It was Tuesday, February eighth.

After trekking the 15-minute foray from school to my evergreen oasis of a home, I climbed tiredly under the loose bedspread that sat wrinkled on my mattress. Flicking on my stained-glass lightbulb, I turned on the television and promptly opened YouTube, looking to distract my mind from the tumult of a regular weekday.

And to my absolute shock, The Sims 4 had just released a new trailer. With a tinge of excitement at the image that sat before me, I clicked as swiftly as I could, ecstatic at the concept that lay ahead.

Fitting this overall inspired moodlet, The Sims 4 Wedding Stories—from first impressions only—absolutely fulfilled every wish I’ve had for the application since its base game release. Through expansions to family gameplay and the overall complexity of character relationships, it was a pack that I—along with other players in the community—was highly anticipating.

So, after weeks of watching early access gameplay and preparing myself for this release, I sat down three days ago to begin my journey with it. But after only a few moments within the game itself, every expectancy was utterly blown to pieces by a pack that is, in its essence, unplayable.

Yet, before I dive into all the reasons I’m not too fond of this addition, let me first shine a light on its bright sides.

The Create-A-Sim items that came with this pack are genuinely glowing. Whether it be the new feminine-frame hairs or the adorable wedding couture, I could easily see myself using these pieces in my everyday gameplay. Furthermore, they feel kindred to real-life wedding gowns and bridesmaid’s dresses, two features that I think well encapsulate my Simming style.

I also adore the diversity exhibited by these items—in both CAS and Gameplay, there are options for not only Western weddings, but also those of other cultures, such as Asian nuptials. Including and fully embodying these distinct traditions makes it more possible for players to see themselves within the game. This feature is very prevalent for escapism instruments such as The Sims.

However, if players cannot actually play the game, it makes it all the more difficult to find this escape. While testing The Sims 4 Wedding Stories, I slowly found myself less thrilled and just plain frustrated.

When one throws a wedding party within the pack, they will be prompted with several options, including bachelor/bachelorette parties, receptions, family gatherings, and vow renewals. Yet, the feature that the game most heavily centers around—the wedding itself—is riddled with glitches and convoluted menus that make it challenging to play.

While one can choose their Sim of honor, flower pal, and ring bearer, they must do this after already planning the wedding, which may confuse certain players. Furthermore, the choice to have someone officiate the service is a feature that is currently not working, and each time I tried to do so, my Sims simply would not complete the action I’d queued.

On top of all of this, your guests will not stick to the dress code assigned in the overhauled planning menu, and the cake you ordered often decides not to show up.

Finally, the commands within the pack are laid out in a way that makes orchestrating a wedding especially infuriating. It is almost impossible to accomplish everything you set out to when your Sims refuse to sit in the right seats, walk down the aisle the right way, or cut the cake.

Overall, The Sims 4 Wedding Stories set itself to a standard it frankly could not meet. Until the Sims team acknowledges and solves these bugs, I could not recommend that Simmers pay the $20 fee required to get their hands on this game.