Alright, Spyware's subjective guide to Packs! I listed them in order of best to a little less best in my own opinion, but tried to explain what they add in an informative way too. Stuff Packs are simply super subjective tho.
All packs can be previewed on Origin under the tab contents. Not every single item is in there, I noticed when checking StrangerVille. And you can't see all the color options. But it gives a good idea of what items they have so you can pick the stuff that fit your style!
Expansion Packs:
These are big packs that add lots of items, clothes and new systems.
Seasons - The Pack to get when you just want more content overall. It's sort of self-explanatory with the seasons part. Baked in there is the calendar system. It has some pre-made holidays like Winterfest and New Year's, but you can also make your own and some will pop up randomly. Holidays are all about traditions and letting your sim do those things that define the holiday. It also adds Gardening as a career.
City Living - Very subjective, of course, but I just can't have The Sims without a bustling city world with apartment buildings and penthouses. It also adds festivals that take place at specific areas at specific times. It also adds Politician, Critic and Social Media as careers.
Cats & Dogs - I am happy about the way pets work in The Sims 4 but the main reason I have this one so high is the world that comes with it. I really like that place! The cats and dogs are fun, they can be trained in various ways and so on. It doesn't add much else besides these pets and the Veterinarian self-employment "business manager" career but it has some great build/buy stuff.
Get Together - I think people usually put this last and I get why. The club system isn't really good and that's pretty much all it adds when it comes to substantial stuff. But again, there is an absolutely wonderful world in this one. I'm in love with the Tudor architectural style and it adds lots of nice things for anyone interested in building houses. The world itself is diverse and very pretty.
Get Famous - This pack adds a huge amount of very pretty and cool items, and the very fun acting career. But I don't find the whole thing about celebrities to be that fun. The fame system is very well made tho and it's not a bad pack in any way. Just not the type of stuff I play The Sims 4 for. It adds a nice world but it's very small.
Get to Work - This one adds the Detective, Doctor and Scientist active careers (which means you can follow your sims to work and control them there instead of them just being gone for a while). It adds a tiny world aimed at being a self-employment retail store place so you can let your sim manage that kind of business too. You can just make a residential lot there too if you wanna live in a little city area. It also adds aliens, and they are pretty cool.
Game Packs:
These are smaller packs that are more focused on a single thing.
Parenthood - Pretty much the essential pack if you play with families. Parenting becomes a skill and the sims get character traits like manners, emotional control and such that you can either try to balance or use to make the sims have a more extreme personality. It adds bunch of interactions between adults and kids. As said, pretty much essential if you care about the family aspect of playing Sims.
StrangerVille - The unique story pack that feels much bigger than a "Game Pack". It adds a world that is as big as the one that comes with Get Famous and it just looks absolutely great. There is a huge amount of good build items (meaning doors, fences, windows, columns and such) too. The unique part is an actual storyline with sort of quests you can play through.
Spa Day - The Finnish blood in me demands I put the sauna high on the list! No but I actually love the wellness skill it adds with the yoga and meditation stuff. Also spa venues with great looking items.
Vampires - The best version of Vampires in the series. They have a skill system where you get to pick their strengths and weaknesses when they "level up". Very involving gameplay. It adds a tiny Vampire world with longer nights and spooky looks and many good looking items.
Jungle Adventure - This is a "vacation" style package. It adds a new location where you can't live, you can only go there on vacation and rent a place for a while. The adventure part if pretty funny tho, with some puzzle solving and choices to make so that you might find some treasure deep in the jungle.
Dine Out - This one is all about another self-employment career where you own restaurants, get to build the venues and hire staff. That's pretty much it. The self-employment "business manager" careers are definitely not for everyone, and I personally prefer other types.
Outdoor Retreat - Another "vacation pack", but this one is all about just being in the woods, alone of with friends. Sit around the campfire or hunt down interesting insects.
Stuff Packs:
Self explanatory really. They add stuff based on a specific theme!
Laundry Day Stuff - This pack was sort of made by the community. During a set period of time we got to vote on what the pack should be about (which was obviously won by laundry), then which style (old school or modern) and also on the items we wanted from a gallery of stuff. It turned out great! It adds laundry as a system, so you have to wash the clothes unless you want the to get strewn everywhere. Obviously only for people who like the "chores" of the sims' lives.
Kids Room Stuff - Adds a fun monster collection card system kids can play with and some well-needed kids stuff including furniture, clothes and hairstyles.
Fitness Stuff - Great looking clothing, new looks for the gym equipment and a rock climbing treadmill!
Bowling Night Stuff - More good looking things plus bowling as an activity and a skill.
Movie Hangout Stuff - Lovely bohemian style items and home theaters!
Vintage Glamour Stuff - Simply beautiful formal clothing.
My First Pet Stuff - This pack is very hated. I can understand why. It's basically useless if you do no have Cats & Dogs. It does add small pets that you have in a sort of terrarium, but it also adds items and clothing for only cats and dogs to use. I love the content in it but it's stuff that I agree should have been separated into a specific small pets pack and items that should have just been in Cats & Dogs.
Perfect Patio Stuff - Here be hot tubs!
Backyard Stuff - Slip 'n' slide! Some nice items.
Toddler Stuff - Mostly a bunch of new playground items.
Cool Kitchen Stuff - Can never have enough kitchen stuff. That's just how it is.
Luxury Party Stuff - Party/formal clothes mostly (Psst, Vintage is better ;D)
Spooky Stuff - Halloween themed rather than Vampires' style of creepy stuff. Goes well together with Seasons nowadays!
Romantic Garden Stuff - Sorry but this is actually quite a bad pack, the only one I would say I could have just as well been without. There are very few areas were these flowery marble things fit unless you're making a fancy mansion, a wedding venue or a love themed park.
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Hope this was helpful in any way for someone! If not, that doesn't really matter, I just like writing about Sims stuff...
All packs can be previewed on Origin under the tab contents. Not every single item is in there, I noticed when checking StrangerVille. And you can't see all the color options. But it gives a good idea of what items they have so you can pick the stuff that fit your style!
Expansion Packs:
These are big packs that add lots of items, clothes and new systems.
Seasons - The Pack to get when you just want more content overall. It's sort of self-explanatory with the seasons part. Baked in there is the calendar system. It has some pre-made holidays like Winterfest and New Year's, but you can also make your own and some will pop up randomly. Holidays are all about traditions and letting your sim do those things that define the holiday. It also adds Gardening as a career.
City Living - Very subjective, of course, but I just can't have The Sims without a bustling city world with apartment buildings and penthouses. It also adds festivals that take place at specific areas at specific times. It also adds Politician, Critic and Social Media as careers.
Cats & Dogs - I am happy about the way pets work in The Sims 4 but the main reason I have this one so high is the world that comes with it. I really like that place! The cats and dogs are fun, they can be trained in various ways and so on. It doesn't add much else besides these pets and the Veterinarian self-employment "business manager" career but it has some great build/buy stuff.
Get Together - I think people usually put this last and I get why. The club system isn't really good and that's pretty much all it adds when it comes to substantial stuff. But again, there is an absolutely wonderful world in this one. I'm in love with the Tudor architectural style and it adds lots of nice things for anyone interested in building houses. The world itself is diverse and very pretty.
Get Famous - This pack adds a huge amount of very pretty and cool items, and the very fun acting career. But I don't find the whole thing about celebrities to be that fun. The fame system is very well made tho and it's not a bad pack in any way. Just not the type of stuff I play The Sims 4 for. It adds a nice world but it's very small.
Get to Work - This one adds the Detective, Doctor and Scientist active careers (which means you can follow your sims to work and control them there instead of them just being gone for a while). It adds a tiny world aimed at being a self-employment retail store place so you can let your sim manage that kind of business too. You can just make a residential lot there too if you wanna live in a little city area. It also adds aliens, and they are pretty cool.
Game Packs:
These are smaller packs that are more focused on a single thing.
Parenthood - Pretty much the essential pack if you play with families. Parenting becomes a skill and the sims get character traits like manners, emotional control and such that you can either try to balance or use to make the sims have a more extreme personality. It adds bunch of interactions between adults and kids. As said, pretty much essential if you care about the family aspect of playing Sims.
StrangerVille - The unique story pack that feels much bigger than a "Game Pack". It adds a world that is as big as the one that comes with Get Famous and it just looks absolutely great. There is a huge amount of good build items (meaning doors, fences, windows, columns and such) too. The unique part is an actual storyline with sort of quests you can play through.
Spa Day - The Finnish blood in me demands I put the sauna high on the list! No but I actually love the wellness skill it adds with the yoga and meditation stuff. Also spa venues with great looking items.
Vampires - The best version of Vampires in the series. They have a skill system where you get to pick their strengths and weaknesses when they "level up". Very involving gameplay. It adds a tiny Vampire world with longer nights and spooky looks and many good looking items.
Jungle Adventure - This is a "vacation" style package. It adds a new location where you can't live, you can only go there on vacation and rent a place for a while. The adventure part if pretty funny tho, with some puzzle solving and choices to make so that you might find some treasure deep in the jungle.
Dine Out - This one is all about another self-employment career where you own restaurants, get to build the venues and hire staff. That's pretty much it. The self-employment "business manager" careers are definitely not for everyone, and I personally prefer other types.
Outdoor Retreat - Another "vacation pack", but this one is all about just being in the woods, alone of with friends. Sit around the campfire or hunt down interesting insects.
Stuff Packs:
Self explanatory really. They add stuff based on a specific theme!
Laundry Day Stuff - This pack was sort of made by the community. During a set period of time we got to vote on what the pack should be about (which was obviously won by laundry), then which style (old school or modern) and also on the items we wanted from a gallery of stuff. It turned out great! It adds laundry as a system, so you have to wash the clothes unless you want the to get strewn everywhere. Obviously only for people who like the "chores" of the sims' lives.
Kids Room Stuff - Adds a fun monster collection card system kids can play with and some well-needed kids stuff including furniture, clothes and hairstyles.
Fitness Stuff - Great looking clothing, new looks for the gym equipment and a rock climbing treadmill!
Bowling Night Stuff - More good looking things plus bowling as an activity and a skill.
Movie Hangout Stuff - Lovely bohemian style items and home theaters!
Vintage Glamour Stuff - Simply beautiful formal clothing.
My First Pet Stuff - This pack is very hated. I can understand why. It's basically useless if you do no have Cats & Dogs. It does add small pets that you have in a sort of terrarium, but it also adds items and clothing for only cats and dogs to use. I love the content in it but it's stuff that I agree should have been separated into a specific small pets pack and items that should have just been in Cats & Dogs.
Perfect Patio Stuff - Here be hot tubs!
Backyard Stuff - Slip 'n' slide! Some nice items.
Toddler Stuff - Mostly a bunch of new playground items.
Cool Kitchen Stuff - Can never have enough kitchen stuff. That's just how it is.
Luxury Party Stuff - Party/formal clothes mostly (Psst, Vintage is better ;D)
Spooky Stuff - Halloween themed rather than Vampires' style of creepy stuff. Goes well together with Seasons nowadays!
Romantic Garden Stuff - Sorry but this is actually quite a bad pack, the only one I would say I could have just as well been without. There are very few areas were these flowery marble things fit unless you're making a fancy mansion, a wedding venue or a love themed park.
---
Hope this was helpful in any way for someone! If not, that doesn't really matter, I just like writing about Sims stuff...
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