Unlike The Sims 3, where most, if not all, occults originated from the same pack, The Sims 4 has these forms scattered across different packs over 10 years of DLC.  Today, I will be ranking them so you know which one to spend your money on. 

1. Vampire 

Vampires were the second occult that was added to the game, and since then, they’ve left a lasting mark. To have a vampire sim, you must either be turned into one by another vampire in the game or start a new game with an already-made vampire.  With drastically different needs than normal Sims, vampires introduced a new way of playing, having to rely on your ability to get Sims ‘plasma’ (a quirky way of sucking blood).  Only at night, though, can’t let the sun get you, or you’ll combust. Sims also don’t automatically have every ability like other vampires; no, you have to work your way up to them.  You gain vampire experience by using your powers, sparing with other vampires, taking plasma from sims, and reading vampire lore. With this experience, every time you level up, you gain a new power.  This new difficulty of living added such new depth to the game, and being able to turn into a bat didn’t hurt either.

2. Fairies

Fairies are the newest addition to the Sims currently and they have created quite a storm. They thrive in nature, even getting their energy source from there, so lots of their abilities are nature-oriented. They can make any plant mature and harvestable with the flick of a wrist, along with enhancing plants to care for themselves.  To survive, they absorb the emotions of nearby sims and bottle them up for potions, or release them to affect other sims’ moods, sentiments, and even relationships. Your sim is sick with a mysterious illness? Fairies and cure that in an instant. Ever wanted a gnome to do all your chores? Fairies can charm them to do just that.  Fairies aren’t just kind, though; they can ruin your life by playing with your luck, aging you up, or ruining your relationships. 

3. Ailens 

Aliens were the first occult to be introduced into The Sims 4, and unlike the vampires, you can’t just be turned into one; you have to create your alien in Create a Sim.  Aliens come in two forms, as all occults do, so you’re able to give them their scary green metal look, and then a normal human look, so they stay undetected by other sims.  Don’t worry if your cover is blown, however, because you can just erase that sim’s memory! You can even make them forget their own families if you are evil enough.  Are you having trouble getting to know other Sims? Well, if you are an alien, you can just analyze all their traits, even the hidden ones. They are also able to empathize with any emotion a sim is having, mimicking that emotion themselves.  Finally, they can also mix and match different elements, creating duplicates, for any use or need. Just try not to have your human sim abducted by an alien, or you will come home with a new family member. 

4. Wearwolves

Werewolves came out before fairies, and to be honest, it seems to be nothing but an inconvenience. Unlike vampires, werewolves will just pop up at any lot you are on and rampage in their ‘wolf form’ and cause a scene and make your sims pretty much useless while they are there.  Speaking of their alternate form, they’re just not much to really look at.  They’re covered in fur, which is great, and they have a snot, but that is really all they have, making them wolf-like.  They’re uncomfortable and rigid to look at, along with the fact that they wear normal human attire.  Their power-up system is a copy and paste of vampires, so we also weren’t seeing anything new there.  They level up the same way, just by turning into a wolf and back, being a newly added way to gain points. They can smash furniture, hunt, and brawl with other werewolves, but that really isn’t anything worth what you are paying me.  If you were team Jacob, I would go with werewolves, but I’ll stick with my vampires on team Edward’s side.

5. Spellcaster

When spellcasters were announced, I was thrilled, even bought it on the first day of its release.  Upon loading my game, I was met with a small world with semi-dull prospects and plain gameplay. Spellcasters can perform curses, brew potions, and conjure their familiars.  To learn about your spellcasting, however, you have to travel to a separate world inside the map that you aren’t even able to live in.  Instead of levels like the previous entries, you have a charge, which means the higher the charge, the better the outcome.  Spellcasters were able to choose from 4 different ‘schools’ to focus on with practical, mischievous, untamed, and alchemy magic.  While the theory of those categories is cool, it really didn’t add anything to gameplay when you’re able to do all four of them anyway. While not the most boring of the occults, sorry to the others that didn’t make the list.  It’s by far the most forgettable of them all and only makes up for the loss of money with good builds.