Look, we all know The Sims is a weird little series. You can torture your Sims, meet fairies and werewolves and vampires, have half alien babies. So I feel like I shouldn't be all that surprised by The Sims 4's next expansion pack, Adventure Awaits, seeing the return of imaginary friends. And yet here I am, taken aback and slightly horrified by the game's interpretation of imaginary friends in its first gameplay trailer.

I truly find them existentially uncomfortable. Imaginary friends come in the shape of four different dolls that can morph into humanoid creatures that will keep your Sim child company if no one else will. You can choose between four different personalities for them too, which includes Goofball, Creative, Competitive, and funniest of all, straight up Evil.

The Sims 4 Adventure Awaits | Official Gameplay Trailer Watch on YouTube

Worst of all, if your Sim child bonds with the imaginary friend enough, they can Pinocchio-style turn into a real human. A lot of ethical questions being raised here I'm not confident the simulation game will answer, and quite honestly I don't know if I'd want them around my own kids (NB: I don't have any, but let's imagine I do for this joke to land).

That's not what the expansion pack is solely about, though, in fact it's mostly not about getting your children to create human life. Adventure Awaits also introduces three new neighbourhoods for your Sims to explore, with activities like fishing in mountain streams, sharing campfire stories, or just having a romantic retreat. This comes with a new feature, Scheduling Getaway, which allows your Sims to plan weekend trips or summer holidays. Alternatively, with the game's new Custom Venues and Getaway System, you can make your own getaway spots for your Sims to hang out in.

At least those retreats sound like a nice reprieve from the horrors presented by the imaginary friends. In any case, Adventure Awaits is out October 2nd, so you don't have to wait very long.