For those of us that grew up playing The Sims, there’s probably no memory more vivid than that of drowning your Sims in swimming pools. As years have gone by, The Sims team has really stepped it up, with a whopping twenty ways to kill your Sims in The Sims 4. Here’s all of them, ranked by level of fun.
20. Old Age
Old age is much less exciting than anything else on the list, so it’s at the bottom. Congrats on a long life lived, though!
19. Overexertion
This only occurs in Elder Sims, but sometimes if you work them a little too hard, whether through working out or WooHooing, they’ll die from overexertion. More exciting than just old age, but still not the greatest.
18. Starvation
Honestly? This one is pretty anticlimactic and just takes wayyyyyy too long.
17. Fire
Fire ranks low on this list because it’s either too much effort or too little. Actually making a fire happen in The Sims is more effort than it’s worth, and yet somehow there’s always a random one starting in the game.
16. Drowning
Listen, everyone has drowned a Sim at least once. And honestly? It takes so long. Yeah, it’s kind of satisfying to see your Sim flail around once they realize what’s happening, but if you don’t time it right it takes way too long to get there for what ends up a pretty boring death.
15. Pufferfish
I think this is fairly anticlimactic, but it’s more exciting than others simply because it’s new in The Sims 4. If your sim eats poorly prepared pufferfish nigiri, it’s possible they may die. Do with that information what you will.
14. Sunlight
It makes sense that the only way a vampire Sim can die is via sunlight, and therefore this one gets points solely for being vampire-related. Be warned, though: I once spent hours trying to kill a vampire that I later found out was immune to sunlight
13. Electrocution
Electrocution is great when you’re playing a story and want an “accidental” death. Break the fridge, “forget” to mop up the spill, and then send your Sim to go fix it. Voila! Or…oops?
12, 11, and 10. Anger, Embarrassment, and Laughter
These new deaths in the Sims 4 come from extreme Anger, Embarrassment, and Playfulness. Get your Sim to the extreme of these emotions and you’ll find that they might just kick the bucket.
9. Sauna
If your Sim sits in the sauna too long, they’ll become uncomfortable and overheated. If they don’t get out soon after, they’ll die. This one gets bonus points because it takes very little time for this whole process to go down.
8. Extreme Heat/Cold
Similar to the sauna, if it’s too hot or too cold outside and your Sim is inappropriately dressed, they can overheat or freeze to death. This one is fun because the process of freezing a Sim to death looks cool if nothing else.
7 and 6. Poison and Insects
While exploring the jungle, it’s possible your Sim may encounter insects or plants that will kill them. I think they’re on equal footing, but the element of surprise is really what makes these exciting: you never know exactly what might happen.
5. Lightning
If your Sim gets struck by lightning twice within an hour, they’ll be electrocuted and die. If, however, they manage to get struck twice outside of that hour range but within a two hour range, they’ll have the ability to summon lightning. So basically what I’m saying is play your cards right: you’ll either kill or be killed.
4. Rabid Rodent Fever
For those who have rodents as pets, beware: if you’re unkind to your pets they could infect you with rabid rodent fever, which will kill you and make your ghost into a hamster.
3. Wishing Well
If your Sim gets greedy at the wishing well and wishes for eternal youth, they run the risk of being killed and turned into a ghost. Which, technically, does fulfill their wish.
2. Scent of Death
This one is for Sims in it for the long haul: in order to achieve this death, they need to max out the flower arranging skill and create an arrangement with the death flower. Once finished, the arrangement can be presented as a gift to the intended. Upon opening, they’ll smell the scent of death and immediately die. Difficult, yes, but satisfying for someone with a grudge.
1. Cow Plant
Ah, the cow plant. A standard in the game since the Sims 2, cow plants are the most notorious way of killing Sims. Once the cow plant has reached maturity, a Sim needs to feed it regularly. If they don’t, the cow plant will hold out a piece of cake, which the Sims may or may not eat. The first time they eat cake, the cow plant will swallow them and spit them back out, but the second time they’ll die. The cow plant is without a doubt the most famous way of killing Sims, and perhaps the cruelest. But then again, I’m sitting here talking about killing Sims, so I can’t really judge.
Whatever it is you choose to do, there’s no doubt that death has always been an important factor of gameplay. Go forth and explore!
Image Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17