Honest Review of The Sims 4: Growing Together 

"convincing kids to buy a bad pack" me here at almost 32 so excited to hear her review 😂

That awkward moodlet from eating together with dad is so real

I wonder if you got the ambitious trait not because you hit level 2 in the business career, but that you hit the next level of the job so quickly because you bumped yourself up with cheats.

You've been nothing but honest always, and it's one of many reasons why you're loved as a content creator. :)

Anyone else pre-ordered the pack and is relieved that Kayla rlly liked it and gave it a great review🤔😭?

How fun wouldn’t it be if the sims developers could surprise us some times in between with new playable lots in some of the worlds? Like a fresh update? 🏠

okay i’ve just spent the first 5 minutes of this video trying to understand HOW. SHE DOESN’T. BLINK. ONCE??? i was literally staring at her soul and attempting to pay attention to what she was saying but… she doesn’t blink 😂 yeah i know it was edited and there’s a lot of cuts while she speaks but it’s still unique how she’s able to not move her eyes once lol

Did you know! That others Sims can now ask you to move in with them?! My Sim dated Malcolm Landgrabb & he called to invite her to move in! I love the feature!❤

Wish they at least put 1 changing table in the base game, that was an odd choice, like 4 come with the new pack could’ve spared one.

This should have been in the game from the start and I am not paying $40 to get basic interactions with infants. It’s absolutely ridiculous. It’s upsetting too because we really need this for decent gameplay.

She dont blink

Huge round of applause to the developers that worked on this pack🎉 I’m so excited to get it

One thing the Sims really dropped that ball on for this pack is albums, I have been waiting for the ability to have family albums. It could be as simple as when you take a photo the option next to share would be add to Family Album or add to (album name). This game is what made me want to learn coding just so I could solve small problems like this.

Here's my issue... Besides the world and treehouses and two silly board games, all of these features could be modded in (in some cases these features already exist in various mods), and based on game update history that means it could have been an update. the treehouses could have and should have been an gameplay kit if those weren't abandoned and the world is just another American suburb which - as a South African I'm bloody sick of. This whole pack feels so worth it but like such a waste of money at the same time, its basically base game 2.0 so why are we buying updates to features promised to be fixed now, is it because we get a world and a treehouse with? skrew the CAS and Build/Buy, kits won't ever end so there's plenty of room there if that's what anyone's after. I have stuck with this game, stood up for Maxis through it all believing they would eventually set things right but this is the line for me. it's disgusting - and to everyone who keeps saying "appreciate the effort and love that was put into it" - NO, where was that for the base game? are they going to charge us to fix Get to Work now because they add 2 extra lots to Magnolia Promenade and an Alien skill tree or something?

I’m super stoked about the conversation topics!!! I think it’s going to freshen up gameplay a lot, I’ve been spamming the same interactions since 2014

The town was named after a tree that's interesting those trees can grow to be anywhere between 164 to 279 feet tall That's a very tall tree

I love that the movie theatre is a rabbit hole actually. Although I admit to watching my sims watch a movie together very frequently 😅

The Ambitious trait "bug" might have just been the game reacting to how fast your Sim was promoted; one of its triggers might be 'Sim is promoted within x amount of ingame time' regardless of if that's a result of a cheat

although the attention to detail is highly impressive, it’s a bit disappointing that some of the features like compatibility and milestones are things already available with mods and yet we have to pay for the actual sims version of them

I don’t like the sims feeling more real like it’s a game it’s so fun to not have to work so hard on things that shouldn’t really be so detailed

It would have been fun at the movies to be able to grab you drink and popcorn and snacks befor you go into your theater or try to sneak in snacks similar to the concept of bribing the bouncer at the club. Just for more gameplay

meh. should have been all base game. i understand the complexity of building this stuff but this pack is a serious base game need, esp with the infants addition. same thing with seasons. just should be existing in the base game.

I think the quirts and the 3 extra traits should be free.

I really want to get this but there is absolutely no way I am going to pay 40$ for it 😂

technically you can easily make a family tree in cas by making what u want, setting the relationships and then deleting what u no longer need. their relationship stays even if u delete the sim you originally needed to make them

Character development you say?! I’m in!!

You did really good lighting and filming yourself. The two eye lights

I play on Xbox...and don't have the pack but on the free update, the first thing I noticed was the adults don't automatically take care of the baby like they said they would. My free will is on for all sims. I feel like console players are kinda forgotten...like the new build buy menu isn't the same and it keeps saying I'm missing packs when I'm not and they change the controller actions so I have to relearn them. But I'll probably get it when it's on sale lol

I’m totally going to start a 100 baby challenge once I get this pack.

Unfortunately, since our economy is currently on the wrong track, we in Türkiye pay 26.99 times what you pay. Most of the time, this is a factor that discourages people from buying a game pack.

like Kayla said this pack is like everything we’ve been pretending to already have. I’m glad we’re getting this “challenge” to the game rather than just the free form we’ve been playing. Sims knew what they were doing dropping the infant update 2 days before cause they really are boring without the pack, especially after watching all the streams and trailers. There was a fine line between what was gonna be in the update and the pack based on those. Once i played i was like wait where’s this and that and realized it’s in the pack not base….. I’m in no way complaining lol but they definitely marketed the crap out of us lol

My sims baby grew to a infant and straight away sat up, crawled and my sim put her in the high chair. I thought she had to learn how to do these things and she literally knew it immediately. No mods and it was just the update obviously so unless u can teach infants these things in the pack it just seemed like they were a different type of toddler 😂

Would have been fun if other expansions added unique details from each pack. Even just small things.

I’m really happy with this update and pack. Yes it’s not perfect and has some lacks, and glitches… but at least for me it’s worth it!😊

Infant got stuck on Sims hip. Finally had to restart the game

I recently started playing the sims again (I took a break sometime when snowy escape came out) and I noticed that some packs came out and I was interested in getting growing together the most since it added way more stuff for family gameplay. I might wait for the price to get cheaper just cause they're so expensive anyway, but I can't wait to get this one and possibly some of the other packs I missed :)

Omg! Imagine the 7 dwarves challenge now with this pack ! I’m so doing it!

Sims 2 had milestones! It was called memories. A lot of this is reminiscent of sims 2. Feels like the the game is maturing with time 🥲🥰

Flargen challenge 2.0 with updated childhood!!

Maybe I’m being a little greedy, but this would have been a perfect pack for an interactive daycare career.

I normally don't agree with the 'this should be base game' crowd but honestly, this is the first pack I felt nearly everything should be in the base game. The milestones, relationships and quirks are all quite important and would have been a huge quality of life update.

I hope they would give us the ability to visit elderly parents on thanksgiving and cook a meal for everyone without them telling it is ”inappropriate” 😅

Ooh I'd love to see a "hates children" sim go from that to a family oriented one. Definitely adds fun character development

1-Seasons 2-Growing together i personally think they should've been a base game update thats why they are the best packs

For anyone curious, there’s 4896 combinations of quirks for both infants and tots

the infants being able to NAP in your ARMS in the base game makes everything okay for me, that is the cutest feature

Seasons, parenthood and growing together should’ve been in the base game, that’s why they’re so good. If I look at packs that aren’t necessary and they’re still great, then Cottage Living is the #1

I can never buy a pack without knowing Simsie's opinion first.

I don’t think it’s a bad pack, it just has 80% of the infant interactions locked away behind a paywall Edit: I even said the pack wasn’t bad and y’all still mad cause I said what I said 👀💀🍵 If I was truly complaining I wouldn’t have said it was good, all I said was infants are boring in base game cause they are. Toddlers had no issue having base game skills sooo your point. I said what I said

Crazy that learning to crawl is part of the expansion, when the baby my Sim popped out, solely to try babies without the EP, was immediately able to crawl to a dresser and look at things. I'm not always on the "this should have been base game" train but for this pack I am.

The sims lowkey added the ability to have childhood trauma. I’m excited for the machinimas😂

Obsessed that the sims team thinks everyone goes through a household fire at least once in their life. Explains a lot

THE EXTENDED STAY FOR LONG DISTANT RELATIONSHIPS?!? Imagine your childhood best friend lives Mt Kom and your boyfriend lives in somewhere else?! I love you can use it so many ways.

80 simoleans for a tooth, wow! Inflation hit the tooth ferry hard I was getting $2-5 and a sticker as a kid lol.

Since apparently you can also create puzzles by taking pictures, I really hope to see a "Can you get rich with puzzles?" with Stanley! 🤩

My only complaint is that they didn’t change the babysitting job to be an active job. Like where you can go with your Sim and babysit other people’s babies because that would’ve put this pack over the top

Kayla making THE blue suburban for the pack is honestly iconic

I think things like changing tables should have been base game and then the pack have us more. Either way I’m buying it so it doesn’t matter for me but I feel bad for those who don’t have the pack

We need a supermarket pack. Imagine pushing the babies in a trolley, buying your own food or being able to work there part time

I love how Kayla is like "my sims had a miserable time so I really enjoyed it"

I was expecting this video the same way that a pregnant woman expects their baby

The world is such a huge disappointment. It’s so annoying that we’ll never see a world so full of detailed stuff like Windenburg again.

I'm really excited for this pack since I love to play with families. I like the world and the items that are featured in the pack. My only gripe is that I wish they could have added more fishing and swimming areas in the world considering that it's a fishing village. Also, this could have been the perfect opportunity to add walking canes, strollers, retirement homes and the daycare career. Thanks Kayla for this review ❤️

I also like the Filipino references that they included in this pack with the premade Sim names. I love that the creative team is very inclusive ❤️ San Sequoia sounds like 'Saan si Kuya?' in Tagalog which means "Where's my Brother?" which is somehow related to the theme of the pack 😊

My infant already broke and had the stretchy bug. He's fine btw all alive and well living life trying new foods.

Does anyone know if they are planning on fixing the constant pop ups from sims wanting to be best friends or get married right after you meet them? I’m tired of sims spawning inside my house to do this!

Kayla the person. "Great builder, sweet, funny and caring." Kayla with Sims "I want her to suffer. Kill Sims" lol I love your game play and humor with your Sims.

Sounds like there's finally a use for having a guest room

Desperately needed the vid - I've been trying to decide whether to get Growing Together or High School Years so thanks Simsie!!! Love hearing your opinion :)

Kayla: I love family based gameplay it's my favorite!! Also Kayla: *teleports her toddlers up and down the stairs* *imprisons toddlers to not have to take care of them* *cheats up their needs*

Maybe controversial, but I would have preferred to see preteens over infants.

The stay over event is just what I needed!! Finally my guest room builds will actually be useful!

Love the new update and am excited to play with the pack. But one feature I'm really missing in my game is photo albums! I feel like this new pack was the perfect opportunity to allow us to create albums filled with photos of milestones and interactions that Sims could flick through.

i’m blown away by how good this pack sounds AND it’s not broken?? might be the first time I buy a pack new..

I want triplets where, two of them are distant from each other/dislike each other, but they’re both very close with their other sibling😅

I always love your reviews! This pack seems like an awesome buy. I can't help but feel like all these features should just be included in the base game, just like it feels like Seasons should be... Included in the base game. It's a bit strange that pretty basic life sim features are locked behind a paywall on a game that is one of the only life sims on the market....

HONESTLY SO DISAPPOINTING!! maxis should actually release some free packs...this pack should have been a base game update because it would add a lot more meaning to the game and realism.. .sims for us basegamers is slowly getting boring..

I actually think the compatibility system for this looks better than what was in the Sims 3. In the Sims 3 it worked based on traits but the problem with that is that your Sim basically only got along with Sims that were copies of themselves; with this new system being based on likes & dislikes it seems like we'll be able to have more complex relationships & can have "opposite" Sims that get along because of their preferences, not just their traits

I love the new trait system thing. Imagine you have an evil sim who is cruel and hates children, but eventually they meet someone, or they adopt a child and then they change as a person. Like Simsie said, character development is perfect for this type of game! Or if you have a deadbeat parent and then they eventually change and love their children more or if they are non-committal, they could become more committing to their family or partner.

Not gonna lie. Can't wait to do the cinderella challenge with this pack and see all the childhood trauma that's gonna happen.

Can no one else buy a pack without simsie telling us how it is first? Cause I can't bring myself to buy it without her honest reviews

As an experienced nanny and person who holds a BA in Psychology, I am very impressed with how EA was able to integrate Sims gameplay with actual elements of human development, especially in the sense that infants gradually gain more and more interactive abilities the more they discover about the world. Even just the base game update, I was super impressed playing around with it yesterday that you can't have infants interact with non-need based objects (like toys or a diaper left on the floor) that they cannot see from their position at the time. That alone reflects the cognitive development of humans at that age as they determine perspective, short term memory, object permanence, and visual acuity. So much of what we've been told is in this new expansion pack makes me want to call it the neuropsychological development pack. I will definitely be buying this in the next few months.

One thing the could have added for teens was the ability for you to hire a teen babysitter when the parents go on a date or something and the option for your teen to travel to another lot to take a babysitting jobs

I am waiting to buy it until it comes out and we get the full bugs list and how well it works. It definitely looks interesting and I love family gameplay, but I'm gonna wait.

I just lost my sweet baby dog. He was going to turn 10 this year and I honestly can't imagine my life without him. I miss him so much. I'm not even watching this for the pack, just need Kayla's warm, funny and upbeat personality right now. Thanks for doing what you do, Simsie.

I remember having memories in the sims 2. I loved it. When you loaded a new save all the townies already had memories and man some were very spicy. I loved the drama they already had 😂

10 months later this pack is on sale - anyone here lurking in the comments care to share your thoughts before I buy?

It's not that I'm wondering what the point of the pack is, I'm just confused why I have to pay $40 for my Sims to have relationships

We actually used to have basically the milestone/memory system in sims 2! It was like basically the same just without the learning milestones

Yay, now we can swap Bob and Eliza's traits to good ones and maybe it can be like they went to couple's counseling or something...

tbh this sounds like the best pack they've ever come up with. adds challenge and randomness and actually makes sims have personalities and live a LIFE. it's actually big deal in a LIFE simulator

Imagine woohooing in your kid's tree house😭 that's so weird

I agree with your infant thoughts a lot. I haven't played the pack yet, obviously, but it does feel like half of the infant features are locked behind a paywall. I'm stoked to get my hands on this pack tomorrow, don't get me wrong! But not everyone has $40 to spend on making infants more interesting, you know?

You are absolutely correct about the pack being the offer half of infants. I was shocked when I figured out all those things were locked behind a paywall.

My issue with this pack is not that it's bad persé, I just don't think it should be paid content AT ALL. These are BASIC features that were part of the base game in previous games and I don't understand why now we have to pay for them.

Another 'pack' that should've been base game play.

“This pack is $40”. It’s $54.99CAD 😭🇨🇦 I’ll most likely be waiting for it to go on sale. Aside from the price, this pack genuinely seems like it has so much to offer. Thanks for the honest review Kayla!

wow, I dont think we should be thankful that we have to pay for something that should be basegame

There’s too much of this pack that shouldn’t be behind a separate paywall or that render other packs ridiculous. Instead of parenthood being a game pack they should’ve done this years ago as a combination of both things. Items like upright pianos, sleeping bags, changing tables, and gameplay like milestones, family dynamics, memory boxes, kids riding bikes… these are ridiculous things to paywall and yet I still want to buy the pack. But yeah parenthood being its own pack really grinds my gears because I thought it was the best I was gonna get.

Imagine a 30 billion dollar game company not paying a designer for their work.