That's true, Like The Sims 3 there isn't really any story progression in The Sims 4 either. I guess that's one of the reasons why I like so much mods in both games to bring the sims to life and have townies to actually have lives.
I love knowing I can sends my sims kids out into the world knowing they'll get a job, meet someone, get married, move in together and have kids of their own and carry on the family name. Or seeing the Landgraab and Goth name still alive after 5 generations.
I think it's sad I have to depend on mods to do this.
But that's just me, There are a lot of people that play without mods and love it. And I do have a couple games going I play without mods if it's for a challenge that I enjoy also.