The Sims 4 Life & Death Preview: Don’t Fear the Reaper, But Maybe Invite Him to Dinner?

In The Sims 4 Life & Death expansion, it seems death really is just the beginning. After what feels like a lifetime, Maxis and EA are allowing players to explore just what the afterlife and the macabre looks like in The Sims 4 universe. This particular expansion feels like it adds an additional layer of depth to the game for players who love building out stories and family trees thanks to a number of new features.

Where There’s a Will, There’s a Weighty Inheritance

The theme is obviously about life and death, and how your Sim’s story no longer ends when the Grim Reaper shows up to reap their soul into the afterlife. You can embrace your new ghostly lifestyle, or be born again for another shot at a corporeal life. A key element in ensuring your Sim gets the most out of life is the new Bucket List feature. Here, Sims will have a list that populates over time, with goals that generate based on the type of Sim you have. This means their traits, their occult status, and environmental factors that have shaped your sim over time. There are over 150 goals that can wind up on the Bucket List, but some are tied to different expansion packs. You won’t get a goal if you don’t have its corresponding pack, so you’ll never have to worry about having a list that’s impossible to complete.   

When a Sim dies, they’re often leaving behind family, friends, or pets, and in the Life & Death expansion there’s now a new way to determine how these dependents are affected once their loved one passes. Sims can now write Wills, which allow them to leave heirlooms to specific Sims and, if you have the Cats & Dogs expansion, determine what happens to their pets. One of its main functions, however, is for allowing Sims to plan their own funerals, leaving instructions for those left behind. 

Funerals play a big part in the upcoming expansion, though they’re less rigid and structured as events such as weddings. They’re designed to be more free-flowing events for mourning Sims, and celebrating life. 

I’m the Afterlife of the Party

Players will have access to a few new Personality Traits, all in-keeping with the expansion’s theme. First, there’s ‘Macabre’, which allows players to live out their Addams’ Family ideals, taking joy from some of the darker things. There’s ‘Skeptical,’ which has your Sim doubt some of the spookier instances of their lives and the occult. They might challenge the universe, or demand proof that certain things actually happened. Finally, there’s ‘Chased by Death’ — arguably the most risky trait that’s been added to The Sims 4 so far. With the ‘Chased by Death’ trait, risky behaviors are now more likely to have deadly consequences. Where most Sims might get a warning (an electrical shock from a broken washing machine, for example), ‘Chased by Death’ Sims won’t be so lucky. No more safety net. This Sim is speedrunning death, any%. 

Reaper? I Hardly Know Her

Rounding out the expansion is a brand new career, one that might have a serious effect on your Sims’ storylines — if you choose. The Reaper Profession allows your Sims to become a Reaper themselves, working your way through the ranks, earning your scythe, and schmoozing with the Grim Reaper himself. As part of the career, Sims will be tasked with reaping the souls of other Sims, both random and ones you might know from around your neighborhood. Now, you won’t be forced to claim the souls of your fellow Sims so you won’t have to worry too much about affecting your storylines, but it is an option, and can trigger some interesting interactions. You’ll also need to keep an eye on hitting your ‘Soul Quota.’ If you’re too forgiving, and perhaps spare a few too many souls, you’ll quickly find yourself on the Grim Reaper’s bad side. It’s arguably the worst bad side you could find yourself on. 

It’s worth noting that, even if you reach the very height of the Reaping profession, you’ll only be able to reap during working hours. There’ll be no unsanctioned soul harvesting in this Sim town! While you can get on the Grim Reaper’s bad side, you can also do the opposite. So much so, in fact, that you can even Try for Baby with the Grim Reaper, and the after effects are surprisingly unique. Any baby born from that of the Grim Reaper will receive the Grimborn trait — applying a birthmark in the shape of a scythe onto the child. Similarly, there are more social interactions for Ghost Sims that vastly expand on how they form relationships with other, still-living Sims. Ghost Sims can Possess WooHoo with other Ghosts, or Transcendent WooHoo with living Sims via possessable objects such as TVs, appliances, chairs, and more. It’s all a bit weird, and spooky, but you can’t deny it gives players more freedom than ever before. 

Death is Just the Beginning

And even with all that, there still seems plenty to discover in The Sims 4 Life & Death expansion. It’s the perfect DLC to pair with more spooky packs, bringing in new furnishing, social, and activity options. It allows you to create the macabre family that you’ve always wanted, and to plan funerals as if they’re the hottest party in town. 

Some expansions for The Sims 4 have felt limited in their offerings, with new activities and gimmicks that can sometimes run their course fairly swiftly. But Life & Death seems like it might have more longevity, being centered around core concepts that affect a players’ storylines. Those that find a lot of value in cultivating generations of Sims will latch onto this expansion in particular, thanks to the Will and heirloom features. Allowing Sims to be reborn again can also cultivate some interesting stories, particularly when encountering Sims from a past life. There’s a lot of promise here, and a lot of potential highs and lows for your Sim to experience throughout their lifetime. If you enjoy the weird and the spooky, the stories and the characters, then Life & Death seems like a must-have expansion to add to your library.

The Sims 4 Life & Death Expansion Pack launches on October 31, 2024 on PC via EA app, Mac via Origin, Epic Games Store and Steam, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One.