The Sims 4 has rather moderate deaths compared to previous games in the series. In particular, The Sims 3's standalone spin-off, The Sims Medieval, allowed Sims to carry out brutal, cruel, and defensive attacks. Set in a fantasy setting, players can challenge others to sword duels, order legal executions, carry out poison assassinations, or simply use their magic to kill enemies. These features could have worked in the TS4 expansions, but only if EA had committed to keeping the series resilient and mature..
The Sims Medieval the spinoff had an important departure from the other main series. Instead of playing an entire city with multiple Sim citizens, the game was hyper-focused on one Sim: the lord of the land, a would-be King or Queen. A player's Hero Sim would have much more authority over all other subjects of the land. Being the leader also meant that the Sim would constantly be ambushed, approached, or otherwise prompted by danger. This meant that killing or injuring other people was much more frequent than TS4.
The Sims has declined over the years
No chaos, no excitement
At launch, TS4 it was much more familiar and tame compared to the previous three main entries. Most of the pre-made Sims didn't even know each other, which didn't generate enemies or intrigue. It was also quite complex to die, with the main surprise being the fire for cooking. Drowning a Sim came with many warnings, and starvation could take weeks.
TS4 it also removed a core mechanic from the base game: random robberies. Even since TS1If players did not protect their homes with alarms, thieving NPCs could break into their homes and steal any Build Mode item. A similar feature was finally added to TS4: For Rentbut it was diluted. In this expansion, the players' own active Sim invaded other residential homes but they could only steal with certain characteristics like Kleptomaniac.
Gruesome Deaths Might Fit in the Right Expansion
Executions and duels could have been possible
The four unique deaths of TSM could have been introduced in several TS4 expansion packs. However, without major updates, this opportunity is too late. Still, maybe there's a chance to bring them in during future updates.
One of the biggest disappointments TS4: Journey to Batuu and that Lightsabers aren't real and can't kill. Even with cheats in The Sims 4the lightsaber is just a glowing bat. How awesome would it have been to hone a real lightsaber skill and challenge other Sims to duels, possibly fights to the death? It's likely that Disney has determined that lightsabers are non-lethal, although this goes against most other Star Wars media.
For legal executions, It is surprising that TS4: get to work and TS4: Discover the University do not have this result in their detective or lawyer careers, respectively. In most cases, criminals participate in non-violent crimes, such as vandalism, theft and graffiti. But it would be fun if the players' judge, Sim, could order the culprits killed.
Lethal food poisoning could have fallen under TS4: Dining out. EA probably didn't want to have a store that actively killed Sims through food and drink. However, active Sims can still accidentally get sick from eating at restaurants. This leads to an uncomfortable moodlet instead of death. Players can also call the restaurant for a refund and possibly more compensation.
Finally, it is disappointing that the magic of TS4: Kingdom of Magic it is not deadly. Most spells serve to cause confusion by manipulating moodlets. The Zipzap lightning spell only destroys objects, while the Infernia spell cannot kill Sims alone. The indirect way to kill a Sim is to use Inferniate on the ground and then order a controlled Sim to enter the flame. This makes it impossible to kill AI NPCs that cannot be controlled.
Mods that recreate more violent and tragic events
Bringing new deaths without EA
EA has been reluctant to introduce duels, executions, and poisoning into the list of The Sims 4 deaths. But there are many mods that can add more realistic gameplay. The most prominent are Life Tragedies and Extreme Violence, both created by Sacrificial Mods. This not only increases robberies, but also includes uncontrolled events such as kidnappings, gang fights and serial killers who look like Jason Voorhees.
YouTuber RyanPlaysTheSims I tried Life Tragedies and was quickly impressed within minutes. Several murders occurred in Oasis Springs and eventually the police dragged away the criminals. Ryan then kidnaps another Sim and tortures him in a cave. They asked for ransom, but were soon shot dead. If this type of wild gameplay is what players are looking for, consider spicing up the game with mods.
Source: RyanPlaysTheSims/YouTube