Sims 4 Cartoon Shader Makes It Look Like a Completely Different Game

A clever Sims 4 player online has created an awesome cartoon shader that makes Maxis’s life simulator look like a completely different game. The creator of this Sims 4 ReShade mod has taken inspiration from various sources, optimizing the shader so the game continues to run as smoothly as ever with a completely fresh coat of paint.

The Sims 4 has an enormous modding community, which remains dedicated to the game almost 12 years after its initial release. Although EA and Maxis continue to release official packs for the game, many instead choose to mod their game beyond recognition, with many significant Sims 4 mods arguably as much content as the paid expansions. Recently, The Sims 4 added a marketplace that allows content creators to sell their mods in-game, a move that sparked some controversy within the game’s community. Despite this, players can continue to download mods from outside of this marketplace as usual.

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Sims 4 Cartoon Shader Has Serious Paralives Vibes

Redditor AdAware9573 shared an image of their cartoon shader Sims 4 mod, which they have created themselves. According to the user, it has been designed to get a “marker-pen + 2D animated movie feel,” with sharp black outlines that almost look cel-shaded. Best of all, they claim it has been completely optimized for gameplay, so there isn’t much performance loss while using it. They have released the mod for free on a public Patreon page, and requires ReShade to work correctly. Because it’s a visual filter on top of the game, it should be compatible with any Sims 4 mod that adds new content to the game, but likely won’t work with any other mod that uses ReShade. It even affects the UI, giving it a more cartoon look.

One user in the thread claimed that the shader reminded them of Paralives, another life simulator game aiming to dethrone The Sims in the genre. AdAware9573 revealed that they “definitely drew inspiration from them,” as well as “old cartoon magazines.” They even noted that they added a “very subtle color tone filter inside the code that adds a slightly pink shadow to all skin tones,” which they claim is particularly similar to Paralives. This shows the attention to detail that has gone into creating this shader.

Check out more Sims 4 mods at GGMods.

Other comparisons in the thread included Blue Prince and The Wolf Among Us, and it’s easy to see why. This mod has a unique visual style that really makes The Sims 4 pop, and one user noted that it makes the Sims’ exaggerated reactions “even more comical.” There was even some mention that this is the visual direction Maxis should go with in future games in the series.

Balance the critic averages

Easy (6)Medium (8)Hard (10)

In the absence of The Sims 5, it’s likely the modding scene for the most recent mainline game in the series will continue to thrive for some time to come. Given that Maxis is still releasing content for The Sims 4, there is no indication that a new game is on the way. For a long time, many thought that Project Rene could be a working name for a mainline sequel, but that has since been confirmed to be a new Sims mobile game.