A Brutally Honest Review of The Sims 4 Horse Ranch

this is my Bruce Lee honors review of The Sims 4 horse ranch is the part of a series where I review every pack for The Sims 4 including all of the older ones EA describes horse ranch as about making a life in the big open Countryside bonding with animals and joining a thriving Community whilst raising horses starting off with Cass obviously it has a western theme and I think the cast suits the theme very well it's not the most fashionable stuff so like I know for a fact most people won't use it but for what it's worth they did a good job at making outfits that are appropriate for the world in aesthetic of the pack although weirdly there isn't actually that much riding gear I do appreciate that this time EA made an effort to make a balance between male and female casts and I genuinely feel there is a lot more of a balance this time around compared to other packs granted females get a bit more as they do in real life but I commend the effort to make it more even kids and toddlers get almost nothing I'm genuinely shocked as kids can ride horses and I know many people were excited to create family ranches with this pack kids and toddlers got the Short Straw severely and I think it will leave some people disappointed there definitely should have been some cute horse girly tops and more Ranch appropriate clothing for kids so this is a big mess you can choose two new traits in cast being horse lover and Rancher and they obviously speak for themselves there are two new aspirations now instead of having multiple mini goals they actually just have a few long-term goals I really love this move whims have traditionally always been the short-term goals of the Sims 4. so the old school aspirations start of having mini goals is also short-term goals and it didn't really make much sense these aspirations do not feel tutorially at all and feel like what a long-term lifetime aspiration should be this is something I'm really happy about and I really hope that EA continue to do this for the future of course horses are the major side of Cass they basically work in the exact same ways cats dogs and werewolves there are some different breeds different main Styles paintbrush tools to use and obviously some cute outfits although there are not many cute outfits and I'm praying this doesn't mean we're getting a my first Pony stuff DLC coming in for months you can have foals and older horses too I think they all look really nice and you can tell a lot of resources went into making them good now to confirm the answer to the question that you might be asking no unfortunately unicorns do not come with this pack instead you stick on what looks like a vibrating magic wand on your horse's heads to pretend they're a unicorn this is something I'm gonna about a little bit more of the gameplay section so I'll hold off for now in terms of Personality horses can choose 3 out of 11 traits which affect the way they interact with the world around them in all though Cass is actually a lot better than average and I think it suits a gameplay experience well it's getting an 8 out of 10. so taking a look at build mode the main build thing of this pack is being able to build a stable there isn't a stable object as such but you can place a horse bed and then build a stable around it the theme of build mode is a western theme most of the stuff here is really nice and there are some items for basically almost all rooms the kitchen set is especially nice and I think Builders will get a lot of use out of this pack although as with the casts some of the items don't really feel unique and they all feel really similar to things that we have already especially cottage living if you already own cottage living you may not need horse ranch as a builder windows and doors especially are so similar to stuff we have in other packs in the base game it's a massive shame The Sims 4 has outlived its lifespan by way too many years and as a result we're seeing a lot of rehashed and recycled content but for what it's worth I do really like everything here and I don't have any faults with it even though it's very samey to what we already have it is a very coherent like rustic theme I think it contains a lot of nice decorations to you can definitely build a good stable and Branch house with the pack I know not everyone owns every pack so it's not an issue for everyone to have re-house stuff so if you don't already own packs like cottage living I would say is a fantastic pack for build mode now one thing I love here is the modular wine racks as they time with the next making gameplay and they allow you to build a whole Wine Cellar and I think it will allow Builders to finally build something new which I actually think is really exciting now for the purposes of the score of this review I'm not considering the fact that it looks similar to older Pack's stuff and that's because I understand not everybody owns all of the packs so even though for me as a person who owns every single Sims 4 pack some of it feels a bit recycled I understand you guys don't own every single Sims 4 pack so I'm not considering it as a part of my score but more so just a disclaimer so I'm giving the build mode of this pack a 9 out of ten I think it's extremely strong in terms of the world there are three areas with a total of 13 Lots the central area is the main town down and has a few Rabbit Hole experiences including shops of either mini sheep riding gear and actually a grocery store too there's also an equestrian center for training adoption selling and competitions with horses even though it's not the same as having an open world I do appreciate EA for making an effort this time around with the world and actually adding things to do there is a ton of fake set dressing but they at least try to add a couple of things which weren't however I will say the town is literally dead and there's like never anybody anywhere and it's really strange although it's a massive disappointment that the equestrian center is not enterable as training horses and having competitions is literally a key selling point of the pack and instead of making it gameplay they made it a fake experience that you have to pretend is happening the top area of the world is an open place with trails to ride your horse although unfortunately there is nothing to do here sure you can watch your Sims perform an animation of riding a horse or you can find a frog log but there there's no brand new unique gameplay really although the area does come with a cave you perform like an RPG sequence where you have like battles it's so not like the Sims to do this but it was actually a really cool idea I'm not going to spoil it but you do get some Maya rewards from it although they could have made it a secret part of the world where you're entering you find unicorns but I digress the bottom area is the main residential area with ranches for gameplay the builds are all very lovely as most lots are thankfully that the Sims team now employ real Sim is to build them but as with every Sims 4 neighborhood there is no gameplay here other than pretty set dressing Sims 4 base Game World issues aside I think the world that comes in horse ranch is really nice and does feel different to the strange of the world as I know a lot of people were worried about that my only issue is that all of the lops are quite small seeing the whole point of this pack is to have big open branches there's only one 64 by 64 lot and 150 by 50 lot they definitely should have resized a couple of the smaller Lots so that you could have more bigger ranches even if that meant having one less a lot in the world the world has a couple of nice things for example to Rabbit Hole shops but it's still very closed off and limited and lackluster and it's basically the same as every single Central World guys considering everything I am giving the world a 3 out of ten looking at gameplay the biggest part of this pack is obviously riding horses you cannot control them but just to confirm your Sims can kind of do what they do already with cats and dogs like caring for them by brushing them and whatnot child Sims and above can all ride horses depending on whether they're a foul or an adult they have different needs and I must say I am impressed with the gameplay surrounding racing horse I do actually think there's a lot of good depth to it and just to confirm you can breed horses and they die too you can ride horses either relaxed energetic or intensely despite being loved by most fellow gays bareback riding is not acceptable in The Sims 4 and you must wear a saddle there are objects you can place on any lot to use to interact with all the horses and all of which I thought were great horses have four skills and also a monetary value I'm personally not a horsey person but I know people in real life train horses and sell them on so even though it's a little inhumane it's realistic and I really appreciate that choosing a competition at the equestrian center is great there are tons of different competition options though actually doing a competition is horrendous it's entirely a rabbit hole experience meaning you don't see what's going on your Sims disappear into a lot then pop out when they're finished there's no tension building up about the races there's no real skill involved it's very very boring and this is shockingly poor considering this is a whole expansion pack about horses in the Sims 3 Pets it was very similar but I forgive it because horses were just a small part of an overall but much more ambitious and Broad pack seeing this entire expansion back is about horses and horses alone I am tremendously disappointed that competitions were not considered a major part of gameplay and simply add a really shallow rabbit hold experience in general guys I will say there's not really that much horsey gameplay like sure you can watch your horses go on a ride you can watch them play on the little play things the barrels but there isn't really that much with the jumping and playing equipment you can't set up a course it's all very isolated riding a horse just basically involves walking around the map it's not that deep the horse competition's a rabbit hole experiences like there's genuinely not much gameplay here and this is literally an expansion pack and it doesn't feel like an expansion Pack's worth of gameplay for horses there most definitely should have been a horse veterinary live Korea or something just like we have with the cats and dogs pack just to flesh it out more I think that would have made it a lot better but in general guys if you're a horse girl I think you will enjoy it but I think honestly after a couple of hours like you will get very bored and tired because the horse gameplay is a bit same old same old now as well as Horses there are many sheep and goats which gameplay wise are basically the same they look cute and that's their only real purpose but you can get them to help with gardening which is a bit random the only way that you do get gameplay value out of them is if you also own cottage living which is a little bit exploitative to be honest assuming you own quite a few animals there are a lot of things to do on a ranch there's a ranch community board object that you can place on your lot to access all things that you can do one of these things is community jobs which involves like side quests some of these have prerequisite requirements and different unique things to do although just like the odd jobs features in Island living or the cottage living pack it's a little bit basic and it doesn't feel that rewarding and I don't really think that you're going to be spending much time doing them to be honest if you're getting overwhelmed with life on a ranch ranch hands are a new service working kind of like maids or Butlers to help you out they can do gardening repair things look after after animals honestly I think they're perfect even if you don't own a ranch because of how many services that they offer now nectar making is something EA really pushed in their marketing of the pack it's such a random thing to put in the pack but you put fruit and then stamp it and it turns into nectar I guess it kind of plays into the whole Ranch thing of growing plants and harvesting them for wine making you can actually make nectar out so many different random things even including trash which I think is really cool if you do drink too much your Sims become dazed which is a family for any way of saying drunk I genuinely didn't think EA would include this but I'm glad they did is it adds back some of the adult humor that's severely lacking in The Sims 4 although I won't really say nectar making is really that in depth especially seeming that it's the only main gameplay element after the horses themselves I would have expected them to at least go further with it or at least add something else but they didn't now there are two new social events in the pack being Ranch Gathering and Ranch Animal day the Gathering is about dancing having a barbecue and drinking nectar it's basically exactly the same as the base game events so I would hardly say it's brand new pack content the ranch animal day is where people come over and they pet your animals and in exchange for these events by the way townies donate money to you so it's like raising funds for your Ranch which I guess is cool in terms of money in general though I'm really disappointed that this pack didn't come with any curries in my opinion every single Sims 4 pack should come with a career and they could have just done a rabbit hole career like a farrier or a stable boy or something even if it's just a part-time job maybe for team Sims comparing this pack to cottage living which is basically the exact same pack even though cottage living didn't come with a career it came with a brand new gameplay functionality to live off the land by producing all of your own food and seeming horse ranch doesn't come with the same live off the land gangbling functionality I feel like they should have added at least one career especially a Live Career I definitely think that would have made the a lot more worth than money a more miscellaneous feature of this pack is a new dance and even though the animation is different it is rehash content from get together dancing there is literally nothing for kids nothing for toddlers either and I'm really shocked there most definitely should have been a rocking horse or a horse on a stick for kids and toddlers And I'm so surprised that we didn't get it I'm also so surprised we didn't get any ability to teach kids how to ride horses if you're an adult or even you know attend some kind of rabbit hole horse riding club after school or something there is literally nothing and it's absolutely ridiculous because I know the kinds of people who like horses also like family gameplay and it's such a missed opportunity also there's no new woohoo or death type in the pack and it's extremely rare for a Sims 4 pack to not come with a woohoo location or a death type they could have made like Sims drowning in a clogged up nectar making machine or something they could have had it okay they couldn't have added a horse related death that would have been a little bit too realistic and morbid but you know they could have added some kind of death related to maybe the mini goats and sheep because they did that in cottage living with rabbits so I just feel like they could have done something also with woohoo like why is there not a new woohoo location you know in a hay bale or something maybe you could woohoo in the horse's bed or something do you know what I mean it just feels like a massively missed opportunity now this pack in terms of gameplay isn't really that different from the Sims 3 Pets pack and in many ways it's actually less gameplay than the Sims 3 Pets for example Sims 3 pets came with wild horses that you could tame and wild unicorns and seemingly that Sims 3 horses were a part of a wider more ambitious pets pack I'm really really shocked that they didn't go even deeper with the Sims 4 horse ranch because this is an isolated pack because of that I expected a lot more from The Sims 4 horse ranch and I do not think it's worth the money ignoring the size of the world ignoring creative ignoring built mode and solely looking at gameplay this is honestly not that different from The Sims 4 were course pack and obviously they're like totally completely different pack Concepts but I mean they feel equal in terms of the amount of gameplay that they offer especially considering that both include a brand new life State and Cass and obviously werewolves is cheaper than horse ranch many people have argued that it's priced as an expansion pack because it took a lot of time and effort for The Sims team to code in and animate horses but I think this is a very unfair sentiment to have I play a lot of Adventure and RPG games in my free time and almost all of them have horses as a minor feature if the Sims team have a development problem in terms of making and animating horses then that's not the consumer's problem it's their problem so I don't agree with this sentiment that it's worth the money because it took a long time to animate because as a consumer it's literally not your place to care is the Sims 4 horse ranch worth the money absolutely not considering the amount of gameplay that's there and how basic and simple the pack is especially considering it's an expansion pack relative to the price point unfortunately I am gonna give this packed I'm going to make you rage you're all going to count to me now I'm gonna give it a three out of ten I'm sorry I'm just shocked at how little content there is and how the gameplay of the pack is genuinely it feels like less horses gameplay than we had in the Sims 3 Pets pack and horses were only like a quarter of the Sims 3 Pets pack and it just boggles my mind that 12 13 years on since the Sims 3 Pets we've actually like gone back a step like shoulder horse got cute animations but this literally no gameplay it comes with the basic fundamentals that should come with a horse's pack but considering the fact that it's an expansion pack I cannot give this pack a good score because it's not an expansion packs worth of content for those of you who are rich and money is No Object let's say we live in a hypothetical world where this pack actually came out for free maybe I would give the gameplay a 7 out of 10 but considering the price point and the fact that it's in like I'm it's not in this magic pack okay it's just not an expansion pack that's why it's three out of ten so taking a look at CrossFit play now the elephant in the room is cottage living horse ranch is cottage living 2.0 and as a result has a ton of crossover features thankfully the cross pack features make a lot of sense and you will really enjoy horse ranch with cottage living combined perhaps a little bit too much as it makes you realize how much recycled content there is this pack is one third of the farming Ranch Sergey Valley experience offered in The Sims 4. if you really want to enjoy this pack in its fullest you do require cottage living and I must say it does make the pack a lot more fun horses are rideable in every single neighborhood apart from apartments in City living so that's really good mixer making has some cross pack play for example if you own vampires then you can make plasma fruit nectar and if you own the strangeville pack you can make Strange Fruit nectar Etc the pack also has a standard crossback features with get gather clubs and Seasons interactions with horses and random pet interactions with cats and dogs in all I think this pack integrates really really well with the base game and with all of the other packs actually so I'm giving it a 9 out of 10 for cross pack play The Sims 4 is an extremely buggy game so we must look at performance when you travel to a new lot your sim might kind of like t-pose is a lot loads and then when loading on a horse it kind of glitches out horses also sometimes teleport to an object instead of trotting to it at one point my horse was stuck in an animation Loop jumping over the fence activity over and over again I couldn't get it to stop no matter what I tried to do so I actually had to delete the object in order to cancel it which was annoying now my horse did not sleep in its stable once even though I assigned the bed to it and prompted it to sleep in the stable at night it was just not happening horses for some reason will not ever ever ever sleep on their beds and I don't know why in terms of the ranch hand sometimes they just wouldn't turn up and it was weird because like I hired them but then I double checked and it showed that I hadn't hide a ranch hand so I had to hire it again and I had to do it a couple of times until it worked and even when the ranch hand did turn up she often stayed past when she was supposed to leave and just stood idly around my house for hours literally just standing there doing nothing and it was really weird even though it was a little bit glitchy it wasn't as glitchy as a lot of other Sims 4 packs and you've got to get it where you can with the Sims 4 with bugs and glitches so I'm gonna be giving this pack a 7 out of 10 for performance which I think is fair so my total score for the pack You're Gonna Hate Me I'm sorry it's gonna be getting a 6.5 out of 10 overall as with most Sims 4 pack reviews I do the overall score is boosted by casan built mode but tends to have a much lower gameplay score than everything else the gameplay surrounding the horses themselves is really cool but the pack fails to Captivate me as a well-rounded Sims 4 gameplay experience value of money aside I do think that horse girlies will enjoy the pack for while it has to offer and we'll get a few hours of fun gameplay out of it but I think you will eventually get bored of how shallow the pack is thank you for watching my video on yet another reason why EA should hate me I have a whole playlist of brutally honest reviews here and it does get updated very regularly so make sure you check it out otherwise thank you for watching I hope you found it useful I will see you in the next one

Channel: SatchOnSims

Views: 177,702

Keywords: sims 4 horse, sims 4 horse ranch, sims 4 horses, sims 4 horse ranch review, sims 4 horses review, sims 4 horse pack, sims 4 horses gameplay

Id: pmaeL-QrmXM

Length: 20min 26sec (1226 seconds)

Published: Fri Jul 21 2023