October 20th of this year, the company Electronic Arts unveiled the tenth major addition to its life simulator The sims 4which received the subtitle “Snowy expanses”. Editorials GameMAG.ru managed to get to the closed screening of new content and we are ready to share our impressions.
In connection with current events, the event was held in an online format. During the presentation, the producer of the series The Sims Graham Nardon demonstrated the key innovations of the “Snowy Spaces” and answered a few questions, after which the journalists got temporary access to the alpha version of the add-on itself.
The central theme here is winter sports and recreation. The new location added in “Snowy Expanses” is frankly inspired by modern Japan. The area is conditionally divided into three zones, but the most interesting of them is, of course, a snow-covered mountain, on which a huge number of tourist attractions are located.
The extension features a plentiful list of extreme winter activities, including snowboarding, rock climbing, and more. It is noteworthy that in the process of such a rest, virtual wards can receive a variety of injuries that leave a negative imprint on their mood.
Playing a particular sport, the characters develop the appropriate skills, which allows you to conquer increasingly steep slopes. And you can also make good money on hobbies by filming the descent process with a camera and selling the resulting recordings on the Internet.
Separately, it is worth noting the new mechanics associated with temperature, which, unfortunately, is not yet possible to fully evaluate. But we can already say with confidence that here Sims will have to carefully choose their clothes, because in the mountains you can easily catch a cold. Hot springs or kotatsu, traditional Japanese heated tables, will help you get warm quickly.
If we talk about decor items and interior design, then in “Snowy Spaces” there is definitely a place to roam. Most of the new additions, of course, are inspired by the Japanese lifestyle – tiered floors, earthy furniture, paper lanterns and wooden doors. An expanded catalog of things is enough to recreate both a compact low-rise modern house and a traditional estate. The mechanics of changing shoes when entering a room also looks interesting, but in alpha it works intermittently.
The developers are clearly trying to convey the details that for many have long become the hallmark of the land of the rising sun. In particular, a huge number of vending machines are scattered throughout the new region, selling everything from collectible gachapon figurines to whole sets of clothes.
Well, how can you do without traditional festivals! During the game year, various events will take place in the territory of abstract Japan with unique events, like massive fireworks, and seasonal food, which the characters can reproduce in their kitchens.
Despite the heavy emphasis of content on Asian culture and Japan in particular, the Expansion of Snow adds a lot of neutral game mechanics. One of them is Lifestyle, which allows you to diversify the nature and behavior of virtual dummies. For example, becoming a Workaholic will make your Sim happy to spend more time at work than at home with their family.
At first glance, “Snowy Expanses” look quite fresh and promising. New design tools allow you to create houses in an atypical style for the series, and the abundance of activities, collectibles and new mechanics significantly diversifies the familiar gameplay of The Sims 4.
In addition, in the add-on you can find a whole mountain of minor changes aimed at the personal history of game avatars and providing a more immersive gameplay. But we will talk about all this in more detail in our review.
The Sims 4 Snowlands will be available November 13, 2023. GameMAG.ru editors thank the publisher Electronic Arts and company “SoftClub“for an invitation to a virtual event.
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