Sims 4: Discover University saw the return of many beloved features. Avid simmers were excited to play with bicycles, juice kegs, and secret societies once again. But many players, myself included, often find that the Sims 4 team doesn’t seize all opportunities to really flesh out their game’s features. For example, if they’re going to include bikes as a new mode of transportation, why not make them available to children? And why not use that as an opportunity to include tricycles for toddlers? And if they haven’t included bunk beds by now, they probably never will.
One of the returning features that I was most excited about was roommates. Ever since City Living, I yearned for the inclusion of non-playable roommates. I wanted to play out my own episode of Friends in my high rise San Myshuno apartments. Ultimately, I was fine waiting for a university expansion to come out if it meant the return of one of my favorite features. But when I installed the game and played around with roommates, both in and out of student housing, I was a little disappointed. Roommates didn’t seem any different than sims who’d been given keys to the residence. They just show up once in a while and triggered passive-aggressive speech bubbles. Boring!
Here are some ways that I thought EA could improve upon the roommate feature:
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Better Roommate Selection
In Discover University, your sim puts an ad out for a roommate and eventually, a townie will stroll on by. Your sim can either accept or reject them as their new roomie. It would be a sleeker, more fun player experience to be able to select sims from a menu, the same way you would if you were adopting children or pets. Additionally, you could have specific interview questions provided in the social menu so that you can really get to know what kind of roommate you’re in for!
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Split the Bills
I was surprised to find that when I did get a roommate, they didn’t help pay the bills! Nor did they trigger any kind of deduction from my sim’s rent. I think that for there to be an incentive to get a roommate, your sim’s rent or bills should be cut by half. The more roommates you have on the lot, the lower your bills! Otherwise, what’s in it for your sim? Some stranger living in their house rent-free, eating their food and walking in on them when they woohoo? No, thanks.
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More Roommate-Specific Social Interactions
As a way to make roommates feel more fleshed out, there need to be more social interactions. I want my sims to be able to complain to their roommates about their stinky tuna sandwiches, ask for next month’s rent, or kick them out for the night when they bring back a hot date.
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Roommates Function Like Pets
I don’t mean that I want my sim to teach their roommate to jump through agility hoops or make them poop in a litter box. I mean that I want roommates to be selectable while being nonplayable. While my sim’s roommates should maintain their autonomy, I want to be able to click on them and see their traits, their job, their needs, etc.
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Speaking of Autonomy…
Roommates are a big part of a person’s life and have the potential to be serious disruptions. I want the same for my sims! Roommates should be able to adopt pets, throw parties, and even get Flirty with the other residents–including my sim.
What are some aspects of the new roommate feature that you would change? Or what other features of Discover University do you have your own strong opinions about? Let us know in the comments!
