A vampire is pictured on the left, and a Cowplant is pictured on the right.

The Sims 4: Every Possible Way to Kill a Sim


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Kath Leroy is a Czech-English writer and journalist. She's been working as a cultural journalist since 2015. You can find her work in several Czech as well as English magazines.

Key Takeaway

The Sims 4 offers a lot of creative ways to kill your Sims. Depending on which expansion packs you have, the game has dozens of possible death methods.

The Sims 4 primarily focuses on how to keep the Sims alive. Despite that, the game offers a surprising number of ways the players can kill their Sims if they aren’t careful enough or just choose to do so.

Table Of Contents

    Usual Deaths In The Base Game

    Two elder Sims take a photo in The Sims 4.

    Even without the additional content, the base game has plenty of ways how to kill a Sim. Some of them are more usual than others. Just like in real life, the most natural cause of death in The Sims 4 is old age. The only Sims who can avoid this are vampires, Servos, or the Sims who purchase the immortality trait.

    Fire is one of the dangers always present in The Sims 4. Sims with a low level of cooking skills can start burning when preparing a meal or if they’re using a cheap stove.

    Another dangerous everyday activity that can lead to death is fixing appliances. The Sims can get electrocuted when they’re fixing broken fridges, computers, and other things. However, this only happens if they get hit by the electricity twice in a short time. The first time, the Sim is only dazed, but the second time, they succumb to the shock.

    Strong emotions can be helpful in The Sims 4 but they can also kill Sims. If somebody becomes too playful, angry, or embarrassed, they can die because of it.

    Unusual Deaths In The Base Game

    A Cowplant is eating a Sim in The Sims 4.

    Some of the deaths in the base game are harder to come by. They most often happen when the players aim to kill their Sims.

    One of the tried-out ways is to let them starve. If the Sims don’t eat for about 48 hours, they’ll collapse and die. To achieve this, you have to lock the Sim somewhere without any food or a fridge.

    A popular way to kill Sims is to let them drown. In the older The Sims games, all it took was to send the Sim into the pool and then remove the pool ladder. These days, the Sims are smarter and can get out of the pool without a ladder. However, if you put a wall or a fence around it, the swimming Sims won’t be able to overcome it, and they’ll drown.

    Sims like to woohoo in the game, and for the most part, they can do so without any dangers. The elder Sims are an exception to this rule. If they woohoo and exert themselves too much, they can collapse and die after woohoo. They can also die if they engage in rigorous or long workouts.

    A more clear danger is the Cowplant. If the Sims feed it regularly, the Cowplant won’t harm them. A hungry Cowplant will try to lure the Sims in, though, by presenting them with a cake as bait. If they try to eat the cake twice in a row, the Cowplant will swallow them, and they’ll die. Afterward, the surviving Sims can milk the Cowplant for the eaten Sim’s life essence and drink it to prolong their own lives.

    Observing the sky is a good hobby, but it can be dangerous. Sometimes, Sims get a random scared moodlet while they’re using the telescope. The moodlet lasts for twenty in-game minutes. Before it runs out, you should get the Sims into their home. If you don’t, a meteorite will fall on them.

    Deaths Specific to Get To Work Expansion

    A rocket ship crashes in The Sims 4.

    The Get to Work expansion allows the Sims to travel to space in the rocket they build. However, if they don’t upgrade the rocket to a high enough level, it increases the chance they will crash and die.

    City Living Deaths

    A Sim dies in The Sims 4 when eating the pufferfish Nigiri.

    Sims can learn to cook many different dishes or try them in restaurants and food stands. Most of this food is safe, except for the pufferfish Nigiri. Once the Sims buy it from the stand, they can then try to cook it at home. If the dish turns out to be of poor quality, there’s a 50% chance it will kill the Sim who consumes it. The chance is also higher if the Sim is in a bad mood.

    An interesting detail is that mermaids can’t die this way, thanks to their connection to the sea.

    Seasonal Deaths

    Sims are freezing to death in The Sims 4.

    The changing seasons allow for beautiful scenery, but they also present dangers. If the Sims aren’t careful enough, they can freeze to death in winter or overheat in summer.

    During storms, Sims usually get scared and run inside to hide. It’s a good decision, since if the lightning strikes them, it’s likely they won’t survive.

    Another potential killing method only affects elders. If a Sim reaches level nine of the flower arranging skill, they can prepare a bouquet that contains the death flower. Once they give the bouquet to another Sim, the recipient of the gift will age up. And if they’re an elder, they’ll die.

    If you want to add a bit of drama to your Sims’ Christmas, you can sabotage the Christmas tree. If you do, once a Sim places lights into the tree, it will start burning, and Sims standing nearby can catch on fire.

    Deaths Specific to Get Famous Expansion

    A Sim feeds fish in The Sims 4.

    One of the better-hidden objects in the Get Famous pack is the Luminary’s Exotic Water Garden with fish in it. If you don’t feed the fish enough, they can pull a Sim under water and the Sim will drown. They could also die if they decide to jump in the water garden autonomously while the fish are hungry.

    Having too much money can also be detrimental to the Sims’ health. If they’re caught in the Duck Security© SCR009E Super XL Smart Vault, they will die of hunger.

    Discover University Deaths

    A Sim is using a computer in The Sims 4.

    Whoever said that too much studying doesn’t hurt people would be wrong. If the Sims contribute too much knowledge to the research machine, they can become exhausted. And if they don’t step away from the machine in such a case, it will drain their brain to the point of death.

    Eco Lifestyle Deaths

    A Sim dies in The Sims 4 after drinking the Beetle Juice drink.

    If the Sim has a level ten of the mixology skill, they can prepare the Beetle Juice drink. If they consume it three times in a row, the Sim will become a ghost.

    Getting swarmed and killed by flies isn’t a pretty death. This is exactly what happens if the Sims don’t take care of the trash and let it pile up in the dumpsters. If the Sims approach the insects and are in a bad mood, chances are high they will pay for it with their lives.

    Deaths Specific to Snowy Escape Expansion

    A Sim is climbing a mountain in The Sims 4.

    Vending machines sometimes don’t work if the Sims try to buy something from them. The Sims can climb on the machines and shake them to release the stuck goods. But by doing so, they’re risking the machine will fall down and crush them.

    Unsurprisingly, another way a Sim can die in the Snowy Escape is to climb a mountain. If the weather is bad, or the Sim doesn’t have a high enough level of rock climbing skill, they could fall off the mountain.

    Cottage Living Deaths

    A rabbit attacks a Sim in The Sims 4.

    Living in a cottage in The Sims 4 looks peaceful, but even that can go very wrong. If the Sims don’t have good enough relationships with the chickens and rabbits they encounter, the animals can attack the Sims and kill them.

    Death Specific to High School Years Expansion

    A Sim plays a prank in The Sims 4.

    The latest pack makes it possible for your Sims to choke. This happens if they fail to Plant Stink Capsule on the lockers and inhale the smoke.

    Similar to getting embarrassed or angry, the Sims can die of fear. Once again, it’s because of a failed interaction – this time “Summon Urban Myth.”

    Deaths Specific to Spa Day Expansion

    A Sim overheats and dies in a sauna in The Sims 4.

    Overheating is a danger not just in Seasons but also in the pack, Spa Day. If the Sims spend too much time in a sauna, they’ll overheat and die. To achieve this, you have to block the door, just like you would do if you wanted to starve your Sim.

    Vampire Deaths

    A vampire is burning to death in The Sims 4.

    The Sims 4 vampires can’t kill Sims by drinking their blood. They can, however, die themselves. If the vampire spends too much time in the sunlight, they’ll burn to death.

    Vampires can also kill other Sims. If they get the perk that allows them to influence emotions, they can murder Sims by making them feel too angry or embarrassed. What’s more, multiple Sims can die because of this, depending on where the vampire is when they use the power.

    Deaths Specific to Jungle Adventure Expansion

    A Sim gets poisoned in The Sims 4.

    The pufferfish isn’t the only way to poison a Sim in The Sims 4. The Jungle Adventure brings along even more ways that a Sim can get poisoned. More specifically, bugs on infested lots, bee swarms, spiders, and scorpions can poison the Sims. Poison arrows and gates can also hurt them. A ghost that was poisoned can infect the Sims by burping.

    They can find get an antidote if they find a Pile of Bones in the temple and exchange it with the locals for the cure. Alternatively, they can try to buy the antidote on a computer. If they don’t, they’ll die in a few days.

    StrangerVille Deaths

    Sims fight the Mother in The Sims 4.

    Solving the StrangerVille mystery can kill the brave Sims who try to discover the truth. If they don’t bring enough power against the Mother, she can kill them.

    Realm Of Magic Deaths

    A ghost Spellcaster is holding her wand in The Sims 4.

    Spellcasters can die if they overload themselves. The good news is that if they have a familiar active at the moment of their death, the familiar can save them.

    Another danger is getting cursed. The Night Wraith curse makes a night wraith haunt the Sims, and it can cause their needs to drop so low that they’ll die.

    Finally, spellcasters should be careful and avoid the Potion of Immortality. It will turn them into ghosts, and it’s difficult to reverse the effect without using cheats.

    Romantic Garden Deaths

    The wishing well is fulfilling a wish in The Sims 4.

    Be careful what you wish for, the old saying states, and it’s true for The Sims 4 as well. The Wishing Well can grant the Sims many wishes, but if it’s in a bad mood, it’s better not to make the wish and wait.

    If the Sims ignore the Wishing Well’s anger and ask for eternal life, the well can transform them into a ghost instead. This can also happen if the Sims’ needs are low, or if they don’t give sufficiently high offerings to the well.

    My First Pet Deaths

    Sim dies in The Sims 4 in My First Pet Stuff.

    Cats and dogs die of old age in the game, but did you know that pets can also kill your Sims? Luckily, it only happens if your Sims aren’t taking proper care of their pets.

    If they have a low level of relationship with their pets and they don’t clean their cages, the pets can bite them. The Sims will then contract the rabid rodent fever, which will cause their death. What’s more, they can also infect other Sims, which could lead to a downright pandemic!

    Tiny Living Deaths

    Murphy Bed falls on a Sim in The Sims 4.

    Who would have thought that a piece of furniture could be so dangerous? Well, the Murphy bed is, and it has become infamous because of it. If the bed breaks, it can fall on the Sims and squash them.

    Laundry Day Deaths

    A Sim is doing laundry in The Sims 4.

    Doing laundry shouldn’t be dangerous, but The Sims 4 proves that’s not the case. If the Sims don’t clean the dryer lint while they’re using it, they can catch on fire and burn to death.

    Fitness Deaths

    A Sim is doing the fiery climbing challenge in The Sims 4.

    Another way to burn to death is the fiery rock climbing challenge available in this pack. Its name alone suggests fire comes into play, so it’s best to steer away from it if you don’t wish to risk your Sim’s life.

    Warning: Children Can Also Die

    A child is dying in The Sims 4.

    Children are also in danger of dying, but not as often as the adult Sims. They can only die by starving, burning to death, or drowning.

    Pets only die of old age. And many supernatural creatures, such as vampires and mermaids, are immune to types of death that befall normal Sims, such as drowning.