The Sims 4 Cottage Living Expansion Pack

By now, Maxis has more than proved itself as the best developer of life simulation games there is. With The Sims 4 Cottage Living Expansion Pack, the Sims will get a taste of the calm rural lifestyle to compliment their already busy lives. Maybe this breath of fresh air is just what the Sims needed, or maybe it will end up being more clutter for the franchise.

The fourth entry in the Sims series has been criticized in the past for its apparent lack of meaningful gameplay content. However, this void hasn’t necessarily been filled appropriately according to some fans, who feel like Maxis has been releasing Expansion Packs that don’t target the most lackluster aspects of the game. What about Cottage Living, then? Let’s take a look at what we can expect from the latest piece of Sims goodness.

The Quiet Life

Tired of the bustling and hustling of city life, The Sims have moved on to the greener pastures of Henford-on-Bagley. A quiet farming town, this expansion pack will see your Sims try their hand at a rural lifestyle, complete with farming, taking care of livestock, and living off the land.

Much of the most recent expansions in The Sims 4 catalog seem to be inspired by coziness and an overall departure from active lifestyles. This time, however, Cottage Living seems to introduce some elements of farming simulators to the Sims formula. Things like taking care of crops and the health of the livestock will undoubtedly be a welcome surprise for players who are looking for a Stardew Valley replacement.

Now, The Sims 4 poses itself as the ultimate package of life sims. Not only can players enjoy the glamour of celebrity living with the Get Famous expansion pack, but now they’ll also be able to retire to a quiet life after they’re done living in the limelight.

Tons to Do

With every new expansion pack, players can expect a variety of new things to do with their Sims to enrich their virtual lives. With the Cottage Living Expansion Pack, most of the new activities are centered around ranching and connecting with nature.

Like some of the more complete expansion packs released in the past, Cottage Living comes with its own neighborhood. Henford-on-Bagley is a quiet locale, inspired by the UK countryside. Aside from ranching, players can also head down to a pub to share some drinks, and participate in the local fairs for a chance to earn some juicy rewards.

Animals Galore

Pets have been a staple of the Sims series ever since The Sims: Unleashed. Now, Cottage Living takes them one step further with the introduction of more livestock and wild bird species.

Long-time Sims fans will be pleased to hear that llamas will finally appear in the game. The animals have been a long-running joke in the series, even though they never actually showed up in any of the previous games.

Other new species coming to the game are cows, chickens, foxes, and rabbits. Accordingly, there are now some adequate enclosures and items for all the livestock and gardening tools to farm the land. All in all, this expansion pack is shaping up to be one of the best of The Sims 4 so far, finally introducing some compelling gameplay elements to keep players engaged.

Pros:

• Lots of new activities to try
• Charming visuals
• Many new animals to interact with

Cons:

• The new neighborhood lacks a bit of content