The 73rd Stuff Pack to The Sims 4 is Here: A Review of Toddler Stuff

As I sat down to review the latest addition to The Sims 4, Toddler Stuff, I couldn't help but feel a sense of apathy. With the pack's release comes the usual $10 price tag, and as someone who has lost track of the number of Stuff packs that have come out over the years, it's hard for me to muster up any excitement. Even the community seems to be more interested in discussing the upcoming Cats & Dogs pack than Toddler Stuff, with no mention of it being asked about.

However, I am here to give my evaluation of this pack, whether you want to hear it or not. So, let's dive into what Toddler Stuff has to offer. As you can imagine, pre-child-age children, also known as toddlers, are the focus of this pack. And boy, do we get a lot of them! The new hair and clothes for toddlers are plentiful, with items like fox and bee costumes being added to the mix. While I may not be the best judge of toddler fashion (or any fashion for that matter), I can appreciate the effort that has gone into creating these outfits.

The pack also includes playdates for toddlers, which can be organized through the phone, much like most other social interactions in the game. This allows toddlers to join forces and cause mayhem together without having to organize another type of gathering. However, it's up to the parents and caregivers to take care of messy diapers, serve snacks and juice, tell stories, and generally keep their toddlers from causing an Angry Toddler Apocalypse.

Moving on to the Build Mode objects that make up the remainder of the pack, there are around two dozen items to choose from. These include a bright-looking fence and matching gate, a single chair, a couple of pillows that can act as chairs, five balloons tied to non-chair pillows, a string of lights on two sticks, a colorful grill, a picnic table, a non-moving wagon cooler, and a non-functional picnic clutter item. There's also a set of sail shades, massive rugs that are so big they couldn't fit anywhere but outside (and even then, only in four places), and a small assortment of play items for toddlers, including yet another toy box with a slightly different paint job.

However, it's the ball pit that really caught my attention. Was this modeled and textured in 1997? The Sims 4 was coming to consoles, but I didn't know that meant it would be released on the PS1! I've seen better ball pits at DashCon. I'm not being a graphic snob when it comes to The Sims games; they never really been about pushing the boundary of realism or anything. But this ball pit is objectively distractingly hideous compared to other game assets.

I will admit, though, that there are some fun imagination effects with toddlers conjuring up images of ocean life and spaceships. And I still think that the toddlers themselves are the best they've ever been in the series. The interactions with them are fun, the animations are cute, and watching them grow up and develop into more fleshed out young Sims is a real treat for family-oriented players.

But this pack? I just can't be bothered. And I certainly cannot recommend it, even at $10. The best features to play with regarding toddlers and these new items are already in the game, and those were added for free in a Toddlers patch a while back. It might have been worth a look if it included something desired by a broader spectrum of fans, like bunk beds for instance. But nope. Unless you're really into the clothing additions or the wibbly-wobbly ball pit rendered in 1997, there's just not much to say about this pack.

As I conclude my review, I hope that you enjoyed it regardless. If you did, there are new videos every Monday and Friday, so stick around and watch more LGR. And as always, thank you very much for watching.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enHooray.The 73rd Stuff pack to the Sims 4 is here.This one is imaginatively titled Toddler Stuff,costing its usual $10 or your regional equivalent.EA once again hooked me up with a review code for the pack,but, goodness, is it hard for me to care at this point?I have genuinely lost track of the number of Stuff packs by now.And as for the community,Well, all anyone seems to be asking my opinion on these daysis the upcoming Cats & Dogs pack, with no mention of Toddler Stuff.Even Ralph can't be bothered.I don't even know where he is today.But while Ralph has the right idea,I'm here to give you my evaluation,whether you want it or not,So let's dive into The Sims 4 Toodle-oo Pack, or whatever it is!As you can imagine,pre-child-age children, AKA toddlers,are the focus of the pack.So you get an assortment of new hair and clothes just for them.And I mean just for them,since I don't see any items for any other age range.You get fox and bee costumesand things like that, so it's fine by me.Although I am not a fine judge of toddler fashion,or any fashion for that matter,so take that with a boulder of salt. (advise against that.)Once your vessels self-destruct from excess sodium intake,you'll realize there are now playdates for toddlers in the game.This is accomplished through the phone,like most every other social interaction,and it basically lets toddlers join forces to cause mayhem togetherwithout having to organize another type of gathering.Whether or not the event goes wellis mostly up to the parents and caregivers,as you might expect,being their responsibility to take care of messy diapers,serve snacks and juice, tell stories,and generally postpone the Angry Toddler Apocalypse.The remainder of the tots packconsists of around two dozen Build Mode objects,Including a bright looking fence and matching gate,one single chair,a couple pillows that act as a chair,five balloons tied to non-chair pillows,a string of lights on two sticks,a colorful grill, a picnic table,non-moving wagon coolerand a non-functional picnic clutter item,a set of sail shades,these rugs that are so massive,I couldn't fit them anywhere but outside,not one, not two, not three, but fournon-interactive and confusingly designed stumps,and a small assortment of play items for toddlers,including yet another toy boxwith a slightly different paint job,a small plastic slide and a giant wooden doll housewith a slapdash mushroomy design.(laughs) And then there's the ball pit.Aw, man, this thing.Was this modeled and textured in 1997?Like, I knew The Sims 4 was coming to consoles,but I didn't know that meant the PS1!I've seen better ball pits at DashCon.All kidding aside, this is atrocious.And I am not a graphic snobwhen it comes to the Sims games,since they've never really been about pushing the boundary of realism or anything.And I am not just gonna call them out as lazyor say that does it look like this due to performance optimization.Maybe one of those are true, but I don't know.All I'm saying is that this ball pitis objectively distractingly hideouscompared with the other game assets.Not only that but you also get two toddler jungle gyms.One of which has that freaking ball pit again!Seriously that flat-textured,low-poly monstrosity made it into the pack twice!(chuckles)At least you get some pretty fun imagination effects here,with toddlers conjuring up images of ocean life and spaceships,which is pretty neat.And admittedly I still think that the toddlers themselvesare the best they've ever been in the series.The interactions with them are fun,the animations are cute,and watching them grow up and developinto more fleshed out young Simsthan ever before is a real treatfor family-oriented players.But this pack?I just can't be botheredand I cannot recommend it, even at $10.The best features to play withregarding toddlers and these new itemsare already in the game,and those were added for freein a Toddlers patch a while back.It might have been worth a lookif it included something desiredby a broader spectrum of fans,like bunk beds for instance,but nope.Unless you're really into the clothing additionsor the wibbly-wobbly ball pit rendered in 1997,the Toddler Stuff pack is one of my most thoroughlyignorable packs to date.And that is saying something!(smooth sax music)Well that was a quick review,but I mean there's not much to talk about here.It's what you saw.That was what it was, but anyway,I hope you enjoyed this regardless.And if you did,there's new videos every Monday and Friday,so stick around and watch more LGR.And as always, thank you very much for watching.\n"