After some teasers last month, EA has formally unveiled The Sims 4's spooky new Life and Death expansion, arriving on October 31, adding everything from new neighborhoods where the boundaries between the living and the dead are especially thin to a new grim reaper. race and the ghosts' ability to WooHoo on small and large objects.
Life and Death looks to be a particularly busy expansion, addressing not only what happens to the living when a loved one is lost (think more elaborate wills and funerals), but also what Sims experience after getting rid of this mortal spiral. That includes spectral romances, ghostly powers, the ability to kindly haunt their former homes as part of the family, even reincarnation.
Living Sims looking to make the most of their time on Earth can create a Wish List as part of the expansion (which players can manually complete based on specific categories or automatically expand based on a Sim's traits), and Sims that they can't do it. Checking off everything in life can work on that list beyond the veil as unfinished business: earning the opportunity for an especially powerful rebirth, retaining previously acquired skills and traits.
Meanwhile, the living can also plan elaborate funeral events for their loved ones, specifying the dress code, time and location, and even the activities that will take place during the ceremony. Sims can deliver a joyful eulogy, such as serving food, lighting candles, or planting something in memory of the deceased. Players can even select memorial portraits, urns, tombstones, or decorate graves however they like.
All of that ties into new forms of grief that Sims can express when a loved one (including pets) dies, including denial, togetherness, anger, and sadness. Grieving Sims can also ask their friends for help, attend grief therapy, comfort other Sims, or positively cope with grief by engaging in creative or productive activities.
On the other hand, The Sims 4 Life and Death expansion presents two new careers; Sims can study to become an undertaker, learn to dig graves, embalm, and more as they advance in their careers toward mortician or funeral director. Alternatively, Sims can register as Grimterns in the Underworld Department of Death, rise through the ranks to become reapers, fill their soul quotas, and even decide who to harvest or return to life.
Then there's Ravenwood, a new world divided into three distinct neighborhoods where the dead and the living intermingle more closely. Crow's Crossing, for example, is a haunting town of cobblestone streets where haunts are common, while Whispering Glen is an idyllic rural retreat that hosts a Moon Revelry nighttime festival. “Things get a little wild during the Full Moon,” notes EA, and “clothes are completely optional“.
And finally, for Ravenwood, there is the gloomy Mourningvale, where Sims can find the Belfry, sentient plants, even the Baleful Bog, which are used to achieve an out-of-body experience or a transition to Rebirth. It is also possible to join Afterlife Anonymous here if you need a little help adjusting to your recent transition to the other side.
There's also a lot more going on in Life and Death, including a new Ghost Historian Aspiration, horror novels, new traits (Macabre, Haunted by Death, and Skeptic), a new Thanatology Skill, and more. There are plenty of additional details in EA's announcement post if you're curious, and a new gameplay video will be released on October 17.
The Sims 4 Life and Death expansion pack launches for all platforms on October 31, and players who purchase it between October 3 and December 12 will get the Legacy Family Portrait, Mournful Melodies Music Box, and