The Sims 4 Life & Death Expansion Pack Review: So Good It’s Scary

The Sims 4: Life and Death The Expansion Pack is without a doubt one of the franchise’s most ambitious and engaging DLC ​​releases in years. The broad title of the EP encompasses a very grand concept, adding a multitude of aspects to the life and afterlife of the Sims, and I was skeptical that the game would live up to such a lofty idea. However, Life and Death exceeded my expectations in almost every waywith just a few minor shortcomings.

It almost feels more like a combination of expansion and game pack, mixing elements that would normally come with Sims DLC centered on the occult like Vampires with the overall gameplay expanding concepts from releases such as Growing Together. The EP is deliciously macabre and wonderfully creative, and everything from the Build and Buy item descriptions to the additional lore incorporates a Pack that really seems to have been made with a lot of love. While the release’s more fantastical elements may not appeal to players who prefer more realistic gameplay, it’s some of the most fun I’ve had with DLC in years.

Create a Sim and Build/Buy mode

Afterlife-inspired aesthetics, pet crows, and a treasure trove of build/buy history

Create A Sim’s clothing display is quite strong, with a mix of gothic and dark academic aesthetics. and some happier pieces inspired by the afterlife, like a raven costume for kids and a ghost outfit that’s a simple sheet draped over the Sim with sunglasses. It includes at least a few options for all ages, even including a handful of children’s clothing. Ghosts can now be created in CASincluding selecting the Sim’s cause of death, which is a great feature that makes starting the afterlife much easier.

Life and Death comes with three new traits: Macabre, Skeptical and Death Stalkedand the amount it actually affected gameplay was quite impressive. Pursued by Death makes Sims have a much greater risk of dying, for example, adding a fun risk, and giving the Skeptic trait to my ghost Sim caused him frequent identity crises. There’s a new Knowledge Aspiration, Ghost Historian, that challenges Sims with a fun mix of learning the new Thanatology skill, interacting with ghosts, and writing about their experiences.

The new Build and Buy mode additions follow the same kind of gothic look, offering older style pieces alongside sleeker, more modern – but still dark – pieces. There are also a number of funeral-specific objects such as coffins and memorial displays, an impressive amount of wallpaper, beautiful Tarot-inspired art and even a purchasable pet crow that Sims can bond withafter which he will bring them gifts. Players who read the item descriptions will be rewarded with a delightful amount of new lore, including new information about a Gothic ancestor.

Death is no longer the end in The Sims

Ghosts are powerful playable additions

One of the biggest features Life and Death is the introduction of playable ghosts, a new type of occult that has the same skill tree style seen in game packs like Werewolves. Sims gain experience using their ghostly powers, which will allow them to unlock more, and players will have the ability to lead ghosts down a good or bad path. Both come with some impressive powers, especially at the top of the skill tree – bad ghosts can do things like generate junk and scary illusions, shake living Sims poltergeist-style to Simoleons, and even shorten their lifespan.

On the other side of the spectrum, good ghosts have powers such as dispelling messes, restoring freshness to food, improving crafted items, and prolonging the lives of others. Evil ghosts can cultivate the Essence of Fear through their actions, while good ones create the Essence of Goodwillboth of which can be sold to a mysterious merchant in town for high prices. There are also some neutral abilities, the funniest of which is Transcendent Woohoo, which allows ghosts to temporarily transport themselves and a living partner to an inanimate object to get intimate despite their usual bodily differences.

Making the Most of Life (and the Afterlife)

Life’s Journey Goals, Funerals, Harvest, and More

Although ghosts are a big part Life and Deaththey’re not the only big addition. All Sims now have more goals in life beyond their normal whims and desires related to aspirations in the form of a Soul Journey – or, for ghost Sims, Unfinished Business. This is a kind of list that Sims write themselves: goals can appear naturally or be written on purpose, with the option to choose between different categories of desire, such as wanting adventure, success or travel. There are more than 150 goals in totalincluding some that become available with certain DLC, many of which are quite funny.

One ghost Sim I created, for example, immediately decided that his first objective would be fighting the Grim Reaper as revenge for being dead. As Sims complete these objectives, they gain benefits that apply to their overall quality of life, such as acquiring skills faster, better career earnings, and even the ability to reincarnate. Reincarnation itself is an extremely cool feature, allowing Sims to be reborn into a family of their choosing at any age. It’s a lot of fun to have a new driving force behind the game’s objectives, and it’s great to be able to customize the roster a bit.

Funerals are the new event added to the game, utilizing the same calendar planning features as the others. After the disaster that some previous events such as those of My wedding stories has been, I was pleasantly surprised to see that funerals work very well. They allow for a multitude of customizable activities, such as toasting the dead, giving different styles of eulogies, and holding moments of silence. One of the best features is the ability to catch the attention of all guests using a special podium, which solves the frequent problem of distracted Sims derailing events.

One of my favorite additions is the new Reaper career – one of the first new active Sims 4 careers in years – where Sims can work side by side with Grim himself to harvest souls. It’s very well thought out – some active careers like Scientist can start to feel repetitive easily, with the same small cycle of activities, but each day as a Reaper can be drastically different. Some are normal harvesting tasks, but other Sims may be dealing with supernatural issues, like open portals or emotional harvests where Sims will beg for the souls of the dead, giving players the option to spare them.

The world of Ravenwood

A beautiful, gothic world with lots of tradition

Life and DeathRavenwood is absolutely beautiful, combining some of the more rural elements of the village seen in Country houseIt’s Henford-on-Bagley with spooky bits and lots of tradition Werewolves‘Moonwood Mill. There are 13 lots, eight of which are residential, a nightclub, a bar, a cemetery – a new type of lot that can be placed in any world – and two vacant lots. The three neighborhoods, Crow’s Crossing, Whispering Glen and Mourningvale, are all distinct While having narrative threads that connect them, such as the Order of Lenore, a Tarot-based secret society, and a grieving ghost named Alice, players can help bring peace.

Longtime fans of the series will see a very familiar face in the neighborhood, Olive Spectre, as well as her son Nyon – formerly known as Nervous Subject, which I personally found to be an incredibly exciting reintroduction. Much like the secret cave in Horse RanchSims can explore a mysterious crypt system with a choose-your-own-adventure minigame and discover bountiful rewards. There is also a new collectible, Tarot Cards, which can be acquired in countless ways, and a full deck can be used for daily readings and pulls.

There are also a wide variety of events taking place around Ravenwood, such as nightly Moon Revelry, Thinned Festviel, Ravenwood Family Day and Afterlife Anonymous. They all have their own activities, like a booth where Sims can make a will – another new feature that allows for inheritances – moonlight swimming, or ghosts airing their problems on the podium during an AA meeting. These events surprised me several times with their small details, as a Bonehilda impersonator appearing on Family Dayor a festive dish that temporarily turned my Sim into a ghost.

Final thoughts on The Sims 4: Life and Death

A must-play game by Screen Rant standards

Most of my complaints with Life and Death they are incredibly thorough. Olive’s son Nyon, for example, doesn’t have the Grimborn trait, which seems like an oversight based on his background, and Crypt gameplay became somewhat repetitive in its events quickly. I also once encountered a bug where after sending both of my Sims home I was still very stuck until I restarted the game, but this may have just been an issue with the early access version I initially played.

However, as a whole, Life and Death It feels like it has more love and attention to detail than any DLC in recent memory. For those who are fans of hidden gameplay, the variety of afterlife features is spectacular, and even for those who aren’t big fans of hidden DLC, the additions related to things like funerals and inheritances are very versatile. Arguably one of the best expansion packs the current iteration of the franchise has seen, The Sims 4 Life and Death It’s so good it’s scary.