EA Play closed today with an update on The Sims 4‘s newest expansion pack, Island Living.
Island Living features, as one would expect, island living mechanics. These include riding jet-skis to visiting the island bar hut, hanging out on the beach, and transforming it into a pristine Sim paradise. Oh, and turning into mermaids too, though the team didn’t share as much about them right now.
Island Living is closer than players might expect too, as it’s planned for a June 24 launch.
Character outfits received a good deal of attention, with a completely new, island-specific range of clothing and hair styles, all boasting a bright tropical color scheme.
Sims can freely enjoy the water as well, entering the water for the first time, swimming, snorkling, and more. Sims need a place to live too, and players can set their Sims up anywhere on the island, even right on the beach. Or right near the active volcano that dominates the island’s horizon.
Island Living introduces new animals to befriend, including a dolphin and tropical fish. The dolphin can actually be trained as well.
The expansion’s goal is meant to faithfully reproduce the idea of beach living and lets players take their friends and families out to the beach, enjoy some suntanning, build sandcastles, and even become conservationists working to keep the island ecosystem healthy.
In keeping with the conservation theme, the island will actually change over time. Players’ actions affect everything on the island, so if the player takes care of their island, it will become lush and beautiful over time.
Other ways to earn money exist as well, such as odd jobs like fishing and being a life guard, or teaching other people-Sims how to dive.
This isn’t an isolated experience, though. Neighbors make a return in The Sims 4: Island Expansion as part of a unique culture on the island. They might hold their own ceremonies or parties, teach players how to cook special meals, and frequently jump in to help the player out in times of trouble.
Another aspect of the island’s special culture is the presence of Elementals, special guardian spirits that make positive connections with the player should they choose to care for the island — with the opposite being true if the player decides to trash it.
Island Living isn’t all that’s coming to the game though.The Sims 4 is getting a new batch of Pride-themed content starting June 18 and a new stuff pack that lets players pick up a part-time job as a freelance fashion photographer, plus yet another new pack this fall called Realm of Magic.
