“Sims 4 Cats & Dogs,” the newest expansion pack for “Sims 4,” speaks for itself — cats and dogs can now be integrated into gameplay. Introducing a pet into a Sim’s household makes it more realistic — but at the same time is a lot to handle.

While the pack includes new clothing options for the Sims in Create-A-Sim, it is obvious Electronic Arts put most of the attention on the pets. A step up from “Sims 3 Pets” is that EA added hats and outfits so gamers can dress up their furry friends.

Pet customization is also a new feature which allows players to let their creative flow while mixing breeds in order to achieve their perfect pet. Pre-made pets are also available to choose from, and players have the option to change the color or add spots. EA has made it possible to truly customize the cats and dogs to match a Sim’s personality. This option is amazing if the gamer has knowledge about these animals, but if they don’t, it may be too overwhelming.

The cats and dogs are allowed to be added to existing households to complete the perfect family.  There are options to have a puppy or kitty or an adult or older pet. The gamer can also choose what characteristics the animal will have. Those three traits are directly related to how that animals acts all the time while in gameplay. Since the update doesn’t let a player actually be the pet, these traits will be mainly how the pet acts.

In previous games, the player could control the pets like the people, but now the Sims control the pets. Now players have to complete action through the Sims if they want a pet to do something. This leaves most actions taking twice as long, which is  annoying. Likewise, baby pets can’t use the stairs, and this leaves the Sims having to carry the pet outside or up and down levels to use the bathroom. This makes it easier for players leave the pets alone and defeats the purpose of the expansion pack.

It is disappointing to have lost horses from “Sims 3” Pets and only allow cats and dogs, but the number of new items, skills and gameplay options make up for it. In the expansion pack there are toys, beds, decor and pet-friendly household furniture. It was nice to have a new town, Brindleton Bay, for all the pet owners to live and offer the job of a vet. Having all these option for the Sims is completely worth the $40 pricetag.

While the expansion pack came with so much, it might be hard to navigate through, but after getting used to it, the dogs and cats are great additions to the Sims families.