The Sims has always been expanding, with The Sims 4 having so many expansion packs that it makes world and character building almost limitless, making it the perfect Halloween game even over horror classics. From creating aliens, to becoming rockstars, to going to college and becoming a fairy, there really isn’t anything a player can’t do throughout their Sims life. There have always been hints at what happens after a Sim dies, such as the appearance of ghosts, and one could barter with the Grim Reaper to try and save a dead loved one.
Yet somehow EA is improving that with its new haunted locations to explore and grisly new careers for a Sim. While there is some level of spook to be had with expansion packs such as Werewolves, Life & Death truly takes the cake with engaging new content for players that adds to existing Sims lore and makes it the perfect Halloween game.
The Sims 4 Life & Death Expansion Should Make For Perfect Roleplaying
New Spooky Careers & Locations
Most importantly, Life & Death gives players not only the ability to work with the Grim Reaper, but also be a pseudo Grim Reaper themselves. According to EA, the expansion pack will allow players to now “make a career out of reaping souls.” Players can also either help ghosts or disperse them, and they might even see the Grim Reaper’s face (according to the reveal trailer on The Sims' official YouTube channel). And these are not the only macabre jobs that Life & Death offers. Players now have the option of being a Mortician and handling the newly deceased Sims.
The new building designs also provide the perfect horror backdrop for the funerals and will readings players can now engage in. There is macabre magic, according to the trailer, including a wishing well, tarot readings, and the ability to do a lot more as a ghost than ever before. While a ghost can continue lingering around the house and have a “normal” afterlife, there also is free rein to scare everyone around them and become the most villainous ghost in town. The relationships with the living can also give Fear or Goodwill Essences, so deciding on what kind of ghost a player wants to be results in different rewards.
Can The Sims 4 Be A Horror Game?
Multiple DLCs & Custom Content Help Make The Sims 4 Scary
Life & Death is hardly the first expansion pack that explores the spookier things in life, Spooky Life is a more direct Halloween expansion pack, and Seasons has all the ingredients for Halloween. The Werewolves and Vampires packs also deal with all things pertaining to the eponymous monsters, making them the perfect sister game packs to Life & Death. Being able to be a witch working for the Grim Reaper feels like the perfect Halloween treat. And there are plenty of Sims who fall right into the spooky vibe, such as the Goth family, consisting of a brooding horror author and his wife, who has mysteriously disappeared a few times.
DLC is a great way to flesh out the game's content, but the The Sims 4 with add-ons is exorbitant.
There’s also a lot of custom content to creep up an already spooky expansion pack, such as LeeksEverywhere’s Haunted House in the EA gallery, or Simmingal’s haunted castle with an ever expanding graveyard (also via EA's Sims 4 gallery). These houses of horror come with lore and spooks, so they definitely add to the atmosphere. Life & Death seems like the perfect expansion pack to add to the game and really make it a true horror title. Mysteries, horrors, and creepiness abound in The Sims 4, and are dying for players to engage.
Sources: EA, The Sims/YouTube, LeeksEverywhere/EA, Simmingal/EA

The Sims 4
- Released
- September 2, 2014
- ESRB
- T for Teen: Crude Humor, Sexual Themes, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Maxis
- Publisher(s)
- Electronic Arts
- Engine
- Proprietary Engine
- Cross-Platform Play
- Xbox, PlayStation, and computer versions of Sims 4 are all separate games incompatible with each other
- Cross Save
- no
Your comment has not been saved