Sul Sul! Welcome to It’s a Sims Thing. If you know me, I love all things The Sims. I’ve been an avid player and fan of the Sims franchise for most of my life, from MySims to The Sims 2: Pets to The Sims 2: Castaway to The Sims 3 to The Sims 4 and even The Sims Medieval!
‘Tis the season for ghostly spooks and grim adventures with the new The Sims 4 Expansion pack The Sims 4: Life & Death. Upon its release on October 31st, it was the perfect ending or continuation of Spooky Season… Or, so I had hoped. To some, however, it might seem a bit grim for their tastes. See what I did there?
When this new pack was first announced I knew our good pal Grim would have a much bigger role, but to what extent? Did we need this pack? Shouldn’t this have been a part of the paranormal or Realm of Magic pack? While this pack initially left me with many questions, I found myself in a puddle for the first time in Sims history after watching the first trailer. Is anyone else emotionally broken? If you haven’t seen the trailer, here it is:
As a first look, this trailer gave us insight into plenty of new features, that, hopefully, **fingers crossed** came with no bugs. I’m looking at you, Sim funeral events… So, what do simmers looking to purchase this new pack have to look forward to and will this be worth every simoleon? Well, after waiting a month to fully unravel the latest pack, I discovered things I loved and disliked. So, let’s dive in and find out if this pack is worth a download!
Before downloading the game, there was a new base game update for players that allows you to toggle between supernatural types. Finally! Gone are the days of creating a vampire or werewolf from scratch. This is a much-needed update that should have been included in previous Sim packs. But… All was not as it seemed, for it came with a few bugs in Create-A-Sim. If you selected a supernatural type (for instance, a werewolf), when you toggled between the supernatural and normal Sim-states, the face would gradually change certain characteristics. I first noticed this happening with my Sim’s eyes and nose subtly shifting.
So before the new pack was even launched, my gameplay was already disrupted by bugs… Not a good sign.
At first download, everything surprisingly ran smoothly. There were no issues. Regarding the new world, I was pleasantly surprised at the number of buildable lots and the interactive aspects in each neighborhood, such as unraveling supernatural secrets, side quests, and interacting with iconic supernatural landmarks like the Guardian Tree and the Baleful Bog. Another favorable factor was the addition of playable ghosts, special interactions with Grim, and new goals/bucket list features that make your life in the game more interesting. Overall, I was initially thoroughly impressed by the pack and what it had to offer.
While we didn’t receive as many build mode and furniture items as I had hoped for, we did receive quite a variety of new create-a-sim items. From new clothes and accessories to new hairstyles and makeup and even some new traits. You can even create a ghost sim and choose their cause of death.
One of my favorite new aspects is the Grim Reaper career. It’s an exciting interactive career like those found in The Sims 4: Get to Work pack. With this new career, you are tasked with determining a cause of death, reaping souls, consoling grieving sims, closing tears, and even collecting souls that have escaped. The new career also allows you to enter the Netherworld, the headquarters for Reapers. So, for all the simmers who’ve waited for the opportunity to walk alongside the Grim Reaper, this is the perfect way to experience different gameplay.
In addition to the Reaper career, players can also experiment with the Undertaker career. For me, this doesn’t scream exciting and seems more morbid than fun. If anything, like the reaper career, I think this would have been better if it was an active career you could follow along with your Sims. Quite frankly, this pack is pretty dark… But, I do feel it is saving The Sims 4 franchise, returning it to its previous glory and popularity. Now, if only we could solve all of the bugs.
Speaking of bugs, I was grateful that the funeral events weren’t buggy! Thankfully, there wasn’t another The Sims 4: My Wedding Stories glitchy game experience. While I wish there was a prebuilt venue for funerals, interestingly, you can hold these events anywhere. Not only that but, like weddings and other events, you can customize goals and the venue to your heart’s desire. From selecting funeral dress code styles and clothing colors to eulogies to lighting candles or even pouring one out, there are plenty of different ways you can interact with the event. Plus, you can even create wills and leave inheritances. All of which makes the gameplay more relatable to real life… Which is either a win or a feature that is not needed.
I don’t think this pack is something I would utilize consistently in gameplay. The only features I would consistently use are the side quests, reaper career, and bucket lists. But, for players who like to play in a story mode, this pack is right for you. I’d give this pack a soup rating of 8 out of 10.
The Sims 4: Life & Death has plenty of unique features and, in my opinion, one of the most ambitious as of late. Will you be downloading this pack? Let us know in the comments. We’d love to hear your thoughts!
