What do you do when your Sims need a break from the house? For us, that’s an easy question. We put them in a pool and remove the ladder. Kidding, kidding. When it comes to outdoor RnR, The Sims 4: Perfect Patio Stuff can make the outdoor area of our Sims’ homes a little more inviting. There are some new pieces of furniture, decorations, clothing and hairstyles, but there are also hot tubs.
What is a Sunday Sims Spotlight?
A weekly article designed to inform The Sims community through a detailed look at expansions and numerous add-ons for the cult simulation game. We inform you about what works best in terms of mechanics and all the things you might encounter for decorating your home.
The Hot Tub, the Star!
There are two of them, and they can hold up to six Sims at once. Children can also get into them, which makes them useful for more than just adult Sims looking for somewhere to relax. We can have several Sims sitting together, chatting and generally doing what Sims do when we leave them alone for a while. Ahem…
There are also some upgrades available for handy Sims, giving the hot tubs a little more to do than simply sitting there looking nice in the backyard.
And, because this is The Sims, and you didn’t get the ahem part, there is also the option for WooHoo in the hot tub.
What we like about the hot tubs is how a big family can gather around one, friends can spend time together, and couples can use it as another place to build their relationship.
A Backyard Needs Somewhere to Sit
Perfect Patio Stuff adds a selection of modern outdoor furniture and decorations designed to go around pools, patios and other outdoor areas. There are places for Sims to sit, tables and other pieces that help turn an empty patch of grass into somewhere we might actually want our Sims to spend time.
There is also a new barbecue grill and a patio bar, which fit nicely with the whole idea of having people over. None of these additions, however, are going to completely change the way we construct houses, but they give us more options when we are putting together an outdoor space. There is also a pre-built outdoor patio in case, well, you don’t want to spend ages putting one together yourself.
Something to Wear Outside
The Create-a-Sim additions are a lot smaller, but, sure, they fit the theme.
There are casual clothes, swimsuits, a couple of outfits, tops and a few other pieces for both male and female Sims, along with new hairstyles. The famous “Kiss the Cook” apron is also included. :)
Still, this is one area where the pack feels like a Stuff Pack in the most obvious way. To be perfectly blunt, there doesn’t seem to be much going on here.
The hot tubs are useful and fun, and the outdoor furniture works well if we enjoy building and decorating our Sims’ homes. But once we take those things away, there isn’t a massive amount of content left.
A Small Pack With One Very Good Idea
The Sims 4: Perfect Patio Stuff is not essential, far from it, but for players who enjoy building houses and creating outdoor entertaining areas, there is enough here to make the backyard feel more useful. For everyone else, the pack is harder to justify.
But, again, it did make us look at that empty backyard and think, “We could probably do something with this.”
Developer: Maxis
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Release Date: June 16, 2015
Console Release: November 17, 2017
Genre: Life Simulation / Stuff Pack
Platform: PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Main Additions: Hot tubs, outdoor furniture, patio bar, grill, clothing, hairstyles and outdoor décor
Thank you for reading! See you next Sunday!
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