Although The Sims has been known as a great franchise that seeks to simulate real life, there’s no question that some of its more fantastical features have been just as fun and engaging as basic family gameplay. While supernatural stuff might be a bit niche, it’s still so well executed that it’s no wonder vampires are such a staple in the series.

That being said, vampires haven’t always been the way they are now in The Sims 4, with a large skill tree and endless possibilities. Once upon a time, there was just one vampire in the game who manned a shop in the Magic Town of the neighborhood. Now, anyone can become a vampire. Here’s how these bloodsuckers evolved in the franchise over the years.

10 They Didn’t Exist For A While

One would think such a basic life state like vampires would have existed in the franchise for a long time. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, many of the more supernatural gameplay features were only introduced in later games, as developers pushed the limits of the franchise.

In the original The Sims, the most supernatural expansion was Makin’ Magic, which did introduce magic and some NPCs that were clearly far from human. Vicki Vampiress, for example, was undoubtedly the first of her kind in the entire series.

9 They Became An Element In Nightlife

The first time that vampires really became a solid aspect of the game itself was only in The Sims 2’s Nightlife expansion. That being said, vampires couldn’t be created in CAS at the time, and players had to become one in order to unlock it as a gameplay feature.

Vampires were best recognized by their clothing and their behavior. Grand Vampires in particular would stick out like sore thumbs in their fancy, medieval clothing.

8 Their Dual Appearance In The Sims 3

With The Sims 3, vampires became available in two different expansion packs, which was a brand new thing. Not only were they introduced in Late Night, where they could be found wandering around at clubs, but they also came along in Supernatural.

This means that players could buy either expansion pack to enjoy this gameplay feature, which was a somewhat controversial move by EA, given that some may have only purchased Late Night for vampires.

7 They Became CAS Life States

The one thing that made The Sims 3: Supernatural so good, however, was the fact that for the first time ever, players could actually play as alternate life states right off the bat. In CAS, it was now possible to pick a Sim’s species rather than turning them into something else in the game.

Vampires in particular became one of the most popular life states available in CAS. Whereas before the player would need to befriend a vampire to become one themselves, now they could start the game as one.

6 They Could Once Be Hybrids

Hybrids are something that are slowly still getting tuned for The Sims 4. Many of the combinations still cause some bugs, which custom content creators and modders have tried to address through fan-made patches. However, this wasn’t always the case.

Back in The Sims 2, hybrids were a very possible and common feature. Any species could be a hybrid, meaning vampires could also be werewolves or even witches. The possibilities were endless.

5 They Used To Have Few Abilities

For the longest time, vampires were simply cool because of how differently they lived their lives and how they could hypnotize other Sims. However, there wasn’t much more to being a vampire, and if anything, it was a bit of a burden at times.

The Vampires game pack for The Sims 4 changed this by providing players with a leveling system and full-on skill trees with perks and weaknesses. This allowed players to make every vampire unique in their own way, and gave them impactful abilities.

4 They Used To Appear Blue

The appearance of vampires has also evolved overtime throughout the franchise. Starting from The Sims 2, vampires used to have a pale, at times almost light bluish tint. Their portraits would always show them scowling as well.

This changed in later games, where vampires could look more human-like without glaringly blue skin. In The Sims 4, players were even given the chance to create a dark form for their vampire to truly distinguish between their two sides.

3 They Didn’t Always Break Into Homes

One annoying aspect about The Sims 4 vampires is that they often tend to barge into the player’s house at night time and forcefully feed on them. Thankfully, modders have provided players with mods that keep them at bay and prevent Sims to always go through an unwanted visitor when first moving in.

Ironically, this wasn’t always the way vampires would make themselves known. In earlier games, vampires were a much rarer occurrence and had to be sought out. They would leave the player alone for the most part.

2 They Didn’t Always Die From The Sun

In every single game in which vampires have been a life state, they’ve always been weak to sunlight and cannot stand spending any time in it. With newer games, some items and abilities make it possible for them to walk at daytime among regular Sims without dying.

However, unlike in The Sims 2 and The Sims 4, vampires didn’t actually die from the sunlight in The Sims 3. Rather, they would simply grow weaker and weaker until reaching the point of passing out.

1 They Used To Only Be Found In Clubs Or Cities

With the introduction of Forgotten Hollow, there’s now a place where vampires can be easily found. Moreover, when moving into a world for the first time, a vampire is likely to drop by and visit the player and feed on them.

In past games, vampires were exclusively found at clubs or in neighborhoods were the nightlife cities were enabled.

NEXT: Sims 4: 10 Skills That Are Financially Smart