Discover the best Sims 3 expansion packs !
The Sims 3 had a total of 11 themed Expansion Packs. Some of these packs were great and worth playing and even replaying whileothers weren’t quite the best (at least not for everyone). This list breaks down the best expansion packs that we recommend you to (re)play, as well as the least favorites. If you find yourself interested in one of the expansion packs at the end of the list, then give it a shot. After all, tastes do differ and so do the themes of the expansion packs. Let’s get started!
1. Generations
If you want to play an EP that is a bit more realistic and indie (if you look at it from a certain lens) then Generations can easily become your favorite. You will get to build memories through generations (see what I did there?) and much more.
I personally loved this EP, I definitely enjoyed playing this when I was in the mood for (re)building my life. I’ll just go ahead and mention what’s good and bad about the game so you know what I mean.
What’s good:
- It is more on the subtle side, nothing too extreme so it’s perfect for when you feel like playing a somewhat close to reality game. Whatever that reality may be for you.
- The theme is life states and moments and memories that you build along the way.
- There are kids, teenagers, high schoolers, old people…etc.
- Your adult sims can go through a midlife crisis, your young sims can have an imaginary friend which can later on be real by using a potion and so much more for activities for all ages.
What’s bad:
- It doesn’t really have a new town.
- It is on the realistic side as I have mentioned above which might not be good for some people who are more into fiction/sci-fi/supernatural.
Expansion score: 95/100
2. Ambitions
This is for those who love making money, want a new job, or want to have a taste of what it would feel like to have a certain job. This expansion is for you.
Working as a P.I. has to be hands down my favorite thing to do on this EP. There are so many options, not just new professions but also added features to professions that already existed.
What’s good:
- No more rabbit holes, you get to follow your sims to work and know what they are doing.
- A new town called Twinbrook.
- New professions such as firefighters, ghost hunters, architectural designers, private investigators…etc, along with self-employed professions by using any skill that can be capitalized.
- Two new skills: Sculpting and Inventing.
- Getting weekly stipends.
- Very fun and new, making the gameplay less repetitive.
What’s bad:
- This is more of a realistic adult-y approach to TS3. If you are not into that, then this expansion is for you.
Expansion score: 94/100
3. Island paradise
Living on an island, owning a resort from which you earn your bread, scuba diving and so much more. This expansion has a very original concept to sims which makes it 10x more attractive.
The EP is beautifully made, the design is nice and very “island fitting”. You can customize your own resort and do so many other fun activities.
What’s good:
- A new town called Isla Paradiso which is beautifully designed.
- You can live in a tropical island and own a resort and manage it to earn money, or even live on a boat.
- You can scuba dive and explore what’s under the sea! Find treasures.
- There is now a new way to die! You can get eaten by a shark.
- You can become a mermaid! Grow a tail once you touch the water (H2O anyone?)
What’s bad:
- It lags. With so many features and so much going on,your computer will break, especially if you have other expansions.
- The houseboats can be a bit (too) slow.
- The routing is horrifying! If you want to go certain places, it can take forever to get to your destination.
Expansion score: 93/100
4. Seasons
Seasons sounds like it could be dull, so what if they add snow and thunder? Well, it’s much more than that. You get to do more activities that are more season specific and celebrate new holidays with your family and friends and much much more.
A beautiful EP that gets you to take more care of your sims so that they can stay healthy and avoid colds in the winter and enjoy summer and go for a little swim in the ocean. Let’s discuss what’s good and bad in this expansion pack.
What’s good:
- Weather! Your sims can finally live through different seasons.
- Your sim can now tan, catch a cold, worry about hypothermia and choose a convenient outfit for each season.
- Aliens exist in this EP! They can make meteors and come anytime and anywhere.
- Celebrating new holidays and festivals.
- New activities that your sim can do depending on the season.
What’s bad:
- It unfortunately doesn’t come with a new town.
Expansion score: 91/100
5. World adventures
For all travelers out there, this expansion is for you. You will explore new destinations and discover new cultures. This is also a great expansion for collectors since it allows you to collect items and even transform them to new items.
Everything about this EP is good. I have enjoyed it but nothing more. After being done with exploring the places, I was ready to move on. However, it is so much fun to play.
What’s good:
- Your sims can travel to 3 new worlds: Sang Simla in China, Egypt and France.
- Explore each travel destinations and pursue quests that give them more rights in whatever country they are at.
- Three new skills that come with each country; Martial Arts for China, Photography for Egypt and Nectar Making for France.
- No rabbit holes, you actually get to benefit from many new features.
- The new life state in this EP is the Mummy.
What’s bad:
- For an adventurous EP, the puzzles can be a bit easy for any puzzles’ fan.
- It can a bit buggy on computers due its new features.
Expansion score: 90/100
6. Supernatural
If you are into supernatural creatures, vampires, werewolves, witches, fairies and zombies, then you might enjoy this expansion.
I personally quite enjoyed this EP and thought it was fun, so I’ll jump to the positives and negatives and let you decide.
What’s good:
- Supernatural creatures! There are vampires, fairies, zombies… and so on. This expansion is perfect if you are a fan of roleplaying supernatural scenarios.
- The expansion adds the Alchemy skill, which is a new one that enables you to make potions.
- Fairies and vampires have the same age length, meaning they can live forever.
- Witches can bring back the dead, werewolves can hunt in packs, zombies invade your space… etc.
- Spooky decor and cool furniture.
- Moonlight Falls is a really nice town that fits the theme perfectly, it is gloomy and woodsy with lots of green. It sort of reminds me of that Twilight scene where he reveals he’s a vampire and start glimmering.
What’s bad:
- For the ones who are looking to start a house on TS3 or are into a more slice-of-life gameplay, this expansion is too fictional.
Expansion score: 89/100
7. Into the future
Robots, high tech, hoverboards…etc. This final expansion Pack for The Sims 3 has all the futuristic vibes and aspects that any sci-fi fan would love to be immersed in.
The “Back to the Future” movies were one of my favorite movies as a kid and even now, so you can only imagine how excited and nostalgic I felt when I knew that the last expansion pack to be out would have a futuristic theme.
What’s good:
- New town called the Future World of Oasis Landing which is a beautiful travel destination where you can meet your Sim’s descendants.
- It has amazing futuristic themed furniture/clothing items/hairstyles.
- Your sim can travel to the future or travel back to the past at will. The best part is that any change you make in the past can have consequences on the future.
- You will be able to use things you have learned in your future travels in your past to upgrade your home.
- It has a lot of high-tech goodies such as hoverboards, hovercars, plumbots, jetpacks… etc.
What’s bad:
- As the final expansion, it was expected to simply “have more” and not much was added.
- If you are not a sci-fi fan, this expansion might be boring, the traveling back and forth to the future can eventually lose its glamor and fun.
Expansion score: 89/100
8. University Life
Young adults trying to figure out what to do with their lives, thrown in a Campus in where they can get some education but also, most importantly, party! If anything you just read sounds appealing to you then keep on reading.
This expansionwas fun at first until itstarted to get a bit boring. Nonetheless, it is definitely a nice way to get a head start in careers and socializing with your surroundings.
What’s good:
- Your sims can go to university and become whatever they want; a jock, a nerd or even a rebel.
- A new town called Sims University which is a travel destination.
- Your sims can earn a job in 3 new career tracks.
- There are 3 new skills added which are: Social Networking, Science and Street Art.
- Lots of activities that you get to experience in University such as drinking, fraternities and sororities, bonfire parties, throwing protests…etc.
- You can make your sims get “juiced” so that they make bad decisions!
What’s bad:
- Like some other expansion packs, the parties and pillow fights can become boring after a while.
- It also appears that this expansion pack is quite buggy which can make the gameplay less attractive.
Expansion score: 80/100
9. Late night
Partying and living the night life. That’s what this expansion pack is about and it does it quite well. You’ll get to hang out with your friends late at night (duh) and party and have fun with them. You can even meet some vampires along the way or be one if you’d like. (no, I did not confuse this expansion pack with Supernatural).
This expansion pack is fun! As someone with strict parents, this expansion made me live out my 18 years old’s dreams. My sims got to party in a really beautiful looking city that I will talk about in a bit, along with many other positives (and negatives).
What’s good:
- New town introduced called Bridgeport which has very artistic vibes that capture a modern city’s essence.
- Sims can raise their popularity making them eligible to getting rewards. They can pursue a career track that leads to becoming an actor or a director.
- Lots of new costumes and outfits compared other expansion packs, new instruments, bands, clubs, bars…etc.
- Instead of commanding your sims to go to a spot, you can simply make a group that has your sim friends and you can all go party at the same spot together and even leave together.
What’s bad:
- There are no other life stages, nothing is added for kids and toddlers unlike teenagers who can be considered as adults.
Expansion score: 77/100
10. Pets
This expansion’s title pretty much sums it up. If you love pets then you will most likely enjoy this expansion pack. It allows you to have as many as pets as you want, take care of them and play with them…etc.
I’ll start off by saying that I love pets! At first, I was having quite a lot of fun discovering what the pets do, what’s added in the expansion and so on. However, it started getting a bit boring and repetitive after about 2 weeks.
What’s good:
- A new town called Appaloosa Plains.
- It has cats, dogs, birds, fish, chipmunks, squirrels, horses and loads of other pets. Oh, unicorns too!
- A great getaway from stressful gameplays (or life). It’s very chill and fun.
- For my Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley fans, you can have a farm full of your chosen pets.
- Cats and dogs can find collectibles. Horses can race and you make big earnings if they win.
What’s bad:
- If you don’t like pets, you simply won’t like this Expansion since its main focus is pets after all.
- It can get old playing with pets and having to look out for them in order for them not to have destructive traits.
Expansion score: 55/100
11. Showtime
If you are into being a singer, performing, or a fan of Katy Perry. Then you might enjoy this expansion pack. You will be able to perform in front of big crowds, be loved and surrounded by adoring fans.
This was, however, one of my least favorite EP. I am not a big fan of performing and tend to lean towards mysterious, supernatural gameplays, so this was a bit far from my liking.
What’s good:
- A new town, Starlight Shores, which really fits the theme and has Hollywood vibes.
- There is a Katy Perry edition that comes with 47 buy objects, 9 build objects and 28 clothing items. All of them Katy Perry themed from her California Dreams tour.
- This EP introduces 3 stage performance careers; Singer, Acrobat and Magician.
- You can interact with other sims from their towns where your sims can perform thanks to Showtime’s Simport.
What’s bad:
- It feels watered down. These careers could’ve fit in Late Night expansion which we’ll mention later on.
- It becomes boring for someone who is more into action or more exciting theme since it doesn’t add all that much and can be quite redundant.
Expansion score: 55/100
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