Especially when playing this fourth installment of The Sims franchise, Birch often uses the cheats to liven up the gameplay pace. “I’ve tried in the past playing as one Sim with no money and trying to work my way up to the top … It’s really fun to do that in Sims 1, 2, and 3, because things move at a much faster pace, whereas in The Sims 4 it’s dragged out really long.”
You can visit EA’s website and learn how to do the basic cheats for PC/Mac and for console versions of the game. For players who want to dive into the deep end, complete collections of specific cheats for this game are easy to find with a quick internet search.
Keep Your Friends Close and Your Enemies Frozen
“I think the SimRay is probably one of the best things about The Sims 4,” Birch said. New to this version of the game, the SimRay is, as the name implies, a ray gun and tool created as part of the Get to Work expansion pack and can be invented by Sims on the scientist career path.
Sure, you can use the SimRay to put out fires, but if you’re craving a more chaotic gameplay style, then why not freeze your neighbors and stop them from calling the fire department? In addition, if you are living the kleptomaniac lifestyle, I’ve found that frozen neighbors are quite easy to plunder. The SimRay includes multiple mind-control features as the tool is upgraded.
Get Cheesy With It
“The grilled cheese aspiration is hilarious, but it’s a hidden aspiration,” Birch said. “If you eat a certain amount of grilled cheese, you can get that aspiration.” Originally introduced in The Sims 2 and brought over into The Sims 4, the grilled cheese aspiration can be unlocked after consecutively eating three plates of grilled cheese. My current Sim (named Cherry Spritzer) likely had a queasy stomach after so much dairy, but her innermost desire for those gooey, delectable sandwiches was released.
An aspiration is a driving desire that your Sim possesses and can be satisfied by reaching specific goals. For example, if you unlock the grilled cheese aspiration, your Sim will start off wanting to eat 10 grilled cheese sandwiches and chat with their friends about the topic, but eventually, the stakes are raised so high that your Sim will want to speak about grilled cheese with the Grim Reaper.
Create Your Own Lore With a Custom Graveyard
“When Sims 4 first came out there were no family trees, lore, or previous story lines, so you had to make it up yourself,” Birch said. “I use the cheats a lot to age people, kill the parents, age their parents, kill them, and so on. Then you’ve got a graveyard in the backyard. You’ve got a bit of history.” The custom graveyard was one of my favorite tips to test out, and I might have gone a little overboard when creating the Spritzer’s family plot!
Conceived as existing within an alternate universe, The Sims 4 does not follow the previously created timeline. This updated approach from EA towards the fourth installment of the franchise demonstrates its desire to keep valuable IP perceived as fresh and relevant to a new generation of gamers. Comparing the gameplay of The Sims 4 with previous versions, Birch said, “It’s built for, I think, a younger generation who wants to play as a Kardashian who’s an influencer or whatever, but I want to play as a crazy burglar that goes around robbin’ people’s stuff.”
