The Sims 4’s new Lovestruck expansion isn’t a massive overhaul to gameplay, but it adds a whole bunch of elements that make The Sims 4 a better game — especially for people playing for the romance. One of those key features is the game’s upgraded dating system, which allows for more complexity in relationships. The Create-A-Date menu is how dates are set up in Lovestruck: There are several types of dates to choose from, whether that’s the first date, a romantic date, or a relationship repair date.
Regardless of what you choose, the setup is the same: First, choose who’s invited to the date. (You can bring guests along, say, for a double date.) Then choose your activities from a massive list — things like dancing, drinks, stargazing, video games, or plenty more. Then, you’ll choose where to go. The activities are basically the goals for the date, much like how dating worked previously. You’ll get a reward for completing the goals, but also a boost to the relationship you’re trying to build.
But the biggest change, which will apply to the base game as well, is that random sims who aren’t part of the date will mind their own business. During a press event Polygon attended ahead of the expansion’s release date, a Maxis developer said that dates will be interrupted by strangers much less often. Previously, that was probably one of my most frustrating experiences with having sims go out into the world together — or even just stay at home. People would ring the doorbell or start chatting up the couple, absolutely derailing whatever romance was supposed to happen.
Of course, if you invite guests into your date, they’ll still interact, but sims just hanging out at the bar won’t get involved as much. This is what I mean when I say The Sims 4 feels more realistic with the Lovestruck expansion — you can see that the devs at Maxis are paying attention to little details that add up. A whole bunch of these little quality-of-life updates make relationships in The Sims feel more complex: As one developer said during the press event, you won’t be able to high-five your way to marriage.