The Sims 4: For Rent Honest Review 

I am crying laughing at the one minute dramatic edit. "You would have loved this pack" made me absolutely guffaw.

it's so crazy to me that sims 4 can't do what sims 2 did nearly 20 years ago which is not having loading screens when visiting sims in the same apartment building

About the beach with the cave - I think it's a shame that we all just accepted that they don't do hidden worlds anymore. That cave would have been perfect for a little hidden world... a tunnel system under Tomarang used by nosy sims to snoop? A hidden world with tigers? That only wise sims know about and can access? Or generous sims can tell you about it? And it could have been part of the aspiration? We should be pissed that they don't do hidden worlds anymore.

It's really disappointing that TS4 came with the promise of having better performance and less rabbit holes in exchange for a loading screen and then it proceeds to have more rabbit holes and less lots and still needing the loading screen for performance issues

So the two locations I was most excited to see, the Animal Sanctuary and the Temple, are rabbit holes........how disappointing

If werewolves is a game pack then this should be as well tbh

There being no worst landlord or tenant aspiration is acc heartbreaking UGHHH

I feel like they could have AT LEAST made the temple an actual lot and not just a rabbit hole... Things like that are a great way to implement culture and replayability but the Sims team just keeps missing the mark every single time.

This should have been a game pack. Them selling such a small world for expansion pack that is about the size of Tartosa from the wedding pack is insane.

I'd like to point out that if you wanted to visit your neighbour in The Sims 2 Apartment Life, you just knocked on their door, and their apartment would magically appear, without a loading screen. You could just walk straight in and hang out, and when you left, it would just disappear again. All the while your own apartment was still active and loaded.

I will never foe the life of me understand why EA doesn't give creators packs waaayyy earlier so they can get this feedback and then implement those suggestions. Because they are really good suggestions. EA just doesn't care anymore. 😢

the shared kitchen possibility makes me want to build an OG soviet apartment block

the lore is interesting, the clothing is BETTER than interesting, mostly just excited that we've got a bit more diversity. shame it had to come almost 10 years after game launch lol. it's just, every time a new expansion comes out, im made aware of how purposely empty this game is. also, that we're buying diversity which is another problem of mine.

As a Thai person, the world itself is stunning like literally I’m not gonna lie. But the rabbit holes kinda suck. I mean, we got the world adventures pack in the sims 3 and we see how fun it was exploring Pyramid, temple, or even mansion. I feel like if they could make it possible again that’d be awesome.

This would be more considered an expansion pack if they simply added the ability to make hotels, and made the world size reflect the amount of related gameplay (i.e. magnolia promenade) instead of making a map that's 75% ocean.

I really miss being able to place my own lots around a world, these worlds are way too small!

You are the most honest, and trustworthy sims RU-vidr I’ve ever watched. You are my absolute favorite, thank you for uploading!!!

I'm usually quite positive about sims packs, but this one does feel quite empty to me... the main selling point is building units which you can do anyway just now they're officially separate buildings, and it doesn't feel like there's much other gameplay with it outside of rabbit holes and loading screens and another empty world. For 40 quid they could've at least made breaking and entering have consequences and reintroduced NPC burglars

I don't mind loading screens - my biggest issue is the Sims I leave at home. If I leave my family at home, even for an hour, I come home and their stats are all out of whack. If I go out in the afternoon/evening, guarantee I come home and they're fully rested and now won't sleep all night

I’m gonna go full on conspiracy theorist here, but I fully think this pack was originally intended to be a city living refresh. The sims team most likely planned to implement building multiple homes on a single lot to be in the refresh and this world to be its own expansion pack. I think the team had to either cut costs and make this pack, or lacked any creativity to do a CL refresh AND find some new gameplay to justify making another expansion pack including this world. They must be making the worlds first and deciding what gameplay to throw in it second if I’m wrong and this was the plan all along. You would think for a rent pack the lots would be larger to actually build apartments, realistically the 40x30 lot is the only one to build a standard size apartment building. Every other lot you’d have to make tiny home apartments.

Even before the map was leaked I already knew the whole highlight of the expansion was going to be the gameplay for Tenant/Landlord. I don't know why they feel like they need to add a world to every expansion pack when they could focus on just the gameplay features. I remember we worried they were going to do the same for Seasons (I even remember the scare people had when they thought we'd get season specific small worlds) and yet they were able to make an expansion pack focused entirely on the gameplay aspect.

There is a loading screen to visit other tenants? THERE IS A LOADING SCREEN TO VISIT OTHER TENANTS!?

I was worried the child of the village trait would be like child of the islands trait from island living.. the intensity of that trait makes it so annoying that I never end up using it, kinda disappointed it's the same thing

Personally, I like that they put the renting and Thai rep in one single pack. Like, I really dislike that whenever we get a functional, gameplay thing, it's always in an american pack (werewolves, horses, active school, apartments, fame, yadda yadda) and we have to keep waiting for them to decide to make a pack focused on representation of other cultures to get that representation [and these packs tend to be really lackluster precisely because they don't put effort into the gameplay, since, apparently to them, the representation is enough (it's not)]. Like, we have schools, and horses, and all this other stuff elsewhere, you know? Feels nice that in order to play with rent, you have to get the Thai pack and for a non-american-focused pack to be USEFUL. Or, in other words, nah, they could've made the world better (bigger) and with more things to do, AND work on the renting gameplay. Both, we want both

Not the AO3 logo 💀every time I watch Jesse I find her more and more relatable

I love your content, you helped me realise I had autism and I got formally diagnosed at 28 this year. Very good review, I'm going to wait until they fix any problems it has at launch before getting it x

I don't think it's worth 40 dollars, but it looks like an overall good pack. I don't buy any packs -if you get what I mean- so I am more inclined to not care if it's worth the money or not.

As a Thai person, I can’t explain how happy this new expansion pack made me. Despite growing really bored with the sims 4, this definitely brought me back BIG TIME. Thank you for mentioning the lack of lots, it’s a little disappointing to hear about but nonetheless, I’m excited

i'm really excited about a lot of features from this pack but i can't help but think about if the sims team could have just planned packs from the beginning. think about how different city living and university would have been if they were all planned at the same time instead and could use the same mechanics. like if we had this ability to separate rooms and shared spaces for university dorms. i feel every time they put out something new, they make something old obsolete. like why would we use the apartments in evergreen harbour anymore when we can make our own better rentals anywhere? and given how expensive each dlc is it kinda sucks when this happens (also see hot tubs, cool kitchen stuff < home chef) like all of the sims 4 is like they're making it up on the spot

Going between units without loading screens was like the one thing that made me interested in this pack. EA definitely aren’t getting me money.

“We are gonna make apartments better than Sims 2”, they said “It’s gonna be fun”, they said

As an American who uses a kettle to make tea I feel like I have to say there are some civilized people among us.

A minor thing, but I wonder if they added radiator functionality to the radiator that came with the Vampires pack? I really hope so…

The kettle edit at 28:50 had me happy. As a South African ,seeing a kettle in this pack was a huge plus point for this pack.

For secrets, I feel like if you’re a nicer sim to others, or if you have positive and favorable traits, the more likely you’ll make others comfortable enough to tell their secrets to you, then the game should either let you use that for bad reasons (develop a blackmailing business) or if they’re good with keeping secrets, they can gain the career or goals of being a social worker! And on the other side of this, your sim could become burnt out socially because they have to keep people’s burdens OR they could take pride in gossiping. Also spying on people in this pack should also open you up to choosing the spy career

Sorry but I think it’s appalling that they are selling this as an expansion pack.

The tenant system looks like an upgrade to the university roommates feature. A much needed upgrade. This is what the roommates system should’ve been, it looks so much nicer.

This pack is going to encourage me to move around a lot. Once I put a sim on a property, they are there UNTIL THEY DIE lol. But now, I feel inspired to have a more "nomad" family and move around to different worlds! (After making rental properties everywhere, obviously).

This is a game pack that they're charging an expansion pack price for.... like with horse ranch... and growing together.... and....

I feel like you can finally make a retirement home with this pack. Should be easy enough, with all the shared spaces and seperate rooms. Love watching your content Jesse! Thanks for sharing with us!

I feel like the loading screen between rooms just defeats the appeal of having all your renters on one lot.

as a south east asian born and raised in the region I do agree that the world is way too small😅 for the location to me Morensong feels like Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, and Koh Sahpa feels like Bangkok and Bali at the same time (with a little sprinkle of Ho Chi Minh city lol). I love the architecture, the new traits and the clothes, but we could have more than what we got. Tomarang had so much potential to be the best world in the Sims 4.

I would absolutely love seeing a video of someone building the iconic sims 2 apartments with this pack. The trailer park was the most iconic!

That kettle edit was the most dramatic thing ever but also perfectly appropriate somehow🤣

“Knot. Knot? Knot.” AO3 logo 😂 lol Jesse you’re just like us ahaha I see you

as a southeast asian this pack still needs more

Loading in between visiting people in the same property??? Thats so typically EA. Same with the no matching colours. Really annoying sometimes.

The unbiased pack review that I'm waiting for!!! Thanks Plumbella ❤

Me: Sims 2 Apartments have no loading screens. EA: We know that we were able to do this before, but just give us your money and stop complaining. Me: I am going back to my Sims 2 rotation.

The animal sanctuary being a rabbit hole is DISGUSTIN🤢🤮 they could have done so much more. Like I’m disappointed about it but, also should have expected it considering the sims are majorly lacking in ever category with anything they have recently released

we do have one (and and a half if you count the few buildings in eco lifestyle) city pack, but we also have about ten very rural worlds and fifteen suburban ones. this and hopefully more/better city worlds in the future are *definitely* needed

I really love Jesse's sparkling eyeshadow ❤

I actuallt love that there is a kid specific activity for once

I just wanted to say thank you for the level of detail and honesty you put into these reviews. They really help me decide whether or not a pack is for me or not. I also appreciate the transparency regarding when packs have issues. It's nice to see a video that is both honest and not critical for the sake of criticism. 👍

"RIP Lizzie you woulda loved this pack babe" took me outtttt

jesse you're wild for that AO3 sign after saying knot 💀

Looking at this makes me wish this was a gamepack instead, cause I really want to use the gameplay, but I don't care about the CAS or build and buy, and not using the items will just feel like a waste of money.

the main reason i was disappointed in loading screens between units is because when I learned that we can have multiple families on one lot, i was like awesome this will be good for family gameplay, like if grandma lives in the attic or something but i still wanna play as her, i would have to jump between families and not be able to play them all if that makes sense.

I love that the sims is adding more “grocery stores” in the packs! It adds more realism for me

The dramatic kettle edit was ✨chef’s kiss ✨ and I’m so happy there’s cross pack compatibility with cottage living because it was truly absurd there was no kettle in a British themed pack. The radiators and ac units also add so much more realism for me, and I really hope they work with seasons. They seem to have fleshed out the renting system pretty well, and I can see this elevating my gameplay options and creativity a lot, so I’m pretty strongly considering getting this one, honestly. Edit: still not buying it full price though lmao

The buildbuy mode should have been shifted with City Living as a free Update. - The Real Estate system as a Landlord should have been a Game Pack, and not only being able to rent residential but also community lot. - the Thai culture, make it as a Stuff Pack.

Thanks for your honest review. I can say EA no longer lets me down because they killed all expectation a long time ago. Renting out apartments should have been included in City Living. Content-wise, this is more of a stuff pack than an expansion.

I was thinking about buying the pack at launch but after seeing this video, I'll wait for a sale. Thanks!

I was not expecting Her Majesty to be a jump scare 🤣

I feel like we're all just used to getting so little in these packs by now only to add a tiny bit of something new to our games that we forget how fcking expensive expansions are (even when they're on sale) which is sad

Disappointed by the small world but convinced to get it by the addition of builder's tea 😂

Yours are the only sims reviews I trust

Not the knot joke 😭

I really appreciate your pack reviews, always so honest and unbiased while being fun to watch.

As soon as I saw that kettle I saw “aw Jessie will be chuffed”

I literally thought the whole point of this pack was to have neighbors without loading screens. Literally pointless. I wonder if modders can fix it? I can't wait for the next life sim game to actually release...I want a game that's actually immersive.

Secrets could have totally worked like Sims 2 gossip. I've had Sims 2 sims find out about their partners infidelity through gossip. Unfaithful relationships, a secret lovechild, vegetarian Sims secretly enjoying meat, a Sim admitting they love their pet more than their partner, child Sims confessing to putting gum in their siblings hair or releasing their pet into the wild. Idk I can think of a million scenarios that apparently the Sims Team cannot 😂

That breaking news segment with lizzie was so GOD DAMN FUNNY OH MY GOD

I was really looking forward to this world because I really want more worlds that aren't based off America and to a degree England (we have enough now imo). So while it's gorgeous, I'm sad to see how small it is. I hope Twisted Mexi finishes their Create-a-World mod soon, I need someone to clone this world but make it bigger with bigger lots. TuT And as always, thank you for your truly honest reviews and not glossing over any of the issues with packs. You're my go-to TS4 pack reviewer for this reason! ❤️

Sims 4 releases a separate pack for building apartments. Meanwhile Sims 2 including this (plus being able to straight up visit your neighbors without loading screens) in Apartment Life along with so much more content than For Rent and City Living combined.

This world and items are so beautiful. I just desperately need more. This is an expansion pack, not a game pack. Give us moreeeee

I am mainly so excited to build a home for a multi-generational family!! I'm glad the rent portion works the way it does

Honestly the concept of mold makes it really realistic as a person that lives in a tropical climate!

With secrets, they could have added things like "secretly hates *random sim*" or "has a crush on", "is jealous of", etc. That way sims relationships will have an extra layer.

It feels like this pack started out as a City Living Refresh that they realised they could get more money out of as an expansion to me. Like they started out with the new tenant/landlord system and then added random bits onto it. I like getting a new world and culture, don't get me wrong, but it feels very thin and superficial and could have been done so much more with. For the expansion pack price I don't think it's OK to make a decent bit of gameplay and just add a small world and some rabbit holes. I know Satchonsims says it should have been a gamepack, and in some ways I agree with that, since the gameplay is the focus of the pack. However, it is "expansive gameplay", so it does fit the expansion pack brief, I guess, it's just really weak.. Really wish the sims team thought more along the lines of the Sims 3 team, with "how much fun can we cram into this pack" instead of "how little can we get away with for this price". Maybe that's cynic of me but we've had a lot of lackluster broken packs now. But we got a kettle, so I guess it's all good 😅 (really tho, been waiting for that for aaages!)

Had to decide if I wanted to watch your, lilsimisie’s or James Turner formerly known as the sim supply’s video first. Chose this one because I feel like you’re always the most honest one

i feel like this pack is annoying as it feels so empty and lacking. yeah the new flats seem awesome and i wanna get it for that and the asian inspired world and objects are so cool. but $40 for this? it doesnt seem worth it for a tiny map and content. i wish theyd released the lot building as a City living refresh ):

This world map and some world elements look like it’s a combo of copy/pasted elements from the Growing Together world and High School Years world! I am stunned by the lack of vision.

The whole kettle montage was the laugh I needed today 🤣

Disappointed by this - it seems we are getting less and less with expansion packs. The world is so small - I do want this pack but I will be waiting until it's half the price.

Off topic but my stickers just arrived from Lunar Isle and I love them!!! Really appreciate the free Xmas stickers too and the lovely handwritten note, thank you so much!! 💜💜💜 Everybody needs to go and order these stickers, they're so good!

I will forever love the Sims 3 for it's open world.. Sims 4 with all the loading screens is a huge step back

Love how you introduced the kettle😂😂 love your videos!!

As an American, at least _I_ can assure you, I don't boil tea water in the microwave

Thank you for the detailed review, Jesse. I must say, you're one of the few creators who actually reviews critically and honest.

You have no idea how much JOY I got from the kettle (also in the game :D) - I'm Finnish, living in UK and I've always been more of a tea girl than a coffee girl. This was NEEDED.

at least sims 2 you don't need a loading screen to visit your neighbors.

I think because I already had low expectations this time around, I don't feel too disappointed but I just wish they did better. The clothes feel lack luster which makes no sense because this is supposed to be bas3d off of Thai culture & their culture has so many pretty patterns & clothing! Hairstyles as well that are more dear. The swatches as a builder is also sad. I know this is only the beta but just like my wedding stories the problems were just around due date and it's frustrating that this keeps happening. Honestly? Maybe this shouldn't have been an expansion pack. I love the idea of the pack and I don't want to be too negative, obviously, especially cause this is beta - it's just again disappointing. Edit: I would like to note that I 100℅ do not blame the devs for this. Glitches happen, & honestly I think they were on a strct deadline. And I do think this was for building a community & not just selling units. Again, i just find this all a but disappointing.

Knot the ao3 logo 💀💀💀💀

Omg i always loved the lil tune at the end of your videos and assumed it was something custom but i shazammed it on the off chance it was an actual song and i found it!! Love ittt

The spiffing Brit will be so happy about the kettle

The kettle scene is the best cinema I've seen all year. Hats off to ya

before rewatching from the beginning, I was responding to someone on insta and zoned back in at the "is it just me or are the toilets just no where" and I cracked up laughing knowing which toilets were in this pack hdhd I imagined her looking everywhere but the floor

As an American I always use a kettle. When I didn’t have one I boiled water in a pot and poured it in a pitcher or glass to make tea. Microwave nothing 🥲 here

I choked on a laugh at “RIP Lizzie you would have loved this pack babe” 😂😂😂