The Sims 4 Lovestruck world, polyamory, and more questions answered (2024)

We're just a week away from the launch of The Sims 4 Lovestruck, and ahead of its release, Digital Spy was granted access to a preview build.

The new expansion sets out to enhance gameplay for romantic relationships. Among the new features are turn-ons and turn-offs, an in-game dating app, and romance dynamics.

While we won't be sharing our full thoughts until we have had time with the final release next week, we can address a few questions that you may have.

Screenshots we have taken are of the preview build, which is not the final version and is subject to change.

Ciudad Enamorada, inspired by Mexico City, has 13 lots across three neighbourhoods. You can take a look at the map above or click here to load a larger version.

The suburban Vista Hermosa has four residential lots and a lounge, plus a couple of other spots of note including a romantic wall sculpture – on which Sims can write love declarations – and the Beso Rápido motel, a rabbit hole where couples can go and have some WooHoo fun.

Nuevo Corazón is an uptown neighbourhood for single Sims looking to meet new people, whether it's at the gym or the Mirador del Amor nightclub. There are two penthouse lots on top of that.

Lastly, the Plaza Mariposa neighbourhood, which serves as the central square, features locations for dates or for couples wanting to spend time together.

Sims can enjoy the stars at Media Naranja park, visit the Fountain of Dreams, and take advantage of a vacation rental lot.

Yes, the new relationship boundaries system makes polyamorous relationships easier to make happen – and even better, this system will be part of the base game update, meaning all players will be able to take advantage of it for free.

In the Create-a-Sim mode, you can change your Sims' physical and emotional boundaries. This affects how jealous a Sim gets when they see their partner getting intimate with someone else.

In gameplay, a Sim can ask their partner to reconsider physical, non-physical, and WooHoo boundaries with other Sims.

The Romance skill has ten levels, with each level granting the Sim more romance interactions – new ways to flirt, be physically intimate, and show affection.

At first, Sims will be able to 'Research Romance Tips' and do a 'Romantic Introduction' when meeting new Sims.

Later interactions include 'Recap WooHoo', 'Scan the Room', 'Steamy Make Out', and 'Emotionally Connect', while level 10 gives 'Aura of Flirtiness', which gives the Sim a flirty moodlet and makes it easier for them to chat up anyone.

Elsewhere, there are two new personality traits: 'Lovebug' and 'Romantically Reserved'.

They can't be equipped at the same time as they clash. Lovebug Sims fall in love easily and love romance, while Romantically Reserved Sims are more cautious when it comes to love and take longer to build emotional connections.

The two new aspirations are 'Romantic Explorer' (the Sim wants to experience everything romance has to offer) and, for polyamory, 'Paragon Partner'.

This one is hard to measure objectively, but Lovestruck's approach is not dissimilar to what Growing Together tried to do with family gameplay. There are new systems that are fairly subtle but affect how romances play out.

With the base game, you could argue that when it came to romance gameplay, Sims felt a bit too similar to each other.

The expansion works to emphasise Sims' individual qualities more. There's a greater focus on compatibility and having to get to know each other.

As an example, our Sim, Norah, met Bella Goth at the gym. The turn-ons and turn-offs system (which includes both physical and personality attributes) meant that the pair started off with "instant attraction" to each other, making romancing easier.

One of Bella's turn-offs is flirting. She prefers other romance styles, such as affection and physical intimacy, so that played a part in how positively she responded to Norah's actions on dates.

Romance dynamic and romance satisfaction are two aspects that help to make each relationship feel a little bit different.

For example, Norah and Bella had a 'steamy' romance dynamic, meaning much of their relationship is focused on physical intimacy. They also had very high romance satisfaction with each other, which in turn makes maintaining the romance much easier.

Interestingly, after a while, our Sim's attraction towards Bella was downgraded to "neutral" after she learnt more about her love interest – so things can change over time.

While these new features bring something a bit different to romance interactions, the date-planning part isn't something that feels particularly fresh.

The Cupid's Corner dating app, which can be accessed from a Sim's phone, lets a Sim try online dating.

The Sim can set up and customise their profile by taking a selfie, setting their preferences, and choosing which traits to display.

You can then browse through the profiles of potential matches, with any specific turn-ons and turn-offs indicated.

There's no swiping left or right here, and no need to think of opening lines. All you need to do is click on the heart button for a profile, and your Sim will be able to set up a date.

It's all very straightforward, and while it's not particularly deep, it replicates a big part of the dating world in a fun way.

The Sims 4 Lovestruck is out on July 25 on PC, Mac, PlayStation, and Xbox.