The Sims is back after 25 years, and it's teaching Sims 4 players a lesson in retro life sim difficulty: "Damn this game is hard"

The Sims and The Sims 2 are back with re-releases on PC, but more modern players used to the ease of The Sims 4 might just be in for an unpleasant surprise as it turns out the original 2000 game is no walk in the park.

Now that the original Sims game has returned to the limelight thanks to EA's celebratory 25th birthday re-releases, both old fans and newcomers alike are experiencing the pixel-y chaos of the life sim series' first game. It hasn't all been positive, however, with a steep learning curve – more than two decades have passed since The Sims first launched, after all. As one player writes in an online thread on the difficulty, "The Sims 1 is VERY challenging."

The poster goes on to discuss the ways in which The Sims 1 differs from newer titles, noting how hard needs, jobs, relationships, skills, and other mechanics are. "The Sims 1 is the opposite of The Sims 4 in that sense, where it focuses heavily on gameplay and very little on storytelling," they conclude. "It's fun if you want a strategy game with Sims-like mechanics." Other players seem to echo the same sentiment – The Sims isn't easy.

"I forgot how hard this game is," shares another Simmer. "I'M STRUGGLING." Attached to their post is a telling screenshot of The Sims 1 showing their Sims standing atop a pool of water while cooking, their needs all dangerously low. Elsewhere, a well-known Sims 4 stan jokes that "Sims in Sims 1 are too depressed to do anything most of the time" alongside pictures of pop-up messages in-game referring to various depressed Sims.

One Sim is "too depressed to even look at myself," while another is "not in the mood to churn cream into butter." Relatable, honestly – maybe a bit too much, as most players are seemingly looking to escape the difficulties of real life. These aren't the only firsthand accounts describing just how hard The Sims is, either. "I've been trying to make this girlie famous," reads another such online thread, "but damn this game is hard."

The frustrated poster continues: "She is in the trenches, broke, and only made it to two stars after over four hours of gameplay. I keep selling furniture to pay the bills. House constantly filled with flies and roaches." As a longtime lover of all things Sims myself, I get it – my own Sims 2 re-release preview discusses how much harder (and more rewarding) the series' older entries are. It's nothing a little rosebud or two can't fix, though.

Playing EA's re-releases? Check out this fan's "masterlist" of over 200 mods for The Sims 2.