The Sims, a franchise famously known for its diverse variety of customizable character types, has recently received a werewolf DLC for its most recent installment, The Sims 4. The Sims 4: Werewolves Game Pack gives players the opportunity to let out their inner beasts. However, this isn't the first time lycanthropy has been added to a Sims game.
Earlier entries in The Sims had their own versions of these monstrous character types. Werewolves in the series are a type of life state which your Sim can transform into under certain circumstances. Growing fur and fangs and becoming more animalistic, choosing to be a werewolf in The Sims can be a nice change of pace from the gameplay norm. With the release of The Sims 4: Werewolves, now is an opportune time to look back at all the variations of werewolves that have appeared since the very first games.
The Sims: Makin' Magic
Going back to the very first generation of Sims games for the PC, werewolves make an appearance in The Sims: Makin' Magic expansion. The expansion allows players to utilize the concept of magic to transform their Sims, one of the possible transformations being that of a werewolf. While this is the first appearance of this life form, it doesn't provide as much of a change as some may think. After transforming your Sim by using the "Beauty or Beast" charm, your Sim's appearance is transformed to that of a wolf but does not add any major differences to the playstyle as it's purely cosmetic.
The Sims 2: Pets
The second game in the Sims franchise reinvents both the mechanics and the appearance of the werewolf transformation with The Sims 2: Pets expansion. A Sim can transform into a werewolf by getting bitten by the leader of the pack. Once a werewolf, a Sim will transform at 8 PM every night, and grow extremely hungry and full of energy. A Sim werewolf gains the abilities to howl, irritate another Sim by growling, and turn another Sim into a werewolf. A Sim also becomes less neat, acting more canine-like -- even being able to train dogs with more ease than regular Sims. This transformation does turn off at 6 AM and is curable by using the Lyncanthropic-B potion.
The Sims 3: Supernatural
The werewolf transformation is further developed in the third Sims installment with The Sims 3: Supernatural expansion pack. Unlike the two previous installments, you can both customize and apply the werewolf transformation during Create a Sim without the use of mods. Alternatively, Sims could receive a Werewolf-Curse from another werewolf or utilize a Bottled Curse of the Lycan elixir to transform.
Werewolf Sims receive a slightly longer lifespan than regular Sims, as well as receiving a skill exclusive to werewolves called Lycanthropy. Werewolves also gain a new batch of interactions, such as joking about shedding and showing off their teeth, as well as female Sims being able to give birth to a child that possesses the ability to become a werewolf.
The Sims 4: Werewolves
In the most recent addition to The Sims franchise, The Sims 4: Werewolves expansion pack modernizes the werewolf experience for a new generation of players. Just like in The Sims 3, this expansion allows players to choose the option of being a werewolf and customize their transformed appearance during Create a Sim but also allows Sims to be turned by getting bitten by another werewolf. Arguably the most talked-about feature in this expansion is a werewolf's Fury, which influences impulsive behavior if high enough in a Sim. These behaviors are known as temperaments and are unique to each werewolf Sim depending on their original personality traits.
Though the werewolf transformation may have started as just a look for Sims to sport, it's surely developed into an aspect of the game which could alter a player's playstyle entirely. Whether a player chooses to have their Sim be a werewolf as early as during the Create a Sim process or let that fate fall on their Sim by chance, the werewolf transformation is sure to spice up any fan's Sims experience in a unique and enjoyable way.