In The Sims 4, death is just the beginning of a new adventure... For some, it's an entire way of life! On October 3, 2024, EA and The Sims 4 unveiled the trailer for the very mysterious expansion pack, which was released this October 31, 2024, for Halloween, on PC, Mac, PS4 and PS5, and Xbox X/S and Xbox One.
The Sims 4 À la vie, à la mort( In Life and Death), a brand-new pack that should completely renew gameplay linked to ghosts and death.
" Every ending means a new beginning. Which begs the question: what awaits The Sims in the afterlife? This Halloween, we invite you to discover the secret to enriching your Sims' lives and exploring what lies beyond with The Sims 4 Life and Death expansion pack. Venture into the unsettling realm of Ravenwood, where you can explore three different neighborhoods, each with its own link to the dark passage between life and what lies beyond. Your Sims will have the opportunity to write a wish list, solve their unfinished business in the afterlife, use new ghostly powers to wreak havoc, show benevolence or something in between, and even reincarnate."
As you can imagine, this pack is all about life, death and everything in between. Ghosts are the stars of this DLC, and benefit from a serious upgrade of their abilities. It looks like our ghosts are getting more skills and powers, just like the game's supernatural characters.
But the living also face their own challenges. After the death of a loved one, Sims can now organize funerals, mourn, visit graves at the cemetery... New careers also arrive: Mortician, and... Grim Reaper!
The Sims team presented the new features of this expansion pack to the press. And it's particularly complete!
So here we are in the village of Ravenwood, a world inspired by Eastern Europe. Surrounded by mountains and forests, this is no ordinary village: there's a curiously active cemetery, a crypt, haunted houses, a Festival of Two Worlds...
The world of Ravenwood thus comprises 13 terrains, plus a secret one that serves as HQ for the Grim Reaper and her team. Thanks to the new career, your Sims can also become Grim Reapers. This active career works like the ones in theAt Work pack: you accompany your Sims, completing tasks and objectives to earn a promotion. Rest assured, this new career won't require you to kill every character in your savegame. Sims are generated for field missions, as happens in the detective career, for example.
You don't want to work with the Grim Reaper? Why not ask her out on a date, and then have children with her? This possibility finally arrives in the game. The Reaper's children even have a special birthmark that reveals their ancestry...
Another possible career path takes us into the world of funeral services. Funerals have become real events, with activities to do, dress codes to follow...
You can also prepare your own funeral in advance (yes, it's very cheerful). Your Sims can choose their own grave (there are special tombstones linked to the various packs, such as Paradise Islands, Ranch Life...). You can choose how your loved ones will celebrate you (with a drink to your health, a speech...). And of course, let's not forget wills. A selection of items from the pack, but also from the base game, can be bequeathed to your loved ones: simply click on them and select the new option. You can even leave a message engraved on these items, adding a little more depth to your story and gameplay.
And a new feature: in these wills, you can choose a family to take care of your children or pets after your death. Orphaned children no longer disappear from the game.
Speaking of pets, meet the crows: your new protégés, who just might cause your demise... Be careful not to anger them!
A new type of terrain is available with this pack: cemeteries are now official, and can be built in all worlds. And to make them even more interesting, you can select the"haunted" terrain feature, which should create some unusual animations...
With or without a graveyard, ghosts now invade your entire game. Ghosts have received a major update, and now count as supernatural characters in the same way as vampires and wizards. Ghosts can be created directly from CAS. And this is just one of many new features! You can be a werewolf ghost, a vampire ghost... By the way, a free general update should make it easier to create supernaturals in CAS: you can transform your Sims into a magical being at any point in the creation process, without losing all the outfits you've already created!
Ghosts have powers to master, a skill tree with a system of rewards and disadvantages... Ghosts are fully playable characters, with their own... lives.
A life you might need to complete all your goals. The bucket list (a dream list or life list) allows you to set long-term goals in addition to your aspiration. These goals can make for very special stories. They're also cross-packable: you'll have more options by owning different Sims 4 DLCs.
Still not satisfied with one lifetime? Try reincarnation! No more game over: when your Sims dies, you now have a choice. Become a wandering ghost, a playable ghost, or try your luck again. To access reincarnation, you need to complete a special quest, the Soul's Journey.
When you are reincarnated, you are sent to a new home, at the age of your choice. In the CAS, you can choose to return to your former appearance, or to become someone else. Beware, however, that the past is not totally erased: meeting old acquaintances, doing things you used to enjoy, you may experience déjà-vu...
The A la vie, à la mort pack also includes a new set of collectibles. The tarot deck is obtained after a long quest: you'll need to perform different actions for each card.
Our review of The Sims 4: Life and Death:
Pack tested on PC for over 6 hours
Here we are, in a brand new adventure between the world of the living and the world of the dead. This expansion pack hides many secrets. As in "Country Life", we discover a mysterious town with a tumultuous history. You'll need patience and persuasion to unlock all the secrets of the inhabitants... Living or dead.
And speaking of dead, we've obviously tested out the new career that lets you work alongside the Grim Reaper. This active career is great fun, and allows us to spend more time with the iconic and mysterious Reaper... We can even take him to bed with us, if we find the right words.
If you'd like to defy death yourself, you can take the "Soul's Journey": a sort of bucket list to achieve resurrection, and thus escape the coffin. The objectives of this journey are quick and easy to follow, and each new step grants a few advantages.
Please note: the world of Ravenwood is not affected by the seasons. Temperatures may vary, but the world remains in a constant autumnal mood. A choice made by the developers to symbolize this small town straddling two worlds - a choice that may displease some.
Exploring Ravenwood, discovering secrets and tarot cards, new careers, the Soul's Journey: this pack offers several hours of gameplay, and doesn't wear out so easily. It brings a number of important elements that should completely change the way you play. The macabre theme and slightly dark world may put off some players, but this pack is very complete.
Players who prefer realistic gameplay will find something to suit their style, with the inheritance and burial system. This pack, and the world of Ravenwood, remain very supernatural, however. Ghosts, resurrection, working with the Grim Reaper: fans of magic and the Gothic style should be delighted!
The resurrection system and the attention paid to ghosts should make this pack a must-have for many players.
Tarot cards, the supernatural world, wills, grief and inheritance... This pack hides many more secrets that we can't wait to discover.
