Ah, weddings—who doesn’t love them? Speaking of which, remember the good old days when we used to just throw a wedding arch in the backyard, click a button, and get it over with? That was all the excitement we needed in The Sims. But as things grow and evolve, simple is no longer enough.

My Wedding Stories is a game pack from a few years ago. It always eluded us, and we postponed checking it out mostly because weddings weren’t really our thing and we didn’t care much for the social aspects connected to them. But now, having finally played the pack, we’re happy to see that Maxis really outdid themselves, managing to turn the whole spectacle into a complex, multi-day event. What better way to spend a weekend than trying to get our Sims hitched in the new Mediterranean world of Tartosa? It looks gorgeous, and there are so many things to experience. But just like a real wedding, things can get excruciatingly exhausting.

Tartosa

As we briefly mentioned in our intro, the world of Tartosa is stunning. We loved gliding through the beautiful beaches. We often admired the great lighting and the sheer charm of the neighborhood. It all looked familiar, yet quite different and tantalizing.

For us, Tartosa was the highlight of the pack. Long after we were done with all the wedding activities, we kept going back to this world, spending a lot of time exploring the sights and enjoying quality time with our Sim family. We also loved the new collection system, hunting for messages washed up in bottles on the shore. It was fun for a while. After all was said and done, though, we kept coming back just for the view:

The Ceremony

So, you have fallen in love with Tartosa, and your Sim has fallen in love with another. The wedding crazy amount of micro-management seems like the next logical step. The pack tries to deliver the best and most complex wedding experience possible. Picking a dress was the least of our worries; there is the cake flavor, the flower arrangements, choosing the Sim of Honor and the ring bearer, and so many other intricacies that are bound to take you on an unforgettable journey of happy headaches—if there ever was such a thing.

You get to throw engagement dinners, family gatherings, and pre-wedding parties. The build-up is actually really fun, and contrary to our prejudices, we found the whole process quite endearing. Especially the new slow dancing animations, which were incredibly cute—to the point that they made us audibly sigh at one stage.

Herding Cats

However, there are certain things about the actual ceremony that broke immersion and left us with the impression that we were running a sinking ship. Guests simply love to sit where we don’t want them to. The bride, probably due to wedding jitters, loved to walk up the aisle instead of down it. There were times when it was insanely hard to even get the officiant to actually do their job.

It can be frustrating fighting the AI and clicking the same commands over and over instead of just enjoying the toasts and the tea ceremonies. But after a while, we learned what was causing most of the issues and we adapted to the bugs. The things we couldn’t fix, we found intriguing—like having the guests just wander off to do pushups or stare at a wall. Hey, weirdos come to weddings too!

We’re not Holding our Peace

We really like the world of Tartosa. The new buffet tables, the tea sets, and the slow dancing animations are great additions to the game. The whole wedding event can sometimes be too frustrating, or hilarious, depending on your mood. Babysitting broken AI guests will either ruin the romance or make you laugh out loud.

What will you find in The Sims 4: Nifty Knitting Stuff?

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Thank you for reading, see you next Sunday!

ID Card

• Developer: Maxis
• Publisher: Electronic Arts
• Platforms: PC, Mac, PlayStation, Xbox
• Release Date: February 23, 2022
• Genre: Life Simulation