After the world spent years without any official, legal way to access The Sims 1 and 2 – two of the most popular, influential games ever made – on modern machines, EA and Maxis have finally brought both beloved classics back on PC. But The Sims 2 in particular has been suffering a mixed response from early Steam reviewers thanks to an array of technical issues.
This new version of The Sims 2 includes compatibility for Windows 10 and 11 and a handful of technical improvements, like out-of-the-box support for widescreen and high resolutions, according to the official release notes. But this isn’t quite a full remaster, and the day one rollout has left something to be desired for many fans.
The current Steam review reception for The Sims 2 is sitting at “mixed.” A handful of the critiques aren’t really relevant – an early version of the Steam page said that the game included the controversial Denuvo DRM, but it actually doesn’t – but it’s tough to argue with the amount of people who are suffering crashes.
Regular crashes seem to be the big problem with this release of The Sims 2, and while some users don’t seem to be experiencing any problems at all, it’s a common thread in both the negative Steam reviews and other reports on social media like Reddit. Crashes also plagued The Sims 2 during our pre-release time with the new version.
I’m happy that the classic Sims games are back on digital stores, but I’m disappointed that these megaliths of PC gaming – again, some of the most popular and influential games ever made – couldn’t rate better than a thin upgrade to modern PCs. I’ve no doubt that the task of getting these games with all their expansions and extra content running reliably is a monumental task for developers, but if anything deserves that level of attention it’s The Sims. Here’s hoping EA and Maxis are at least able to fix the worst of the crashes – that’s a part of 2004 PC gaming I’m not eager to relive.
If you’re looking for more games like The Sims, you know where to click.