The Sims is a series known for giving you the freedom to do nearly anything you want. In The Sims 4, EA and Maxis doubled down on this, delivering a robust offering of ways to customize your Sim to your liking and give them the chance to live their life however they want.
The game might not allow you to do everything you want, though. Have you looked through every hairstyle and not found the exact one you want? Or have you ever thought about turning your Sim into a magical mermaid? Thanks to mods created by the wonderful community, you can expand upon your Sim’s life beyond the customization options laid out by developers. There are a ton of mods to choose from in The Sims 4, but in this list, we’ll go through the absolute best — and include links to download them.
Further reading:
- The best Sims 4 cheats
- The best simulator games for 2020
- The Sims celebrates its 20th anniversary, shows no sign of slowing down
What is a mod?
If you’re here, you probably already know what a mod is, but for those getting into them for the first time, let’s go through what a mod is. A mod — as the name suggests — is a modification to the game created by a member of the community. Oftentimes, mods are in line with what the community wants, and in some instances, are even more effective than updates implemented by Maxis. Other times, a mod is an outrageous yet fun implementation that makes the game more enjoyable. Modding has become so ingrained in The Sims experience that The Sims 4 has a section in its menu devoted to mods, allowing you to enable them without going through any weird processes on the back end.
The game’s developers have embraced mods and recognize that the community loves to create and use them. It’s part of the experience. With that in mind, you will need to download the mods you want to use, install them, and enable them from within the game in order for them to function properly. Once you do so, you’ll be ready to jump in and try out your new mods.
Master Controller Command Center
No Sims 4 mod list would be complete without Deaderpool’s Master Controller Command Center. This is a mod that contains a series of smaller mods, allowing you to tweak your experience on the fly. It’s really quite incredible the amount you can do with the MC Control Center. It lets you blacklist NPCs, eliminate certain clothing items, and set the ages of your Sims, and it can even be used to control NPCs, turning them into characters you actually like. This is the definitive Sims 4 mod, so be sure to grab it.
Lifetime Skills
Despite learning a variety of skills as a toddler, your Sim seems to forget them when they grow up. Well, not anymore, thanks to the Lifetime Skills mod by TwistedMexi. It lets you carry your skill experience over when your toddler gets older. If you max out all your toddler’s skills, you’ll get an additional XP bonus, which is absolutely worth your while. This is really something that should be in the game to begin with, so don’t skip out on this one.
Mermaid Lifestate
Okay, this one isn’t incredibly useful, but who doesn’t want to turn into a magical mermaid or siren? With SpinningPlumbobs’ Mermaid Lifestate mod, you can do just that. It gives you a slew of customization options to make your mermaid exactly how you want. All you have to do is upgrade your Mermaid Mythology skill to level 3 and you’ll be able to transform into a beautiful mermaid.
UI Cheats Extension
If you’re someone who uses cheats in The Sims 4, this mod is for you. The UI Cheats Extension by weerbesu adds all the cheat options into the UI without having to type in the code. Sure, you probably know many of the codes by heart and can type them in quickly, but with the UI Cheat Extension, you can cheat more efficiently. With a simple click, you can immediately gain as much money as you’d like or even set your Sim’s aspiration goal to its maximum.
Slice of Life Mod
The Sims 4 can be quite realistic, but you can up the ante in the realism department by using KawaiiStacie’s Slice of Life mod. This mod allows your Sim to change, physically, based on emotion. For example, if you Sim is embarrassed, their cheeks will turn red, or they’ll have teary eyes when sad. This mod impacts your Sim, as well as NPCs.
Morphmaker
While The Sims 4’s Create-A-Sim offers a more robust way to make your Sim than ever before, players will always want more. And that’s okay, because CmarNYC’s Morphmaker mod lets you get into the nitty-gritty of building your Sim exactly how you want. It lets you create and sculpt your Sim (and pet) to your liking, with a huge array of tools to be as precise as you want. The image above only scratches the surface of how in-depth you can go with it, and after you use this mod, you’ll probably have trouble using the game’s original CAS system.
BuildBuyMode Unlocker
Like many mods on this list, saving time is a major factor. With the BuyBuildMode Unlocker, you won’t need to spend time earning all the items in the game. For many, unlocking these items is part of the fun, but if you want to get right to it without spending hours upon hours completing goals, this is the mod for you. The mod is by scripthoge, and it lets you download individual items from a hefty list. Be sure to check it out if there’s a specific item you have in mind!
More CAS traits
Isn’t it so annoying you can only have three traits for your Sim at once? Luckily, there’s a mod created by chingyu1023 that gives you more trait slots and gives you a wide list of new traits to add to your Sim and your pet. This will give your Sim even more personality, perfect for those who want to create a distinct character. There are so many to choose from like Sarcastic, Art Lover, Geek, and a ton of others. And now you won’t have to be as choosy since you’ll have more slots to apply traits to.
SupeSpeed Mod
Artum’s SupeSpeed Mod is great for those who want to get through their days or tedious activities much more quickly. The Sims 4 already lets you do this, but the SupeSpeed Mod allows time to move even faster. This is great to use during mundane activities like sleeping or walking from place to place. Do be mindful — it runs so quickly that it can cause things to glitch out a little.
Build Your Own Houseboat
Those who were interested in the mermaid mod listed above might also fancy this one. The Build Your Own Houseboat mod, courtesy of Snowhaze, allows you to take your life to the sea (or other body of water). You can pack decorations and furniture into your houseboat, but beware, the space is much more limited than you might be used to. The building process is intuitive and even allows you to add various floors to fit your needs.
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