The Sims 4’s next expansion is set to arrive on Halloween and, as is appropriate for such a spooky season, the expansion is all about the specter of death. On Thursday, Electronic Arts released some more information on what players can expect from Life and Death, a new expansion that includes the town of Ravenwood, new mortality-related gameplay goals, and a chance to become the Grim Reaper.
Sims have always been able to die — usually in ridiculous ways, like being chewed on by a cowplant, or crushed by a Murphy bed — but Life and Death adds a lot more content around that tragic event. Sims can now write bucket lists and undergo a Soul’s Journey, which is a series of rewards that are earned by living the most fulfilling life possible. The ultimate reward is rebirth, coming back into the world as a child Sim with milestones already unlocked.
Some Sims prefer the ghost life, and Life and Death allows Sims to remain playable post mortem, as ghosts. A ghost Sim may be up for some spectral Woohoo with their living spouse, while a sillier Sim might become more of a pranking poltergeist.
There are two new careers that Sims can pursue, as well. The Undertaker career involves digging graves, embalming bodies, and helping families mourn past Sims. Undertakers can eventually graduate to one of two branches: Mortician or Funeral Director. The second new career allows Sims to don the iconic cloak of the Grim Reaper. First, they begin as Grimterns (a portmanteau of Grim and intern) at the Netherworld Department of Death. Long-time Sims players have probably argued with the Grim Reaper to try to save a beloved Sim. As a Grim Reaper, the player gets to make the choice of who gets to return to life, and who gets whisked off to the afterlife.
The expansion pack is also full of smaller little features relating to life and death: horror novels, ghost historians, a thanatology skill, wills, funeral events, or death by a murder of crows. More details can be found in Electronic Arts’ blog post, but overall, it looks like the next Sims 4 expansion will fulfill some long-standing player fantasies surrounding death, rebirth, and reaping souls.
