Which Is The Best Sims Game? (Every Title Ranked)

All I know is that The Sims 4 could never.

Sims 2 is a masterpiece. It’s more than just a game, it’s a way of life.

I was already an adult with Sims came out. Shitty job, shitty apartment, shitty marriage. Then here came this little game where I could make a little me, wear anything I want, build the house of my dreams, get a fantasy job, talk to anyone I wanted to. It was amazing. I did my share of drowning sims that looked a bit like people I knew, but for the most part, I made the happy life I couldn't have at the time. Original Sims will always have a place in my heart for giving that to me.

“It lacks the sims” I fully agree. I’ve been playing since 2008 with ts2 and played ts3 religiously for its entire lifespan, and they both have such distinct fun vibes that ts4 just lacks completely.

I was playing sims 2 recently and I told my sim to do something and he refused because he didn't feel like it 🤣 he started yelling at me and it's so creepy and hilarious how they look at you kinda like Sonic would when you take to long. 😂 Sims 2 felt alive. You could play and have some control but not all control which made it fun. Expecting the unexpected.

Sims 2 is peak Sims for me. I love Sims 3's open world, but nothing can compare to the level of detail and personality found in Sims 2. Also it has the best version of university with being able to actually rush sororities and fraternities.

I've been playing since the first one. Personally Sims 3 is hands down my favorite. I literally never get bored. Even if I only had the base game I'd never get bored, but with all the expansions and mods I have, it brings me so much joy and entertainment. I feel like I can play any kind of character, story, and never run out of possibilities. And luckily it runs fine on my computer with smooth patch and the NRAAS suite keeping things in order. And with an extensive library of custom content, I actually prefer the look of Sims 3 to the other games. I get that Sims 4 is technically prettier, but I don't like the more cartoony look, and even with custom content and reshade it still has a stylized cartoony look to me that I can understand the appeal of but I don't like it. Replacing textures and building up a library of cas and buy stuff, hair, etc I like Sims 3 style best, I like the way alpha cc blends in with the world and object styles. Except the toddlers and children, they're ugly in Sims 3 no matter what I do haha. Sims 2 is definitely my second favorite, I play it somewhat regularly and I love it and the characters, lore, everything. I have a giant interconnected uber-mega-hood that I play rotationally and keep track of every character in a giant spreadsheet lol. And the nostalgia hits extremely hard. I guess 1 is 3rd? I don't play it very often though. When I do, I enjoy it for a few hours, but I don't connect to it the way I do with 2 and 3, it's mostly nostalgia. It brings me more joy than 4 does though, I guess, even just based on nostalgia lol. I play 4 occasionally but I usually get bored pretty quickly. Occasionally I'll get into it and play a few hours. I keep trying to get into it, I get excited when a new pack comes out and give it a try, but I just end up bored. It makes me feel disappointed because I want it to be better and I'm sad the Sims series made this turn, I'm really reallyyyy hoping things improve with 5/René. I agree that Castaway is one of the best though. I love both the PC version and the PS2 version, I also love Urbz. I hope they make another of the offshoot, themed games again some day. I think Medieval didn't do great and they kind of stopped. I like Medieval though lol. I guess they're kind of doing it with the packs like Strangerville, I don't hate the scenarios and storied packs like Strangerville, I would enjoy them more if I enjoyed the game itself though lol. I love playing the scenario kind of things like finishing all the tombs in World Adv and doing stuff in the Future in Sims 3 a lot more because I enjoy the game as a whole and feel connected to the game and my sims, vs Strangerville where I kind of feel like I'm just pressing buttons and checking off boxes, even though that's really what the scenarios/guided play in Sims 3 and such were as well lol.

the sims 2 was the best in my opinion and i will always miss how great that game was

It’s hard to pick a favorite but mine would either be 1 or 3. I never played 2 until last year and I should play more but I just haven’t. I feel like 1 had the most personality, like you said if you left your sims alone for a second, it would just turn to pure chaos. I miss when they had astrological signs and could lose skill points and had all the iconic tacky furniture, it was fun because it was silly. I don’t ever see that happening again for the sims, and that’s sad.

Saaatch, give us longer videos! I’m dying for your content. ❤️

My ranking is the same as yours: 2, 3, 1 and 4. Sims 2 will forever be my favorite due to the liveliness of the Sims and the build buy aesthetic is just the right amount of fancy and functional. Sims 3 bless their heart, improved on a LOT from the Sims 2 but at the same time losing some of it's charm and the graphics aren't the best looking. Sims 1 is an old soul, has it's fun but the basic features and limitations do really showing the game's age. Sims 4? Could never.

I actually went back to the sims 3 recently (im not playing sims 4 anymore until curse forge supports updating multi file mods) and literally have 1 sim that ive been playing for months now on bridgeport. Theres just s o o o o much more detail and challenge in sims 3 that makes gameplay fun and actually feel meaningful. I especially love how relationships work compared to sims 4. Becoming friends with someone actually takes time and effort: u cant do it in 1 day and u have to maintain them bc of relationship decay. The game also rewards u for having a high charisma skill by making it easier, but the skill alone has its own challenge (u have to have a certain amt of friends and relationships to lvl up). The time and challenge involved actually makes me feel close to the friends my sim has. This plus the open world means my sim is NEVERRR home bc shes always hanging out with them. That said, sims 4 has hella quality of life changes still. Its rly annoying when u cant order anything bc some npc wanted to talk to the mixologist. Multitasking was a godsend.

For me despite the lag I enjoy Sims 3 the most. I find reducing packs and store content helps.

The Sims 2 is my #1

Nice ranking! I would switch 2 and 3 around personally, other than that I agree with you haha. I just feel like The Sims 3 had a lot more stuff in it than The Sims 2 though both are amazing. And you just can't beat the open world of TS3. :)

You deserve so much more recognition, you're my favourite simmer Satch!

I am definitely someone who feels their first Sims game experience was the best. For me thats the Sims 3. I'm sure my opinion is influenced by nostalgia. However, I also admire the Sims 2 for its details. The Sims (1) is iconic since it started it all. The Sims 4...well...we all know how that one is.

Sims 2 is timeless ✨

I played a lot of sims1, 2 and 3 and I agree with you. I loved the three games, but Sims 2 is without a doubt the best. I feel like the people who prefer the 3 are people are who started off with sims 3 and didn't really play with 2. Which is not to say sims3 was not great, because it was, but still not as good as 2

I grew up playing sims 3 so it stays in my heart forever but when I got sims 4 in 2018(?) I barely played it for a year up until 2019/2020 (console) when the world went on lockdown I was playing it constantly. Then I got a taste of sims 2 and I was obsessed.. I would stay up all night on the computer with my back hurting nd everything LOVED IT.. then it got on my nerves bc of how easily it was to get kids taken away so I just went back to sims 4. Now I have all 3 games on laptop :D Never played sims 1 bc my mom couldn’t get it to work right on her computer