Important takeaways
- The 17th expansion for The Sims 4, Life & Death, launches on October 31st.
- Players can expect two new death-based career paths, Reaper and Undertaker, as well as four distinct grief types: Denial, Holding It Together, Anger and Blues.
- Life & Death is available for pre-order now, and those who purchase the expansion by December 12th will receive some exclusive in-game rewards.
The Sims 4 get ready for Halloween with the launch of the game's 17th expansion, Life & Death. Including two new death-based career paths, a reward system to help characters lead fulfilling lives, and the ability to control ghostly Sims, the upcoming expansion for The Sims 4 is scheduled to launch on October 31.
Planning to reveal the new expansion for The Sims 4 on October 3 was announced earlier this week. Fans of the franchise already knew the name of the upcoming expansion due to a post to the official The Sims Twitter page on Oct. 1, which featured a nine-second video of what appeared to be a live Sim dressed in Grim Reaper clothing. Still, little was known about what would be included in the expansion at the time.
The developers of the game have released both a three-minute trailer and a description of Life & Death on the game's official website. The expansion will introduce the three-neighborhood realm of Ravenwood, where both living Sims and Ghost Sims live together. The pack will also introduce two new death-themed careers, Reaper and Undertaker, where players will help others transition from life to death, either conventionally or supernaturally. Players will also be able to create wills to bequeath their possessions, plan and hold funerals, and experience four different types of grief: Denial, Holding Together, Anger, and Blues.
It's all coming to The Sims 4 in the Life & Death Expansion
- Playable ghosts as household members
- New kingdom with three districts
- Baleful Bog for out-of-body experiences
- Journey of the soul
- Bucket Lists
- Spectral Woohoo inside multiple objects
- Customizable ghost appearances
- Ghost Powers with progression system
- Reaper and Undertaker careers
- Ghost Historian Aspiration
- Three new traits: Macabre, Chased by Death and Skeptic
- Creation of a will
- Four types of grief
- Customizable funerals
The trailer begins on a somber note as an elderly Sim dies in bed surrounded by his family, only for his daughter to go through the funeral, see relatives arguing over the will and remember the good times she shared with him. She later visits his gravestone to see her father's ghost settle his unfinished business and rise, as The Sims 4 version of The Grim Reaper comments that he thought he would stay to master his ghostly powers. The site only vaguely mentions these powers and the progression system, noting that ghostly Sims will be able to earn Simoleons by gathering fear or goodwill from interactions with the living. With the help of the scandalous moss, it seems that even living Sims will have ways to access ghostly powers temporarily.
Of course, the expansion will also address the life side of Life & Death. Starting in the Young Adult phase, each Sim will be able to make a Bucket List, which offers powerful rewards for checking off items and completing their soul journey, although it's not yet entirely clear how these will differ from previously established Aspiration- rewards i The Sims 4. The expansion is available for pre-order now, and those who order the pack by December 12th will receive rewards including the Lasting Legacy Family Portrait, Mournful Melodies Music Box, and Plumed Elegance Mask.