Time to spill the tea on this new Community voted Stuff Pack.
In November last year, we had the first opportunity to vote to influence the next Stuff Pack for The Sims 4. We voted on Theme/Gameplay, Art Style, Clothing Style, Object Style and then the Pack Name. Resulting in The Sims 4 – Nifty Knitting. You voted for this, so… this review is going to say “you did this to yourself”.
Stuff Packs expand the game only slightly. Providing new items, clothes, build items and other “stuff” — usually focusing on one main object which includes exclusive game play. The Sims 4 Nifty Knitting might be the smallest stuff pack I have ever come across in my years of reviewing this game. There are only 18 pieces of Create a Sim content and about the same amount for Build and Buy mode. So, what’s so special about Nifty Knitting aside from the fact it was a community driven Sims Pack?
Wool you get on with it?
First impressions when I saw the content filtered — underwhelmed. Build Mode has one door with quite a lot of colour swatches to choose from. In Buy Mode there are several desks, storage and shelving and some decorations. Pastel colours are the focus in this pack, and that’s apparent from looking at the trailer. This pack is definitely aimed at the “pinterest pinner”, “grandma-core”, “arts and crafts addicted” simmers out there in the world. Which, I can only assume is what the community is all about — considering that this was voted for and created from popular demand. If you don’t knit, or identify with any of those qualities — then this pack might not be your cup of tea, but it still has some quaint additions regardless.
Knit One, Pearl Two — What’s New?
The new skill of “Knitting” will allow your sim to unlock new toys, decorations, clothing and accessories. There are so many options, but there doesn’t seem to be much variety… A few things are missing, in my opinion. Where are the curtains? Where are the cute macrame wall hangings? I have questions, Sims Community!
Rocking chairs are not new to The Sims Franchise. However, this is the first time sims of all ages can enjoy a good sit in a rocking chair, even toddlers and children! Elders get a special interaction for “reminisce” where they will recall “memories” (not related to the sim in particular, this is just a randomly generated event) and gain “fun” from doing so. If your sim has the “Super Stash Yarn Basket” in their inventory, they can also Knit and Rock.
Rocking in a chair is fun, but you know what really “rocks”? METAL. The Sims 4 team have given us two new radio stations for our sims to get down to while knitting up a rad cardigan to wear to the next mosh. Focus music and METAL (in all caps) are added to The Sims Radio and include recordings from bands such as “The Hu” and “Trivium”. If you don’t know about Heavy Metal Knitting, then you should check it out here.
Another big addition to this Sims Pack is the online store “Plopsy”. Taking reference from Etsy, anything that can be crafted by Sims, can be added to Plopsy to sell at a higher price. Sims can also browse the offerings on Plopsy if they’re not so creatively inclined. So, if you really want some of those “crafted” items that aren’t available in buy mode yet, you can always buy one from Plopsy and gift it to your Mum.
Create a Sim is the shining star in this pack. The hairstyles are the best content I’ve ever seen from the Sims team. The dreadlocks have baby hairs, and the details are just fantastic. The developers have really hit the nail on the head with their hairstyles in the last few packs. Then the clothing — or, lack thereof? We are given two shirt options for women and men, a pair of pants and an full outfit for women. The rest is blacked out with a padlock and can only be accessed by achieving the Knitting Skill Level required. Once you have knitted the option, you can unlock it in the “Add to Wardrobe” and it will be available for all sims to wear. I’m yet to discover the cheat to unlock these options, so I haven’t looked at them all yet in detail but I really adore this idea.
Get Nifty!
I like the idea of having “unlockables” in game. This gives me; the completionist, a sense of achievement. If I can see something “greyed” out then it makes me do the “grabby hands” thing and I’ll grind until I can unlock everything. Perhaps this might be something that The Sims team can adapt in previous updates — such as the career outfits. Of course it could have an option to “hide” locked content for those who don’t prefer that type of game play. It would have been nice to see the “crafted” objects in Build and Buy mode have a similar approach.
Nifty Knitting shows great potential, but also seems to lack structure. An Online Store, two new Radio Stations, a Knitting Skill and a Rocking Chair? The content is well thought out and nicely detailed, but the theme is very specific but also super random. Looking at all the content together makes me think that it might have just been an excuse to throw some extra “previously worked on” content into the game.
Did the items you voted for make it in to the pack? Let me know in the comments.
The Sims 4 Nifty Knitting Stuff Pack will be available on the 29th of July in Australia on EA Origin.
Thanks to EA Game Changers for providing me early access in order to bring you this review.