The Sims 4 Crystal Creations Stuff Pack Review: A Dazzling DLC (PC)

If you’re bored in your game of The Sims 4 or are looking for a new way to make some decent money, then Crystal Creations might be want you need. This latest Stuff Pack for The Sims 4 gives your Sims a new creative activity that is profit making, so much that your Sim may not even need to get a job. Jewelry making in Crystal Creations is surprisingly detailed and creative, and doesn’t at all fail to deliver. This review of The Sims 4 Crystal Creations Stuff Pack will demonstrate why you should consider getting it.

The Sims 4 Crystal Creations Stuff Pack is now available on PC via Steam and EA App, Mac via Origin, Xbox One | Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 4 | 5, and Epic Games Store for $9.99.

Story – Craft Your Own

The Sims 4 is a sandbox life simulation game, so it’s usually up to you to come up with your own stories for your characters. Sometimes, you’re given a new world to play in, or pre-made Sims to play as with their own pre-determined backstories and personalities. Sometimes, new gameplay can drive stories. Since Crystal Creations introduces the art of jewelry making, what new stories can you make from this? There’s lots you can come up with as a jewelry maker, whether it be a hobby, side venture, or even a full time venture.

The main focus of Crystal Creations is the new Gemology skill.

Gameplay – Be a Dazzling Jewelry Designer

The core focus of Crystal Creations is crafting jewelry with the new gemology table, combining metals and crystals that you either find or can buy. Let’s look into more detail of how this works and whether it’s worth your time.

Gemology Needn’t Be Expensive

Jewelry crafting in Crystal Creations is done all thanks to one object: the gemology table. Mercifully, this object isn’t too expensive, so even starter Sims can purchase this and crack on with making jewelry. Plus, there’s more good news: making jewelry can be made cheaper thanks to how the system works. As with a lot of crafting-based activities in The Sims 4, such as cooking, you can shed off the cost of making jewelry by gathering your own materials. You can already find metal and crystals out there in the world of The Sims 4 (the base game worlds, Willow Creek and Oasis Springs, are hot beds for finding these things), but now these can be put to real use. Not only can you put together beautiful pieces of jewelry, but you can also cut gemstones. The process is time consuming, taking several hours, but it is worth it, and there’s lots you can do with your finished product.

Surprisingly, Gemology isn’t that expensive a hobby, plus it’s profitable.

A Detailed and Profitable Activity

The jewelry-making business in The Sims 4 Crystal Creations is wonderfully in-depth. Even at a beginner level, there are lots of choices for what you can make, and from the start you can make a decent profit. I’d probably say it’s more so than selling paintings. At the table, you select the design you want to make, then choose the metal and crystal. If you don’t have the right materials on you, you can get them through the table at an additional cost. 

Once you’ve finished making your latest creation, you have a lot of options. You can sell it for a tidy profit (you can make some seriously good money from crafting and selling jewelry). You can wear the jewelry, or gift it to another Sim. You can also “charge” gems and jewelry at the charging pod, the second significant new object that comes with Crystal Creations. You can only do this outside and during night hours, and charging takes several hours, but it is worth it. Charged jewelry can give the wearer special abilities depending on the crystal, such as improved skill increase or better success at romantic interactions. There are lots of options, and it’s fun seeing what they can all do.

Growing Crystal Trees

As well as making jewelry, Sims can cut gemstones. One such gemstone is a seed, which you can then plant into the ground and grow a crystal tree. After seeing the trailer for Crystal Creations, this got me excited. Seeing the first little crystal shoot was a thrill. It does seem to take a while to grow your tree though, and if you want to speed up the process and have the best crystal tree, you need at least level 3 Gardening skill.

Once you’ve got a crystal seed cut, you can plant it and grow it into a crystal tree – but you’ll need to be patient and wait.

The New Gemology Skill

The new skill that allows you to craft such amazing creations with crystals and metals is the Gemology skill. I thought it may only be 5 levels, like some other skills in The Sims 4, but like the Knitting skill from Nifty Knitting Stuff, this has the complete 10 levels for you to work through. It didn’t take me long to get to the midway point, after hours of digging for crystals and metals and working at the gemology table. As you go up in the Gemology skill, you unlock new designs and benefits, such as cutting down how long it takes to make your creations.

All in all, the new Gemology skill is creative and interesting, as well as a good way for your Sims to make money. However, I did discover that it’s apparently not marked as a “fun” activity, as my Sim’s Fun Need was somewhat neglected, so you’ll have to find other sources of entertainment to stop your Sim from getting “bored”, although I personally don’t think Gemology should be considered “boring”. It is also time consuming, so it’ll be difficult to balance working on Gemology alongside other commitments such as a career and relationships. However, if you’re considering making Gemology a full time gig, it is certainly viable to do so.

My Sim doesn’t seem to gain any Fun from working at the Gemology table, which is a mystery to me.

Graphics & Audio – Shining Bright

There wouldn’t be a new pack for The Sims 4 without new content, so let’s start this section looking into those. The new Create-A-Sim content is okay, in my opinion. Personally, it’s not my favorite. I’ve had better content in this department. I think in fairness more of the focus went into the jewelry you can create, and this doesn’t really disappoint. I do like the new hairstyles though, especially the ones with sparkly hair clasps. I also think the new high heeled shoes are very funky.

The new objects are more impressive to me than the new outfits. There’s not a lot, and it’s mainly to deck out your Sim’s new Gemology space, but it’s still a nice new addition. I like how everything goes together well, with its similar styles and matching colors. Plus, the stuff in this pack isn’t expensive, so even with a starter household I was able to buy plenty of Crystal Creations stuff to deck out my Sim’s home and get me inspired. Object highlights for me include the new high-back loveseat, and I especially love the new wallpaper. I like the new rug and wall posters as well.

There’s not too much to say audio wise. I don’t think there’s any new music, either in the game’s soundtrack or the in-game radio stations. The only thing audio wise I can think of is the sound effects made when creating stuff at the gemology table. Those sound effects when your Sim is putting something together is a good touch.