The Sims 4 High School Years expansion pack is EA’s upcoming DLC to the Sims franchise, and we got the opportunity to preview it.

Relive your teenager years, or in my case, an entirely new re-imagination of an ideal one in an alternate universe that wasn’t filled with embarrassing moments and anxiety inducing experiences.

For most of us, high-school is a time filled with trying to get to know yourself better through self-discovery and carving out your own-life path, and the High-school expansion pack manages to encapsulate that high school spirit.

Players get to live out their dreams of making the most out of their high school lives as a teenager, exploring their teen’s identity and even testing out the boundaries full of choices and personal growth.

Just like how I tested the boundaries of how much I can skimp out on food so that I can save up enough money to buy those damned Pokemon Ancient Origins booster packs. You can

Here in Copperdale High where your Sims will attend, they will be able to attend classes, hang out with friends at Thifty which a combination of a boba tea/thrift shop, and even go out on dates downtown.

Something that I didn’t quite experience back in my time at high school. But hey, at least I get to experience that virtually!

The High School Experience^TM

Follow your Sims as they go on with their lives of attending classes, having lunch with friends, hanging out, and take those weekly exams that contribute towards their overall grade.

You do this all while experiencing the social drama of high school including dealing with crushes, figuring out who you are as person, dealing with the messy relationships that come with being a teenager after school. Man, teenagers sure do have it rough.

Students are also able to mingle around and socialise with the others by participating in clubs after school, like the football team, the cheerleading club, the chess club or even the computer club. The choices are yours to choose!

Just like any other teenager, your Sims will also have a rebellious streak where they might wind up in detention. They can skip classes, get into a fight with other students, and even find ways to cause mischief and pranks.

Your Sims will face the consequences of their actions though, so it’s up to you to steer them into the right direction, or just don’t let them get caught.

Just like that one time I skipped class to go on trip to the Cybercafe with some of my mates, we coincidentally walked pass our Headmistress who just so happened to be off-duty and was on her way to school.

Of course, it wouldn’t be the full high school experience without attending prom and graduation. Players get to customise every aspect of the prom event, all the stuff from planning the event itself, to preparing for the night, and even engaging in Prom activities such as dancing and voting for Prom King & Queen.

The high school experience culminates in the Graduation event, a ceremony that marks the pinnacle of your time in Copperdale. The decisions that your Sims make through their time in high-school will directly impact how their graduation will play out, which makes the perfect bookend for their high school lives.

The highs and lows of Highschool, Lowschool

The teenage years are important, it’s a time to find friends and figure out budding relationships. Players will have the opportunity to navigate through these challenges. The joys of young love, whether it be the blissful and ignorant crush stage, the “promposal”, and the difficulties of a breakup.

Rather than reliving that painful experience that happened to you in your real life, now you have the luxury of reviling that same exact painful experience, but virtually while you mess up your Sim’s life!

A word of advice from the devs, Plumbite Pier is a great place to bring people on a first date. The place is packed with rides, a haunted house, the tunnel of love and even a Ferris wheel.

Along with those amusement rides, there’s even a photo booth and an ice cream stand that you can visit. Though I would recommend going to the photo booth first, before you stuff your face with ice cream.

They got that drip though

The Sims 4: High School Years expansion pack has a variety of outfits that your Sims can rock. Not only do they have varying outfits, but also different bedroom styles.

EA has put a lot on emphasis on the bedroom styling so that everyone can carve out their own identity, the bedroom are as much characters as the characters are.

The expansion pack has added in a large catalogue of objects to decorate the room with, such as gaming chairs, wall lights, mirrors, and all sorts of cool new decor. Decorating your Sim’s room in a certain way can also unlock different types of actions that your Sims are able to make.

Sims can do their hair, do personal grooming, sitting cross-legged in bed while chatting, being able to do pillow fights, be able to use your phone or even just read in bed.

Going back to the extensive fashion variety available in the game, the development team had worked together with Depop – a community-powered circular fashion marketplace, in order to bring in some clothing made in the real-world by depop and influencers alike to add a little bit more of pop authenticity.

A lot of this is tied with the new shop that is available in the expansion pack – Thrifty, which is a mix between a Boba Tea place and a Thrift shop, as well as an app called “Trendy” where players can hype up and sell outfits that you can create and make your Sim as a style influencer.

With the creative style that is available in the expansion pack being so broad, it doesn’t matter if you’re a geek, jock, skater, hipster and emo, there’s something for everybody.

Who anyone who are interested in pre-ordering the Sims 4: High School Years by September 8th, the pre-order will include some digital Sim items such as the Groove Tube Wireless Speaker, Spine Reticulating Gamer Chair, and Tri Hard LED Panels.

The Sims 4: High School Years expansion pack DLC is scheduled to release on July 28th, 2022 on Steam, Origin, the EA App, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X & S.

For more information about the DLC pack and pre-orders, do check out the official Sims 4 website. We would also like to thank EA for letting us preview the expansion pack.