The Sims 4’slatest expansion,Life & Death, has blown both critics and fans out of the water thanks to its wealth of new content, features, and gameplay mechanics that feel as inspired as they are fun to play around with. Considering how rare it is forThe Sims 4to get something that’s as weird as it is wonderful, it’s great to see the folks over at Maxis create something so enjoyable. It’s certainly proving to be a winner for fans of the more bizarre side ofThe Sims, although it’s not pleasing everyone.
Life & Death’sbest mechanicshave helped expand the game in impressive ways, which isn’t particularly surprising considering it’s a supernatural expansion pack. These have always fared the best when it comes toThe Simsgames and end up being the most memorable. It’s great to see this trend continue, although it’s heartbreaking to know that those who aren’t as interested are being left out a little. WhileLife & Deathproves thatThe Sims 4still has what it takes to be goofy, it’s a shame it also continues the series' worst trend.
Life & Death Is A Great Sims 4 Expansion
It Is One Of The Best Expansions In Recent Memory
Life & Deathis yet another incredibleSims 4expansionthat delves deep into the game’s more supernatural side. It’s a wild and wacky expansion that adds some highly-requested features, such aswoohooing death itself, of course, as well as some unexpected treats that drastically enhance the overall experience. Much like the many supernatural packs before it,Life & Deathfeels like an unbridled experiment in creativity, adding as many outlandish new features to the game as the developers could possibly think of.
While it’s true thatLife & Deathmissed some opportunitiesfor highly requested features, for the most part, it absolutely delivers on what it set out to do. Playing as a ghost is a genuine joy and a great opportunity to expand upon the afterlife in meaningful ways. The new world, Ravenwood, brings a whole new dynamic to the game thanks to its exciting new activities, andthe extra quality-of-life additions continue to makeThe Sims 4one of thebest life sims ever made.
Life & Deathis the very first supernatural expansion pack forThe Sims 4, despite there being 17 in total. In contrast, two of the 11 expansion packs ofThe Sims 3were supernatural/fantasy-themed.The Sims 4also has five supernatural and fantasy game packs, includingVampires,StrangerVille,Realm of Magic,Star Wars™: Journey to Batuu, andWerewolves. There are only two stuff packs, which includeSpookyandParanormal.
Of course, for those hoping for a more realistic expansion,Life & Deathisn’t really a must. However, for everyone else looking to spice up their playthrough and add some unexpected twists to their sims' lives, then it is the perfect expansion.It’s the kind of expansion that has always madeThe Simsthe unique and wild life sim that it is, disproving the notion that it’s simply a game about watching characters go to work and constantly fix their leaking showers.
The Sims 4’s Supernatural Packs Are Often Its Best
They Feel Unrestricted In The Amount Of Fun They Add
The supernatural packs forThe Sims 4, and its predecessors, are almost always the bestand most memorable. They add the most unique content, feel the most unrestricted in their ambition, and inject the most amount of fun.Realm of Magic,Vampires, andWerewolvesall added a number of goofy and fun gameplay mechanics that madeThe Sims 4just that little bit more weird and wonderful.
Of course, generally, when rankingThe Sims 4’sbest expansionsand game packs, the more useful and practical ones come out on top. Those that add fundamental mechanics and expand upon the base game experience are often more popular simply due to how necessary they feel. However, that doesn’t mean that when all is said and done, players will remember how much fun they had with them.SeasonsandGet To Work, for example, are must-have expansion packs because of how much they add to the game, but they’re not memorable in the same way thatLife & Deathis.
The supernatural packs enhanceThe Sims 4, whereas the realistic ones merely add what should have been there from the start.
That’s becausethesupernatural packs enhanceThe Sims 4, whereas the realistic ones merely add what should have been there from the start. In many ways, the supernatural offerings likeLife & DeathandRealm of Magicfeel like genuine expansions, ways of stepping out of the norm and experiencing something new within the iconicSimsframework. The more basic expansions just make the base experience better, not necessarily more unique or interesting. They help flesh out the original experience, not show alternative ways of enjoying it.
Realism In The Sims 4 Deserves Better
Its Realistic Packs Need To Be Better
Of course, while many are enjoying theLife & Deathexpansion forThe Sims 4, those who enjoy the realistic side of the life sim aren’t too happy.The recent expansions that have added more realistic aspects haven’t been amazing, such as themessyLovestruckexpansion. Even when they are good, they never feel as impactful or memorable as the more outlandish expansions and game packs.
Now thatfans know they’ll never getThe Sims 5, all the more realistic aspects they’d been hoping for may seem like a pipe dream, at least when it comes to the visual department. Of course, it’s absolutely worth noting that the more supernatural packs don’t tend to come around particularly often, and the majority ofThe Sims 4’sexpansions and game packs tend to skew more towards the realism side of the game. However,it sometimes feels like those realistic expansions don’t have the same amount of inspired creativity as the supernatural ones.
The Sims 4: The 10 Weirdest Mods That Change How You Play
These are the 10 weirdest mods for the Sims 4 that change a player’s game to create wacky and shocking gameplay scenarios and make players laugh.
It’s hard not to feel like players who prefer the grounded elements ofThe Sims 4are getting the short end of the stick when it comes to extra content. Sure, it’s always great to see much-needed features added in, but when they feel like the absolute bare minimum, it can be a bit disappointing to see supernatural fans get innovative features. Ultimately,The Sims 4is an ever-growing experience, one that will get even more expansions before the end of its life. Hopefully, those expansions will continue to bring both amazing supernatural and realistic features toThe Sims 4.
