Sims 4 Life & Death Expansion Preview – Leeb, Leefah, Lurve After Death

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Halloween 2024 sees the arrival of possibly the biggest and most exciting gameplay changes to The Sims 4. With The Sims Life & Death expansion pack, death is not the end, and there is far more to do in the afterlife than you ever thought possible. We were lucky enough to get a peek into what to expect from the latest expansion coming soon from Electronic Arts.

Sims players invest a lot of time in the lives of their characters, sometimes creating whole generations of Sim families. Now, with the Sims 4 Life & Death expansion pack, players won’t have to worry about losing a character to a house fire or an accidental drowning.

The new pack creates new pathways to explore both while the Sim is in the land of the living and when they die. While alive, Sims can move to the new neighborhood of Ravenwood. Within this new town are three unique areas: Crow’s Crossing, Whispering Glen, and Mourningvale. Each of these places is frequented by ghosts, many of whom have unfinished business, crypts, and haunted houses. This is the kind of town where your vampire, werewolf, or other supernatural Sim will feel right at home!

Thanks to the talented folk at The Sims, we had a quick tour around Ravenwood and could see all the fun details included. The map is inspired by the Romanian countryside, with three separate neighborhoods of varying spookiness. Each neighborhood has its own festivals, including one moonlit party where clothing is optional during the full moon!

Each new area in The Sims Life & Death is haunted, but none so much as Mourningvale. This area is where most of the ghosts like to spend their afterlife. Mourningvale is also home to the Baleful Bog, a spiritual body of magical water where you can lead your Sim into the afterlife and rebirth.

A pre-made Sim family is residing in Whispering Glen which some players may recognize. The Specter family is Layne Coffin, Olive Specter, and Nyon Specter (who some of you familiar with Sims lore may know as Nervous Subject). The addition of this family is a great bit of color to the Sims lore and allows players to play around with the relationship between Olive and the Grim Reaper – especially since it is now possible to try for a baby with the Grim Reaper! Sims related to the Grim Reaper are born with a scythe birthmark, and they are given the ability to live longer than the average Sim.

Building upon aspirations and milestones is the Soul’s Journey, a new mechanic in The Sims Life & Death. Sims have various Bucket List goals to achieve throughout their lives, which are affected by your Sim’s personality, their career, and so much more. The Bucket List goals are a wonderful way to flesh out your Sim’s story and make their lives richer. Once the Sim’s Soul Journey is fulfilled as a living Sim, they can choose to be reborn when they die, unlocking more gameplay as a ghost-Sim.

Other aspects of gameplay that can potentially change how players approach the game include new personality traits. The Chased By Death trait is a challenging way to push your Sim to achieve more in their life, especially as they know death is around the corner! There is also a lot of fun to have with the Sceptic trait. With so many occult Sim types in the game now who knows what might happen? Just imagine how conversations will go between a skeptical Sim and their vampire neighbor… Would they risk demanding proof of vampiric existence? How would a skeptical ghost react to their own existence?

The Sims Life & Death opens up the lives of Sims to gameplay even after the death of a character. Sims can write a will and leave family heirlooms to loved ones. You can even create your own Sim family lore by writing notes to your Sim ancestors. The heirloom isn’t just a nice piece of furniture, either! The surviving Sim can also try and call upon the dead Sim’s spirit.

As a living Sim, there is a new career path to explore as a Reaper. This active career lets you reap souls, fulfill soul quotas, and talk to the big man himself. If your Sim has a morbid curiosity then this may be the career for them.

Death and grief in The Sims has been a pretty linear journey in the past. Previously, a Sim would die and their loved ones would grieve for a limited amount of time. Now, with The Sims Life & Death expansion pack, grief is far more realistic. It will affect different Sims in various ways, depending on what their relationship with the deceased was. Of course, their grief also depends on whether the dead Sim returns as a ghost…

two ghosts embracing + the Soul Journey pop up

As I mentioned before, once the Sim completes their Soul’s Journey, they unlock the option to be reborn. Your Sim can choose a family to join at whatever age you like. It is even possible to have many of your Sim’s existing traits reborn with the new Sim. Although this path is intriguing, the option to become a playable ghost is the most appealing.

At the moment of their death, you get to decide what you want to do. Will you be reborn, become a free-roaming ghost, or become a playable ghost? As a playable ghost, you have a few more goals to achieve in your Soul’s Journey. This aspect of the new expansion is the most exciting for many players. Ghosts have been pretty passive in the past, or just spent their time haunting your existing Sims. Now, players get to be the ghostly Sim, with new goals and activities, including ghostly woohoo!

There is so much to look forward to with the new expansion pack. From a new neighborhood to playable ghosts, and the new Grim Reaper career, we just can’t wait! Stay tuned for more as we discover what else there is to do in Ravenwood.

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