What Went Wrong With The Sims 3 Werewolves?

When The Sims 4 began teasing its newest game pack, Werewolves, alongside its two newest Kits, the occult reveal was a long time coming. Werewolves have been featured in The Sims, The Sims 2, and The Sims 3 so it was no surprise that they'd eventually make their way to The Sims 4. The new game pack is set to release June 16, but the initial reveal led some fans to compare The Sims 4's werewolves to those of The Sims 3, as it was the last time werewolves had been in the franchise.

Were The Sims 3 werewolves really that good, or could it just be the nostalgia talking? Playing with only The Sims 3: Supernatural and Late Night expansion packs, we'll take a deep dive into the good, bad, and everything in between about The Sims 3's werewolf occult.

The Sims 3 Werewolves Create-A-Sim Content

Jumping into Create-A-Sim, players are able to make a werewolf right off the bat to jump into wolfy gameplay as soon as possible. A Sim's werewolf form face can be customized to be more or less menacing, with different facial sliders to change the appearance of the ears, jaw, brow, and nostrils. These werewolves don't look very wolf-like, instead looking like a hairy menace with a serious underbite.

There aren't a lot of torn clothing options to really sell a werewolf transformation, which is a bit disappointing. The Sims 3: Supernatural included six new Traits, one of which is very helpful in utilizing a werewolf's abilities: Gatherer. In the game, werewolves are natural "hunters" that are able to find collectible gems, insects, and metals, so the Gatherer Trait makes it easier for werewolves to find higher quality collectibles.

The expansion pack additionally included nine new Lifetime Wishes, only one of which applies to werewolves. A Sim with the "Leader of the Pack" Lifetime Wish wants to hunt with the pack to earn 400,000 simoleons worth of collectibles, as well as turn five Sims into werewolves. Paired with the Gatherer Trait, this Lifetime Wish could be accomplished fairly easily with a large "pack" and dedication to hunting.

Overall, the werewolf-focused portion of The Sims 3 CAS is a bit lackluster. There aren't many torn shirts or pants to really encapsulate the transformation of a werewolf Sim, plus the design of werewolf Sims in general leaves a lot to be desired. Werewolves are meant to be ferocious, which The Sims 3 werewolves are, but they're also unpleasant to look at with little new applicable traits and Lifetime Wishes. Hopefully because The Sims 4: Werewolves is a dedicated game pack for this occult only, we'll see reasonable CAS and Aspiration improvement compared to the last generation of The Sims franchise.

The Sims 3 Werewolves Gameplay

When comparing The Sims 3: Supernatural werewolves to the upcoming The Sims 4: Werewolves, it's important to keep expectations reasonable. Supernatural was an expansion pack and included the new world of Moonlight Falls. It was packed full of lore, items, and new gameplay because it was a full expansion. The Sims 4: Werewolves will only be a game pack, so while it does come with a new world and gameplay, there's no reason to think it will be as large as an expansion pack.

The recent preview livestream of The Sims 4: Werewolves indicated that there are a lot of mysteries to uncover in the upcoming neighborhood Moonlight Mill. The Sim Gurus leading the livestream hinted at a lot of hidden secrets for players to uncover as they delve further into Lycan mythology and hone their skills as a werewolf, which is great in theory but we won't be able to make a final judgment until actually experiencing Moonlight Mill after the release of Werewolves. At the very least, it's confirmed that Moonlight Mill is definitely smaller than The Sims 3's Moonlight Falls, having a total of five lots overall - it's on par for a game pack, but still left some The Sims 4 players a little disappointed.

In The Sims 3, players can turn their Sims into werewolves in three different ways: by selecting the Supernatural Type in Create-A-Sim, by being bitten by a werewolf Sim, or using the Bottled Curse of the Lycan. When a Sim is a werewolf, an exclusive Lifetime Trait reward called 'Alpha Wolf' is made available. When purchased it ensures that a Sim's 'Cursed Bite' will always succeed and change the bitten Sim into a werewolf, and gives a new 'Terrifying Howl' action as a werewolf. Like any other The Sims 3 occult affliction, lycanthropy can be cured with a Potent Cure Elixir or when another Sim requests the werewolf Sim forsakes their powers.

It seems like The Sims 3 werewolves were capable of doing quite a lot, right? Well, maybe on the surface, but otherwise werewolf gameplay got quite repetitive and was overall a bit dull.

The Sims 4: Realm of Magic game pack initially introduced potions to The Sims 4, so it seems unlikely that players will be able to turn into a werewolf from anything other than a bite this time around. We've seen a bit of werewolf gameplay thanks to the livestream, but it's still too soon to say whether werewolves in The Sims 4 have been properly fleshed out or remain surface-level occult. It will be interesting to find out how werewolves can forsake their powers and what the animation will look like when prompted.

The lunar cycle was additionally introduced in The Sims 3: Supernatural, which players with werewolves need to keep a close eye on. Unsurprisingly, werewolf Sims will always transform during a full moon and even get a mood boost during that time. However, players can also have a Sim transform at any time by selecting the option to transform into a werewolf, or if a Sim is in a bad mood they will transform without the ability to revert back until a certain amount of time elapses.

Just like in The Sims 3, werewolves in The Sims 4 will be guided by the lunar cycle. However, this gameplay feature will be available to all players as a base game update, and during the livestream it was noted that other occult in The Sims 4 will also react to different phases of the moon during the lunar cycle. It seems werewolves in The Sims 4 will build up "rage" which can lead to transformation, as well as "rampaging" where the now-turned werewolf will break household furniture to assuage its anger. Ultimately, it'll be interesting to see how lunar phases work in The Sims 4 and how other Sims, not just werewolves, will be affected by it.

The Sims 3 Werewolves Behavior

Werewolf Sims in The Sims 3 have a lifespan 1.5 times longer than the average Sim. Female Sims who are werewolves cannot get pregnant when transformed, however they can still Woohoo. If a werewolf Sim is pregnant they cannot transform for the duration of their pregnancy, as the growing life inside prevents it. Additionally, Sims must be in their human form to complete a birthday.

Players will be able to see if their Sim's offspring is a werewolf thanks to a glowing brown frame around the picture of the Sim when looking through the social tab. Toddlers cannot transform into a werewolf, but players can see their wolf-like behavior when they howl or scratch the furniture. Child Sims can transform, but it isn't until the offspring reaches the teen life stage that they can do everything an adult werewolf can do.

There are a few unique behaviors that werewolf Sims have, as well as werewolf-specific moodlets and wants. If a Sim that's a werewolf, transformed or not, reaches the "Starving" stage of hunger, they also get a moodlet called "Hungry Like the Wolf," which isn't necessarily important but it gave me a chuckle. Werewolf Sims can also eat raw items, like meats purchased from the grocery store or fish they've caught. When a transformed werewolf Sim eats prepared food, they will squat on a chair and dig their face into the plate or bowl, essentially "wolfing down" their food.

Werewolf Sims have a slower energy decay than normal Sims, but it also takes longer to replenish, especially if a Sim is sleeping in their werewolf form. These particular occults have a hidden Lycanthropy skill which can be improved by doing werewolf activities like hunting (solo or with a pack), practice fighting, howling, growling, and using Cursed Bite to turn other Sims into werewolves. Compared to non-occult Sims, werewolves find collectibles easier and faster, and once they hit a certain level of the Lycanthropy skill players can send their werewolf Sims out on specific hunts for gems, insects or metals.

When transformed, werewolf Sims can complete the action "Scratch Furniture" or rummage through trash cans. If another Sim is upset with the behavior of the werewolf, like scratching their furniture or attempting a Cursed Bite, they can "Scold" the werewolf by smacking them on the nose with a curled up newspaper. Werewolves are obviously tangentially related to dogs, but this action seems a bit degrading and doesn't necessarily match the outwardly scary appearance of The Sims 3 werewolves.

As mentioned before, Sims with the Leader of the Pack Lifetime Wish want to earn 400,000 simoleons when hunting with the pack. However, forming a pack works the same way as grouping up with other Sims, with the group disbanding after each outing. While it's easier to hunt for collectibles as a group, it's pretty much a lackluster experience. Packs are supposed to be social and tight-knit, but there's no way to delineate which Sims are in a pack so there's a sense of loyalty that's missing. 

It seems like The Sims 3 werewolves were capable of doing quite a lot, right? Well, maybe on the surface, but otherwise werewolf gameplay got quite repetitive and was overall a bit dull. Werewolf moodlets and wants were fun at first, but were very superficial and basically the equivalent of the game pointing at the Sim and saying, "This is a werewolf, remember? They can eat raw stuff." When The Sims 3: Supernatural officially released in 2012, werewolves and the other included occult seemed incredibly exciting, but it's clear now the excitement came from playing The Sims 3, not the werewolf aspect of the expansion pack.

Final Verdict: The Sims 3 Werewolves Are Just Okay

Overall, The Sims 3: Supernatural was an ambitious expansion pack that tried to stuff too many aspects into one, which means werewolf gameplay suffered and wasn't as fleshed out as it could have been. More ripped clothing options would have been nice, but the ultimate downfall of The Sims 3 werewolves is that they function like hunter gatherers with nothing else really going for them. Their physical appearance isn't wolf-like at all, with only the face and body hair changing during transformation, though they do run on all fours when hunting.

Werewolves in The Sims 3 were unfortunately repetitive without in-depth gameplay and no feeling of connectedness between other werewolves and their formed "packs." The good news is from the looks of the June 10 livestream of The Sims 4: Werewolves, a lot of the issues from The Sims 3 werewolves seem to be addressed. It looks like there's a lot of lore to discover and various unique actions between werewolves, Sims, and their chosen pack, as well as skills to develop in a system similar to that included in The Sims 4: Vampires.

It's still too early to make a judgment call about The Sims 4: Werewolves, but it's apparent that the werewolves introduced in The Sims 3: Supernatural needed some major improvements. Whether we howl for joy or run away in fear of The Sims 4: Werewolves can only be decided after its release on June 16.