What lies beyond death? Us mortals don’t know for sure other than the holy scriptures we believe in and traditions we follow tell us, but what’s it like for Sims? The Sims 4’s upcoming expansion, the second for this year, is expanding how Sims interact with death and the afterlife.
The Sims 4 Life & Death Expansion will allow dead Sims to still be in the control of players as Ghosts. Ghost Sims can still resolved any Unfinished Business they have, or mess around with their new Ghostly Powers. Or even wilder, undergo Rebirth, born into a new Sim while carrying over some skills from their previous life. Sims in The Sims 4 can actually enter New Game Plus in real (Sim) life.
Living Sims can prepare for the inevitable by setting up a Will, allowing you to hand over Simoleons and possessions to a specific Sim or household. Sims can make a Bucket List and tick them off as they live life to the fullest, gaining extra perks that can allow them to be reborn.
There are new jobs. One of them is a Profession (active career), something The Sims 4 haven’t been adding enough on the regular.
The Sims 4 Life & Death Expansion New Content
- New World: Ravenworld
- Three Neighbourhoods:
- World Events: Ravenworld Family Day, Crows’ Crossing Celebration Of Life festival
- Soul’s Journey: New Sim lifetime reward system that combines Aspirations and Wants
- Fulfill enough goals for the ultimate reward: Rebirth with the special Burning Soul Trait
- Ghosts can continue Soul’s Journey in the form of completing their Unfinished Business, allowing them to be more powerful ghosts or undergo Rebirth
- Rebirth: reborn as a new Sim
- Reborn Sim with completed Soul’s Journey can unlock past Childhood Development Skills, Traits and Infant Milestones
- Can rebirth to a Sim of any age
- Reborn Sim can have special ties with Sims from their past life
- Bucket List
- Available as a Young Adult and older
- Will naturally populate over time based on Sims’ Traits
- New things in the Bucket List can be manually added via the computer or journal
- Can be a specific goal, from a specific category (Travel, Family, etc.) or completely random
- Rewards for completing a Sim’s Bucket List allows for them to undergo Rebirth
- Playable Ghost Sims
- Customisable appearance via Create-A-Sim
- Have Ghost Powers
- Interacting with the living earn them Fear or Goodwill essences used to trade for Simoleons
- Ghosts Sims can Woohoo each other (new Woohoo interaction- spectral Woohoo inside objects), provided they were lovers before
- Create a Will
- Available at Ravensdale Town Hall, computer, or Family Day Festival
- Assign heirlooms to specific people, leave notes, set emotional reaction to whoever reads the Will, how remains are handled, Funeral requests, designate caretaker for children and pets
- Can donate Simoleons to charity or another household via Wills should the whole household perish
- Can be updated over a Sim’s lifetime
- New Careers
- Reaper Profession (active career where Sims can be controlled during working hours)
- Be a Grim Reaper. Start off as a Grimtern at the Netherworld Department of Death (N.W.D.D.)
- Undertaker Career- start as a grave digger
- Two branches: Mortician, Funeral Director
- Unlocks Discussing End Of Life Services and Contemplating Existence interactions
- Reaper Profession (active career where Sims can be controlled during working hours)
- New Aspiration: Ghost Historian Aspiration
- Horror Novels
- Ghost Whisperer Reward Trait
- New Lot Trait: Hallowed Gronds
- New Traits:
- Macabre
- Chased by Death
- Skeptic
- New Skill: Thanatology
- New Death: Death by murder of crows
- New mechanic: Grief
- Sims experience four different grief types (Denial, Holding It Together, Anger, Blues) based on their Traits and relationships with a Sim
- Applies to not only death- Grief can kick in after experiencing a divorce or getting fired
- Sims in Grief can Reach Out For Help from other Sims, Attend Grief Counseling, or cope by doing creative and productive activities
- New Planned event: Funeral
- Assign the deceased, dress code, colour, attendees, activities (14 available), location and time
- Activities include Giving a Lighthearted Eulogy, Lighting Candles, Planting Something, or Serving Food
- Ghost Sims can attend their own funeral
- Set up Memorial Displays, select specific tombstone or urn, decorate the gravesite or send the urn to a crypt
The recent run of The Sims 4 Expansion Packs have been focusing on the fundamental life sim aspects being expanded. Like how Growing Together adds complexity to family ties, Lovestruck expanding on romantic interactions, and High School Days expanding on the life of teen Sims. Life & Death is now doing so for the afterlife and the moments leading up to someone passing away.
The Sims 4 Life & Death expansion pack releases on October 31 (Halloween) for the PS4, PS5, PC (Steam, Epic Games Store, EA App), Mac (Steam, Epic Games Store, Origin), Xbox One and Xbox series X|S. Though for us in Asia Pacific region, the expansion will all launch one day later on November 1.
Source: The Sims