The Sims and The Sims 2 are seminal works in the video game canon. Fire an arrow in the cosy game space, and you’ll land on a title that was in part, or in whole, inspired by The Sims in some manner. These games are genre-defining. Yet, for the last few years, both The Sims and The Sims 2 haven’t been “officially” playable. That is to say, there was no legal and easy way to access these games.
Until EA decided, in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the franchise, it would re-release The Sims and The Sims 2 for modern computers. It’s something that should’ve happened a long time ago. But late or not, both The Sims: Legacy Collection and The Sims 2: Legacy Collection are brilliant, and I’m so glad they exist.
Livin’ large in The Sims
To begin with The Sims, it’s important to first note just how influential and ground-breaking this game was, on launch in 2000. In an era where games were largely targeting men, it focussed on more approachable gameplay, appealing to all comers with its dollhouse-like principles. It allowed for casual engagement, and for a freedom of choice in gameplay, with its sandbox simulation opening up the possibilities.
There’s also the fact that The Sims chose to represent non-heterosexual relationships – which at the time, was still incredibly rare. It was far and away ahead of its time, and helped to usher in a new era for video games, expanding what they could be, and how players could interact with them.
It remains an important game, and while its re-release does reveal how far we’ve come since, it’s still a fantastic and nostalgic experience.
Read: The Sims and The Sims 2 are being re-released on PC
There’s fairly little that has changed in this re-release, when compared to the original game. Character models have been given a slight graphical facelift, so they appear smooth and bright, but otherwise, textures are lightly jaggy and blocky as they were previously, and the game remains in its original format. More of a remaster would’ve been kind, but it arguably would’ve taken away from the charming pixel aesthetic of the original – so, it remains preserved relatively as-is.
And that means everything you remember remains in place.
There’s establishing your home and forgetting to put an alarm in, then hearing the familiar skin-prickling burglar tune as you watch, helpless, to see a masked man enter your home and steal your giant Aquatic Playhouse. (Who knows how he fit that in his pocket?) There’s playing with the Goth household, and every night, being frightened by the ghosts of Grandma and Grandpa and Boy.
You can visit Magic Town and pine after Vicki Vampiress or Faerie Queen Mara. You can visit Studio Town, and dream of being famous. What’s funniest about Studio Town is it’s still populated by the celebrities of the 2000s, and age has only revealed how fickle fame really is. I’m not sure any kid now would know who Sarah McLachlan is. (As an added note, I’ve been hunting for Avril Lavigne and can’t seem to find her. She’s either elusive, or some celebrities have been removed from the game due to likeness rights – I did notice a seemingly new celebrity character named “Martin.”)
Regardless of my Lavigne-less hunt, it’s been a blast revisiting The Sims, and realising just how much it was a part of my childhood. It’s a tough game (needs deplete far too quickly), but one filled with memories, and I’m glad to see it return in this form.
Read: Living the dream of home ownership through The Sims
I’m even more glad for the return of The Sims 2, one of my all-time favourite games. And my gosh, has it held up well. With the Legacy Collection, you get the full 4K treatment, with crisp character models, textures, loading, and movement.
I mention this specifically as The Sims 2 has previously been released via Origin, but this particular version is grainy and glitchy, and on modern computers, it has extreme issues rendering shadows. The Legacy Collection is a much better, more stable version of The Sims 2, and in my time with it so far, I haven’t had a single issue.
The Sims 2 is still the best of the franchise
The Sims 2 is often considered the best game of the entire franchise, and it’s for very good reason. It distilled the original Sims formula, analysed it, and made the perfect improvements and extensions for a life sim with more choice, and more meaning.
What sets The Sims 2 apart, and what’s helped it age so well, is its devotion to narrative. While The Sims contained hints at a larger story, in the family units populating its world, The Sims 2 introduces sets of families with in-built memories. Each has their own unique path and story, and individual characters are defined by this. One Sim hates another. One Sim cheated on another. The most famous Sim of all, Bella Goth, might have been abducted by aliens.
These are plots you can follow in the threads of your gameplay, as little lore snippets pop up, and characters react in certain ways to fit the plot. If you play in the Singles household, as I did, you’ll learn about a mix of rivalries within the house, and try to repair their broken relationships. Everything is connected, and it makes everyday gameplay so much richer.
Beyond the base game, The Sims 2: Legacy Collection also benefits greatly from the full range of DLCs included. The Sims 2 has some of the strongest DLC in the entire series, with each pack having solid and expansive themes. Personally, I believe Nightlife is the best of them, with it adding in new clubs, bars, activities, and – of course – vampires. But University also gives it a solid run for its money, introducing an entirely new style of gameplay, where Sims can go through university courses to get better jobs down the line.
Read: The Sims 2 hid a secret alien invasion beneath our noses
That’s not to mention the weather features of Seasons, the activities of FreeTime, the pet-rearing of Pets (and the werewolves), and the introduction of being able to run your own business. Expansion packs in The Sims 2 felt like genuine expansions, not only adding in new items and accessories, but entirely new ways to play the game. They were transformative in a way that some modern packs aren’t – and replaying the game in 2025 highlighted this difference for me.
It also underlined just how good The Sims 2 is, and how the series has struggled to live up to its legacy in recent years. I love The Sims 3, and I’ve invested hundreds of hours into The Sims 4. They are both great, but they’ve never quite reached the heights of The Sims 2. With its compelling little stories, tight gameplay, cool activities and objects (you can buy a car!) and its dynamic memory system, it remains the very best of The Sims.
Whether you played this game or The Sims the first time around, or the Legacy Collection will be your first taste, there’s so many reasons to jump into these re-releases, to see how the Sims franchise has evolved. Both games have a well-earned place in gaming canon, and their respective re-releases do justice to their legacies, even with a few tweaks here and there.
The Sims: Legacy Collection and The Sims 2: Legacy Collection are now available for PC via Steam, the Epic Games Store, and the EA App.
