The Sims 4 Lovestruck enlargement pack could have leaked so early and so comprehensively that you may’ve sworn that it’d already been introduced, however truly, we have solely simply formally realized that this romantic add-on — the centrepiece of TS4’s Season of Love summer time ’24 content material plan — is quickly to be an actual factor.
This is not the primary time that The Sims franchise has turned its consideration to issues of the guts. The unique recreation famously got here out with the Scorching Date enlargement pack in 2001, and The Sims 2: Nightlife even launched a matchmaking service, albeit one by which a considerably insensitively-portrayed previous, erm, clever girl would make your good mate fall from the sky by magic. The Sims 4 goes a bit extra fashionable and disposing of the summoning spells (and racial slurs) by having your Sims simply be part of a courting app as a substitute.
Cupid’s Nook surprisingly resists the urge to pun on Tinder, Bumble, and so on. and as a substitute is simply fairly a standard identify for a courting app, which is a bit disappointing given The Sims 4’s historical past of amusing off-brand names (“Plopsy” for “Etsy”, anybody?). It additionally appears to be the principle promoting level of the enlargement pack, though there are many peripheral actions across the newly-overhauled courting mechanics as nicely, together with the addition of a series-first Romance Guide profession monitor and accompanying ability for all you aspiring love gurus on the market.
The introduction of a courting system extra reflective of contemporary romantic actuality has been on The Sims 4 fandom’s wishlist for some time, and EA appears to be on a little bit of a streak proper now of making an attempt to offer the followers what their hearts need (see additionally: infants, horses, residences). Which implies that fairly quickly your singleton Sims will not be reliant on disappointing probability encounters with random NPCs they meet on the street — quickly, they’ll have curated disappointing encounters with random NPCs they meet on-line, too!
You will additionally lastly have the ability to decide your Sims’ turn-ons and turn-offs once more, set a relationship context between two lovebirds due to new romantic dynamics (much like the household dynamics launched in Rising Collectively), and have them pursue new romance-related aspirations — all in opposition to the backdrop of the newly-added metropolis of Ciudad Enamorada.
The Sims 4 Lovestruck will launch on July 25 for PC, PlayStation, and Xbox. You will additionally obtain the now-ubiquitous three-item pre-order bonus in the event you choose up the pack between June 27 and September 5.