The Sims 4: Life and Death marks the release of the seventeenth expansion pack in the Sims 4 series, inviting players to explore profound themes surrounding life, mortality, and the intricate interactions of existence. This expansion provides an emotional journey for Sims, enabling them to experience pivotal life events, face the reality of mortality, and relish moments that define their characters. With innovative mechanics introduced, the life cycle of Sims gains new layers of richness and complexity, leading to more impactful narratives.
Unlike any previous expansion, Life and Death enhances the gameplay experience by integrating life and afterlife dynamics seamlessly. With features such as Soul’s Journey and a new grieving process, this expansion broadens the emotional spectrum of Sims’ experiences. It aligns itself more closely with gameplay elements found in other expansions like Seasons and Growing Together, rendering it an essential part of the Sims universe. Here’s an overview of what players can anticipate from this expansion pack.
Highlights of the Expansion Pack
- New World (Ravenwood)
- Soul’s Journey and Rebirth
- Grieving Feature
- Ghost Mastery
- New Lot Type (Cemetery)
- New Social Event (Funeral)
- Inheritance and Wills
- New Careers (Reaper and Undertaker)
- New Skill (Thanatology)
- New Aspiration (Ghost Historian)
- New Traits (Chased by Death, Macabre, Skeptical)
- New CAS and Build/Buy Items
Exploring Ravenwood
Ravenwood emerges as a captivating new world in The Sims 4: Life and Death, offering a hauntingly beautiful setting for players to explore life’s deeper meanings. The design is heavily influenced by gothic architecture, featuring a mix of eerie yet scenic locations that invite contemplation and intrigue. Players can traverse through graveyards, crypts, and other notable landmarks that enrich the themes of life and death prevalent in this expansion.
This new world comprises 13 lots, consisting of eight residential areas, two empty spaces, and three community venues, including a cemetery, nightclub, and bar. Notable families, such as the supernatural Specter family, return to populate the world. Additionally, players will encounter various NPCs like Alice and Edith, who harbor secrets waiting to be unveiled. Unique gameplay experiences arise as players explore rabbit holes like crypts for quests or hidden treasures, alongside a secret lot, the Netherworld Department, exclusively accessed by Reaper Sims.
Soul’s Journey and Rebirth Explained
The Soul’s Journey feature represents a transformative addition to The Sims 4, applicable to living Sims across various ages. In contrast to typical Aspirations, which are goal-oriented, Soul’s Journey allows Sims to engage in diverse life experiences and develop personal bucket lists influenced by their traits. As Sims navigate through their lives, they can modify and pursue specific goals that are meaningful to their story.
Upon a Sim’s death, their journey continues as their Life’s Journey transitions into Unfinished Business, allowing Ghost Sims to aim for reincarnation. The Soul’s Journey consists of nine levels, with three accessible only when the Sim is a ghost. Players advance through these levels by completing goals and meeting aspiration milestones, unlocking unique perks tied to their journey. Once they achieve the Dreams Fulfilled level, Sims can opt for rebirth, starting anew as different life stages while carrying over specific connections to loved ones from their past life.
Rebirth diverges from merely avoiding death; Sims can be reincarnated as infants, children, teenagers, adults, or elders, commencing a new life absent of past ties. Successful completion of the Soul’s Journey bestows the Burning Soul reward trait, allowing Sims to retain certain bonuses and traits for their new life.
Understanding the Grieving Feature
The grieving feature enriches The Sims 4 experience by creating more relatable interactions and emotional responses when Sims face loss. Significant life events such as the passing of a loved one, job termination, or breakups prompt Sims to enter a mourning phase characterized by four types of grief: Anger, Blues, Denial, and Holding It Together. Each category intricately affects interactions, moodlets, and coping strategies.
For instance, a Sim in a Holding It Together state experiences a blend of confident and sad moodlets, often turning to uplifting activities for comfort, while an Angry Sim may find solace in physical outlets like exercise or music. Effective coping strategies vary by grief type, although attending Grief Counseling generally benefits all Sim types.
The outcome of a Sim’s mourning process can lead to either successful coping, an emotional shift toward another grief type, or potentially a negative personality trait change due to unresolved grief.
Ghost Mastery Unveiled
Ghosts receive notable upgrades in the Life and Death expansion. Alongside existing supernatural elements in The Sims 4, ghosts now boast customizable abilities and perks that rival those of other occult characters. As they progress through their ethereal existence, Ghost Sims can ascend levels to unlock powerful capabilities.
Their abilities are categorized into three main groups:
- Evil Abilities: Malevolent actions, such as haunting, that generate Fear Essence.
- Good Abilities: Beneficial actions, including need management and life extension, resulting in Goodwill Essence.
- Neutral Abilities: Balanced capabilities like transcendence WooHoo and teleportation.
A fascinating aspect of this mastery system is that if an occult Sim, such as a Spellcaster or Vampire, transitions to ghost form, they retain their original mastery mechanics while gaining Ghost Mastery capabilities. This allows players to create unique hybrid characters without relying on modifications.
Cemetery Lot Type Introduced
The Life and Death expansion reintegrates cemeteries as a community lot type, reminiscent of their influential roles in previous iterations of The Sims. Players can design and manage these cemeteries, adhering to specific requirements to ensure functional gameplay.
Cemeteries can serve diverse purposes—ranging from traditional graveyards to unique venues for gatherings or events, including bars or speakeasies. With an extensive array of themed objects available, players can tailor the design and atmosphere of these sites to suit their preferences and storytelling needs.
Customizable Funeral Social Event
Funerals, a new customizable social event introduced in the expansion, allow players to commemorate Sims who have recently passed or those who haven’t yet experienced a farewell ceremony. Drawing parallels to wedding events in My Wedding Stories, players are afforded extensive options for personalizing these events beyond venue and attire.
From traditional tributes to lively celebrations that reflect the personality of the deceased, the versatility in activities ensures that each funeral is meaningful. Players can adjust the venue’s decor pre-event, crafting unique settings—be it a gothic affair or an outdoor remembrance.
Furthermore, customization extends to portraits, urns, gravestones, and gravesite decorations, allowing players to honor the deceased’s story in a personal and individualized manner.
Exploring Inheritance, Heirlooms, and Wills
The Inheritance feature enhances player agency regarding the disposition of Sims’ possessions after their passing. Players can declare specific items as Heirlooms, affording interactions such as reminiscing, bestowing the heirloom, or assessing its worth.
Within the same household or beyond, players can designate heirloom items to specific Sims, including household funds if the deceased Sim lived alone. Customizing a will is straightforward, achievable via City Hall visits, computer use, or attending festival events like Ravenwood Family Day. While players can opt for pre-made wills, they are advised against it for more personalized outcomes. Editable wills can contain specific instructions for distributing wealth and heirlooms or even express funeral preferences. Sims’ reactions to will readings mirror their traits and inheritance outcomes.
New Career Opportunities in Life and Death
This expansion pack introduces two exciting career paths: the Reaper (an active career) and the Undertaker (a non-active career).
Embracing the Reaper Career
Within the Reaper career, players engage in a highly interactive role where Sims undertake daily tasks crucial for improving job performance. Responsibilities typically involve collecting souls of departed Sims while managing administrative duties and evaluating causes of death.
An intriguing component of the Reaper career is the occurrence of emergency events that may require the player’s attention. For instance, fixing a broken Nether portal or responding to accidents resulting in numerous Sim fatalities adds elements of urgency and engagement during gameplay. Grim Reaper acts as the supervising manager, allowing players to cultivate a relationship with him. Achieving level 10 in this career awards a unique trait connected to Grim Reaper.
Progression in the Reaper career remains linear, with promotions linked to performance metrics like releasing a specific number of souls and skill improvements in areas such as thanatology and charisma. Each week, Reaper Sims face collective goals that unlock additional rewards upon completion.
Managing the Undertaker Career
The Undertaker career is a captivating non-active career dedicated to the management of funerals and gravesites. While many activities unfold behind-the-scenes, players enhance immersion by completing pre-work tasks for their Sims. This career consists of ten levels, branching into two specialization options—Funeral Director and Mortician—available from level five onward.
The Funeral Director path emphasizes writing obituaries and engaging in thoughtful conversations, prioritizing skills such as Thanatology and Charisma, with lighter requirements in Gardening and Fitness. Conversely, the Mortician route entails daily tasks surrounding certifications and reading, focusing on enhancing skills like Thanatology, Painting, Logic, and Fitness. Both branches introduce new interactions, objects tied to their duties, and distinct outfits as Sims earn promotions.
Acquiring the Thanatology Skill
The Thanatology skill is a minor aspect of the Life and Death expansion, with a level cap set at 5. This skill centers on understanding death and its mysteries. It proves essential for advancing within the Reaper and Undertaker careers, while also offering unique interactions, such as crafting special recipes or utilizing voodoo dolls.
Players can cultivate and elevate their Thanatology skill through various channels, including reading skill books, exploring voodoo dolls, researching past deaths in libraries, or enrolling in Thanatology classes, especially if they also possess the Discover University expansion pack.
Pursuing the Ghost Historian Aspiration
The Ghost Historian aspiration elevates the focus on uncovering and documenting ghost-related secrets. Encouraging players to engage with spirits while enhancing writing and thanatology skills, this aspiration promotes exploration and discovery within the enigmatic Ravenwood. Players are tasked with finding rare artifacts hidden in crypts and uncovering the tragic story of the Weeping Mother, Alice, through the related Sorrow quest line.
To successfully fulfill the milestones for the Ghost Historian aspiration, players must complete various objectives:
- Getting in the Spirit
- Befriend a Ghost
- Achieve Level 2 Thanatology Skill
- Achieve Level 2 Writing Skill
- Writer Among Wraiths
- Befriend Another Ghost
- Find a Rare Item in a Crypt
- Achieve Level 3 Thanatology Skill
- Achieve Level 4 Writing Skill
- Phantasmal Fantasy
- Find a Rare Item in a Crypt
- Make Contact with Edith
- Achieve Level 7 Writing Skill
- Spectrally Spectacular
- Write a Horror Book
- Earn Royalties from Publishing Books
Reward: Ghost Whisperer trait, aimed at facilitating friendships with ghosts and fostering positive interactions.
New Traits Introduced
The Life and Death expansion introduces three unique CAS traits for Sims:
| Name | In-Game Description | Conflict |
|---|---|---|
|
Macabre (Lifestyle) |
Embrace your inner darkness while still finding joy in life. Macabre Sims reflect on the full spectrum of existence. |
Cheerful, Skeptical |
|
Skeptical (Lifestyle) |
Skeptical Sims challenge the world to provide undeniable proof of what is real. |
Macabre |
|
Chased by Death (Lifestyle) |
Aware of death’s omnipresence, these Sims take risks to fully enjoy life and expedite their personal development. |
None |
Additionally, a secret trait called Grimborn can be achieved by Sims whose parent is Grim Reaper. Though it does not confer any unique abilities, it adds depth to gameplay.
CAS and Build/Buy Items Expansion
The Life and Death expansion pack introduces over 150 new Create-a-Sim items, allowing for remarkable customization and immersive storytelling. This includes beautifully designed gowns, gothic attire, unique hairstyles, and thematic accessories that resonate with the spirit of Ravenwood.
Build/Buy Mode also enjoys significant enhancements, adding nearly 190 new items, with options tailored for funeral and cemetery settings, as well as functional home decor reflecting Ravenwood’s gothic aesthetic. Players can even find a deck of tarot cards within the game, unlocking new interactions and collectible opportunities as they explore the world.
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