Aliens have been around in The Sims since the first game. But it wasn’t until The Sims 3 that aliens had their own special abilities that made playing them feel different. They were more than just regular Sims with green skin and black eyes.
The Sims 4 continued this tradition, giving aliens a variety of special abilities when they were introduced in the Get to Work expansion pack. In this guide, we’ll cover all the alien powers in The Sims 4 – from disguises to probes.
Alien Appearance
Aliens look similar to other Sims except they have a variety of alien skin tones and alien eyes. Skin tones are shades of blue, green, and purple, and eyes are black or patterned.
Aliens can wear normal clothing. But they also have access to black, green, or grey alien body suits with green luminescent threads running through them.
Players can create aliens in Create-A-Sim (CAS), including their alien appearance and their disguise (see below). They have access to normal clothing and hair, and alien-only makeup, but not to styled looks or skin details.
Unlike regular Sims, aliens glow slightly when they experience intense emotions. The glow will be the color that corresponds to the emotion.
Alien Disguise
The alien disguise is a new feature in The Sims 4. Now, aliens can hide their true nature by wearing a disguise that makes them look like a normal Sim. Players can create or edit the disguise in CAS.
When disguised, regular Sims do not recognize aliens. They see only another normal Sim – unless the alien uses an ability that gives away the secret. Disguises are not necessary, but some Sims react negatively to undisguised aliens.
Aliens may change from their disguise to alien form (and vice versa) any time. Simply click on the alien and choose “Disguise Self” or “Remove Disguise.”
Brain Power
Aliens in The Sims 4 have brain power – just like in The Sims 3 – but it works differently. It’s no longer a motive. Instead, when a Sim uses an ability that requires brain power, there is a cooldown period before they can use their powers again.
Using brain power results in a Low Brain Power moodlet, which always lasts for two hours. However, some interactions have a four-hour cooldown. You can’t count on the moodlet to let you know when powers are available again.
Memory Erase
This ability only appears after an alien in disguise is discovered by a normal Sim. It allows the alien to erase the Sim’s mind, making them forget they learned the secret. It appears as a mischief interaction.
Memory Erase completely resets the relationship with the Sim, which means they will have to introduce themselves all over again. Any relationship progress they made previous to the memory erase will be gone.
Analyze Personality
Aliens can analyze a Sim’s personality to learn their traits. This interaction can be performed on any Sim aged teen and up, as long as the alien has not yet learned all that Sim’s traits.
The alien sends a beam of energy into the Sim’s head, and “extracts” the knowledge of their personality. All three traits are learned at once. This ability is helpful when you want to learn a Sim’s traits without getting to know them.
Empathize
The Empathize interaction allows the alien to absorb the emotional state of the selected Sim. If the Sim is sad, for example, the alien will become sad too.
This is a useful ability when your alien Sim is sad, embarrassed, or some other negative emotion. They can simply take on a better emotion from a nearby Sim.
Be careful though, because if you empathize too much, your alien can get a tense moodlet called “Shared Stress” for empathizing with others.
Scare with Probe
Another mischief interaction available to aliens is “Scare with Probe.” They pull out a “probe” which looks like an electric beater. The selected Sim starts to freak out, and then the alien laughs and the beater changes to a rubber ducky.
The interaction gives the receiving Sim the “Probe Panic” moodlet for four hours and makes them scared. The relationship also takes a negative hit. Sims do NOT like being threatened with an alien probe!
Transmute
Alien Sims can transmute metals, crystals, and elements. They can change them into a completely different metal, crystal, or element, and change the rarity.
Although transmuting can increase the value of an object, it can also decrease the value. It seems to be random from what I can tell. I would stick to transmuting low-cost crystals and metals if you’re trying to make money.
Resurrect Dead Alien Collectible
Aliens can bring dead alien collectibles back to life. These collectibles are obtained when a Sim builds a rocket ship and explores space. The following dead alien collectibles can be obtained from space adventures:
- Dead Space Squid
- Dead Space Porcupine
- Dead Red Coral
- Dead Blue Slug
- Dead Pin Whale
If your alien uses this interaction on them, it turns them into a “Live” version of the collectible.
Special Items
Aliens in The Sims 4 have special birth certificates, gravestones, and urns. These look different from the normal Sim versions of these items.
Birth certificates are issued to alien babies when they’re delivered at the hospital. Babies born at home will not receive one.
Other Interactions
There are a few interactions that only aliens have. These serve as conversation topics and don’t really have any gameplay attached to them. These interactions include:
- Discuss Human Foods
- Discuss Brain Power
- Discuss Weird Atmospheric Pressure
These options only appear if the Sim you’re talking to knows your Sim is an alien. Once you’ve been discovered, these new interactions become available in the “Friendly” menu.
Just a little heads up for the Memory Erase alien power…aliens DO perform it autonomously! Certainly with mods that affect autonomous interactions and also in a vanilla game when in a playful mood or on prank day. I’ve had two of my alien heirs autonomously erase their spouses memories 👀😄
That is so annoying!