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The Sims 4 Horse Ranch Expansion Pack adds several worthwhile equestrian-centric features to the title, but struggles to hold its own when compared to other Expansion Packs in terms of overall impactfulness. Though focused on horses, there are a lot of other things that will help hold players' attention, and a fairly strong showing of clothing and furniture alongside a beautiful world help the weaker points of the title carry a bit less weight. However, it still feels more like a Sims 4 Game Pack than an Expansion in many ways.
The main difference between a Sims 4 Expansion Pack and a Game Pack is scope. Packs tend to be very singularly focused, with releases like Werewolves and Strangerville having very clearly delineated subjects, while Expansions are both broader and deeper in what they bring to the title - Growing Together brought family dynamic mechanics, for instance. Horse Ranch does this to an extent through how it tries to immerse the player in the cowboy culture of the EP's world through new activities, and while these do offer a good amount of fun, depth in some areas makes the lack of it in others all the more disappointing.
The Sims 4 Horse Ranch CAS
The clothing and accessories offered in The Sims 4 Horse Ranch certainly skew towards a cowboy aesthetic, with lots of boots, hats, and outfits matching the theme, but there still manages to be some variation on a scale from vaguely Western to absolutely rootin' tootin' attire. An addition of dirty swatches for several of the items is a nice touch, making it look more like Sims have been at work on the ranch. Unfortunately there's very little for children or toddlers in CAS when it comes to apparel and hairstyles, and the lack of some kind of horse-centric aspiration for children feels like a missed opportunity.
Adults will have two new aspirations to choose from, Championship Rider and Expert Nectar Maker. Each of these has only one level to complete, but some of the goals do take significant work to complete - like earning $100,000 Simoleons from selling Nectar - which makes that single set of tasks feel more worthwhile. There are also two new Traits, Horse Lover and Rancher, which impact a Sim's performance and enjoyment when it comes to things like animal bonding and chores.
The biggest thing The Sims 4 Horse Ranch brings to CAS is horse creation, which functions like a cross between designing pets and werewolves. Players can choose from over 30 breeds as a jumping off point and lean into either realistic or whimsical palettes both with their coat and accessories, free drawing on them if desired in Paint Mode; steeds can even be adorned with a unicorn horn, however it offers no actual magical abilities akin to The Sims 3's version of the creature. There are 11 traits offered for the animal, with options like Aggressive, Defiant, Mellow, and Friendly.
The Sims 4 Horse Ranch's Build & Buy Mode
Filled with wooden furniture, wall-adorning wagon wheels, and equestrian supplies, the Build and Buy Mode of The Sims 4 Horse Ranch fully embraces the EP's theme. There's some overlap to be found here with the items of other DLC like the rural Cottage Living Expansion and Country Kitchen Kit that feels a bit repetitive, but not to a problematic degree, particularly for players who don't own those titles. There are still some standout items like customizable ranch signs and an adorable new dollhouse, and the wooden pieces' many swatches help make them more versatile.
The Sims 4 Horse Ranch's Gameplay
There are two main gameplay focuses in The Sims 4 Horse Ranch Expansion Pack: horse riding and nectar making, each of which is also a new skill for Sims. Horses themselves also have four skills players can train them in - temperament, agility, jumping and endurance - that affect their competition abilities. Players can also have mini goats and sheep on the ranch, both of which can oddly be kept in their inventory. These all have similar care requirements to the animals of Cottage Living - all of which, as well as cats and dogs, have cross-pack interactions with the new stable residents, albeit not in-depth ones.
Though not the titular focus of the Expansion, nectar making actually feels more in-depth in some ways that horse competitions. Competitions are done in a rabbit hole equestrian center, making them feel somewhat detached; this is further amplified by the fact players get the bare minimum of information about the event and competitors besides final ranking. On the other hand, nectar making - which consists of ingredient stomping followed by aging bottles in a cellar or storage rack - feels like it has more visible progress, and sharing a bottle of homemade nectar with friends is a cute, communal experience.
Outside these two main activities, players can also have their Sims pick up odd jobs like training a neighbor's horse via the Community Board, or alternatively hire a ranch hand to lighten the load at home. There are two new events Sims can plan: Ranch Animal Day, which is essentially a petting zoo, and Ranch Gathering, where Sims can enjoy on-theme activities like grilling and cowpoke dancing. There are no new deaths in The Sims 4 Horse Ranch, and the only new Woohoo spot is just a reskinned version of the bush that's been in Get Together and Jungle Adventure.
The Sims 4 Horse Ranch's World Of Chestnut Ridge
Consisting of three neighborhoods and 13 well-designed lots, the red rock world of Chestnut Ridge is one of Horse Ranch's strongest points. The area manages to avoid several of the pitfalls of Growing Together's environment that drew criticism - unlike the previous release, there's swimmable water, multiple rabbit holes, and even a secret cave to discover that features a delightful minigame. The entire map is dotted with training equipment and pit stops for Sims traversing the trails on horseback, and other details like old cars reclaimed by nature and a mysterious horse tombstone make the area feel like it has a long history.
The Sims 4 Horse Ranch's Bugs & Missed Opportunities
The Expansion Pack's core horse activities were completely free of bugs in the review copy of The Sims 4 Horse Ranch, but interactions with mini goats and sheep had some unsettling animation issues where Sims' arms would become extremely contorted while milking or brushing them. Outside of bugs, there are several areas of Horse Ranch that would help the game feel more like an Expansion Pack if they had more depth. For example, several decorative items would benefit from being usable, there could be more crosspack compatibility like Snowy Escape's rock climbing on Chestnut Ridge's formations, and children could use more special horse interactions.
Final Thoughts & Review Score
This latest Sims 4 DLC delivers exactly what it claims to and little more. Were this a Game Pack there would be nothing wrong with that, but with the steeper price tag of an Expansion Pack the areas that barely scratch the surface of what they could be or remain unexplored entirely are more glaring. That being said, Chestnut Ridge is beautiful and several elements of the EP are legitimately fun despite these flaws, and players who have long been clamoring for horses in the game will certainly want to pick up The Sims 4 Horse Ranch - it just may be worth waiting for a sale.
Source: The Sims/YouTube
The Sims 4 Horse Ranch Expansion Pack is available today, July 20, for PlayStation consoles, Xbox consoles, and PC via Steam and EA App. Screen Rant was provided with a PC code for the purpose of this review. The software used to capture these images was not final and is subject to change.