When comparing The Sims 4 vs SpaceChem, the Slant community recommends SpaceChem for most people. In the question“What are the best PC games that don't revolve around killing people?” SpaceChem is ranked 22nd while The Sims 4 is ranked 41st. The most important reason people chose SpaceChem is:
In particular, abstraction and concurrent programming skills could be gleaned from the game as it uses broad techniques often used by computer programmers.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Easy cloud sharing
A new feature, cloud sharing is very useful for those that like to share their designs or download other players. From other sims to house patterns and layouts all can be shared or downloaded for use in game.
Pro Build tools, best in the series
The Sims 4 offers the best build tools in the series making it even easier to design and furnish their homes.
Pro Emotions mechanic gives a feeling of realism
Emotions replaces the old system of traits. Using emotions to regulate how sims behave does feel more natural to a way a person would behave making for a more realistic feeling simulation. This allows the player to feel more immersed in the game.
Pro Multiple active tasks in queue
Unlike previous versions, The Sims 4 allows for multiple active tasks to be performed from the queue at the same time as long as they are physically possible.
Pro Tone of silliness easy to manage
Depending on the players choices tone may be set to a degree. So players wanting a less silly story to their game may do so by making rational choices during the game.
Pro Customizable maps
Users can change plots on the map to build different kinds of building such as cafes. Giving the player more depth and customization options to their world creates a more enveloped playing experience.
Pro Could help with real life programming skills
In particular, abstraction and concurrent programming skills could be gleaned from the game as it uses broad techniques often used by computer programmers.
Pro Easy to learn, hard to master puzzle
Spacechem's mechanics are pretty simple to learn and only takes minutes to understand how the game works. Of course mastering the gameplay is a whole different matter.
Pro Allows for short or long play sessions
The gameplay allows for a player to come in and solve a single puzzle in a short amount of time or to sit and tinker with a puzzle for hours trying to devise the perfect solution and contraption. It all comes down to what one want to put into the game but the free form of the puzzle solving is what makes it great for anyones playstyle be it short or long.
Pro Light on the system
The system requirements are quite low at only requiring a 2Ghz processor, 1G of ram and 300MB of hard drive space. Basically this game should work on just about any computer from the last 10-15 years.
Pro Endless gameplay through user created solutions
An individual players choices of components, arrangements or factories used will result in completely different experiences and problems/puzzles when compared to another users experience. A truly individualized experience that expands the games replayability.
Cons
Con Missing features that were in previous versions
The Sims 4 is missing a lot of features and options that were in previous version making the title feel unfinished or rushed. Of course it all could be a ploy to sell these features to the consumer at a later date basically making the users pay for the games content piecemeal.
Con Too many loading screens
There are way too many jarring loading screens when trying to navigate The Sims 4 small world.
Con Clipping
Characters can sometimes clip each other when trying to navigate the same path, which results in a loss of immersion for the player and shows a laziness of design.
Con Annoying action-y 'boss' stages
At the end of each 'world', there is a boss stage in which you have to perform a unique task. This wouldn't be too bad, but in these levels, you can use blocks that you can activate in real time to change the way your program runs. This often means lots of manual work and a lot of padding to hit the buttons at the right time, which is unnecessary for a puzzle game (and, given that you cannot rewind, also stressful if your program is very tight). I would imagine that the best scores for these levels also overly abuse this feature to make solutions that would be almost impossible without use of macros, for instance.
Con Late game is difficult
In later levels some players may reach a point where the game has become too difficult or frustrating, which may discourage any more play time with the game.