Summer 2019 has been stacked for fans of “The Sims 4.” With the release of an expansion pack and a stuff pack in the span of two months, fans of the game weren’t expecting new content so soon. Fortunately for avid Simmers, EA recently announced the addition of “The Sims 4: Realm of Magic,” a spooky and mystical new addition to the franchise coming this fall. Here’s what we can expect from the pack.
1. A New World (or Two?)
Avid players of the game can generally agree that most of the worlds in “The Sims 4” could use a revamp. The trailer for “Realm of Magic“ looks promising in terms of giving your Sims a fresh, exciting new place to explore. In fact, some fans are speculating that we might get two separate worlds, including a possible forest-type world and a portal to the magical world of the new creatures in the pack.
2. Witches and Warlocks
Of course, the biggest selling point of this new game pack is the addition of witches and warlocks. While we can’t be exactly sure what sort of traits and skills will come with these new Sims yet, the in-game existence of them will be sure to add so much more dimension to the world of “The Sims 4.” Some players couldn’t care less about the addition of new occult Sims, but the players who prefer the fantasy element are sure to get a kick out of witches and wizards.
Many fans were slightly disappointed in the lack of gameplay that came with mermaids in the summer’s expansion pack, “Island Living,” and are looking to the upcoming witches and warlocks to breathe some life into the game. But since the focus of “Island Living” wasn’t mermaids, other players have hope that the new magical Sims will be more well-rounded, considering the fact that “Realm of Magic” is solely about, well … magic.
3. New Skills and Abilities
Along with the addition of “magically-gifted” Sims, players can likely expect mystical new skills to accompany them. In the trailer, one Sim is seen riding a broomstick, which fans are hoping will be a fun, interactive new feature of the game. Among other things solely from the first trailer, players are hoping for some kind of spell or magic skill and possibly a potion making skill to round out the potential of the new witchy Sims.
“Sims” fans everywhere are keeping their fingers crossed for wizard gameplay similar to that of the vampires from the vampire game pack in “The Sims 4.” Since vampires were so fleshed out in their own pack, players are hoping for specific skills, traits and other attributes for wizards that make them stand out. There’s even speculation of the addition of pets (if you have the “Cats & Dogs” expansion pack) as familiars for spell casters; those who have always wanted a Sabrina and Salem-esque duo in our games can finally rejoice!
4. Much Needed New Create-a-Sim Items
Magical new abilities wouldn’t be complete without the ability to deck out your Sims in some mystic new apparel. New items from the trailer already seem lightyears ahead of some other items from previous packs.
If you’re anything like most seasoned “Sims” players, you’ve probably loaded your game with custom content created by other Simmers. But, it’s always nice to have new EA created items that mesh with your play style rather than hoarding custom content files. And from our first taste of “Realm of Magic,” it looks like the new Create-a-Sim items will really be stepping their game up.
From the looks of the new characters in the trailer, there’s a wide variety of new items that look immensely more polished than previous game pack items. The abundance of trendy but witchy clothes, intricate hairstyles and more diverse accessories (my personal favorite is the dangly moon earring one of the characters is wearing in the trailer) is extremely promising.
5. Build Items
For the architect Simmers, “Realm of Magic” is sure to bring it home with the addition of new build and buy items. Aside from all the potential skill-related items like cauldrons, the trailer shows glimpses of things like stunning stained glass windows and a multitude of spooky plants and more. Whether you want to live out all your Harry Potter-related fantasies or build a mythical world of your original creation, “Realm of Magic” is sure to give you the tools to do so.
While players don’t have an itemized list of every single new object coming to the pack yet, game packs tend to rely heavily on things like build items to accompany the new aspects of gameplay. Because of this, Simmers are hoping that it means that not only will the new items be super spooky along with the theme of “Realm of Magic,” but that they’ll also be easily applied to everyday regular gameplay.
6. Other Surprises (Hopefully)
Judging the quality of a new game pack solely from the trailer isn’t realistic, so the things included might or might not actually reflect what players think is coming. Hopefully, Simmers will be pleasantly surprised by all of the new content that wasn’t shown in the trailer.
In terms of other surprises, “The Sims” is famous for including nods to the fans and Easter eggs in new content, which is one of my favorite parts about exploring new packs. Especially considering that they’re revamping the idea of supernatural Sims from previous games, fans can probably find nods to the past in the new edition. The promise of new clothes, skills and abilities is exciting, and hopefully the creators have included a few non-advertised extras for the truest fans to appreciate.
As with any new addition to “The Sims 4” franchise, players are just hoping to find something that will suit their style of gameplay and keep them entertained for more than an hour. As promising as the trailer for “Realm of Magic” is, Simmers will have to decide for themselves when it arrives on September 10.
