating app, some new romantic events can be set up. Instead of asking a Sim out on a date, players can now plan dates in advance where they can pick a spot and choose their own goals for the date.
This seems similar to how My Wedding Stories works, where it completely replaces weddings. It’s customizable for what the player wants, and it seems like it’ll be good for players who enjoy storytelling.
New Social Interactions
This pack also adds new romantic social interactions. New woohoo spots and kisses will be introduced. Sims can perform new sultry dances, though they look really buggy from the video that the Sims team released.
Along with these social interactions, there are also some new social mechanics. Lovestruck will add turn-offs, turn-ons, and attraction levels. These can all be determined by how sims look and act, much like in real life. It adds a more complex romance system where players must work harder to have a successful romance.
To see how the player’s Sim feels in a romantic relationship, there will be a new bar in the social menu underneath the romance bar. Depending on your Sim’s likes or dislikes, this bar will go up and down.
New relationship dynamics, introduced in Growing Together, also determine how Sims feel about each other romantically.
| Dynamic | What it does |
| Wholesome | Sims that love each other and show it through romantic and friendly actions |
| Steamy | A Sim’s relationship is based on physical intimacy |
| Strained | Sims that are still romantically involved, but they are not kind to each other |
| Unpredictable | Sims that go back and forth between hating each other and loving each other |
There is also a new skill that Sims can develop when performing romantic actions: the romance skill. Raising the romance skill will unlock new interactions, connect with other Sims emotionally, and scan the room for potential partners.
Related: How to Become a Werewolf in The Sims 4
New Aspirations and Traits
Lovestruck also adds new aspirations to play with: the paragon partner and romantic explorer aspirations.
Two new traits accompany these aspirations. The romantically reserved trait will take longer and make it a little more challenging for Sims to build their romance bar. The love bug trait will cause Sims to crave romance and build romantic relationships faster.
There are also two new fears that Sims can unlock: fear of intimacy and fear of being alone.
A New World
The final thing this pack will add, besides some new clothes and build-mode items, is a new world. Ciudad Enamorada contains plenty of community lots to go on dates and residential spots to settle down and explore the city.
The neighborhoods include Vista Hermosa, Plaza Mariposa, and Nuevo Corazon. Vista Hermosa is the general neighborhood where many starting houses might be. Plaza Mariposa is a suburban neighborhood. Nuevo Corazon is an uptown neighborhood for households with money to burn or with the free real estate cheat on.
This pack seems to contain the usual community lots: parks, bars, and nightclubs. It doesn’t seem like there’s a new lot type, but there is a new lot trait. Singles Hangout is a trait that can be given to lots where single Sims are encouraged to drop by and mingle.
Based on the trailer, there seems to be a new Woohoo spot and a new death. The Woohoo spot appears like a sleeping bag that you can use outdoors. It’s unclear at this moment what the death exactly is, but in the trailer, a Sim died after seeing their partner cheat on them.
Final Thoughts
We’re still speculating on how the pack will actually perform, but all of the features seem exciting. Having more in-depth romances will be fun, and I’m excited to see how the new relationship dynamics will affect Sims’ ability to get along. It also seems like it’ll be a little more challenging to have a romance instead of meeting and marrying someone on the first day.
The date replacement makes me a little nervous after what happened with My Wedding Stories. The pack was released super broken and is still a little buggy today; however, if the Sims team learned from that, I’m excited to play with it.
The Guide Hall can’t wait to dive into the latest expansion pack for The Sims 4. We’ll have more from the ever-growing life-sim before long!