After receiving mixed reception from the fanbase, Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, where Sims could interact with the various alien species and factions of the Star Wars universe. The Pack is mission-based, and players' choices directly impact whether the Resistance or the First Order ultimately takes over Batuu.
While the player works on missions, they will meet some familiar faces from Star Wars like Rey and Kylo Ren, have the chance to taste a Ronto Wrap or other dishes from across the galaxy, purchase their own droid, and master lightsaber duels. In short, the player can tell their own Star Wars story.
After only a few hours of the repetitive, mission-based gameplay, the novelty of a Star-Wars-themed Sims 4 Pack quickly wears off. Journey to Batuu focuses so much on the missions that it neglects the very nature of the game and the reason it has such a dedicated fanbase: the sandbox element. Players cannot build or live on Batuu. Apart from a few new interactions and objects, they cannot do much exploring outside of missions. Many of the buildings are only facades, with only two or three buildings in each area with interactions available. Though Batuu looked like it would be a bustling new world, all the alien species in the game are merely Sims in detailed costumes who only spawn once the player has spent several minutes in the district. With time, the Pack begins to feel like a theme park rather than a part of the Sims 4 game.
Without question, Batuu is one of the most visually stunning worlds ever conceived in The Sims. It is clear the developers were attentive to every detail, and each of the three main districts in Batuu feel distinct. The team even added small details like the visual PowerPoint wipe transitions popularized by the original trilogy. The sound design is also excellent, with audio cues and ambient sounds that immerse the player in the experience and make the game feel like a Star Wars world.
Spend a little time in Batuu, however, and that feeling quickly wears off. Sims still have many of their same quirks, so it is not uncommon to see a Storm Trooper drop to the ground and do a set of push-ups or sit-ups. Several Storm Troopers will stand by and watch a Smuggler recruit or Resistance sympathizer try to break into their headquarters or slice a control in the First Order District without batting an eye. Sometimes, they will come up to the Sim and check their ID, but until the Sim's reputation with the First Order grows negative, there are no consequences for a Sim caught in an illicit act. If players have other DLC installed, Sims may still get phone calls and text messages while on Batuu about ing a club or coming over to a friend or neighbor's home. Moments like this negatively affect immersion.
While most of the Build and Buy Mode and Create-a-Sim items are on-brand for Star Wars, some of them are transferable to the base game. The home decorations that can be used outside Batuu, the hairstyles, and some of the clothing items are excellent. Other items, like the masks and costumes to turn a Sim into an alien species from the Star Wars universe, would make little sense outside Batuu, except possibly on Halloween or to make better aliens with The Sims 4: Get to Work Expansion Pack.
Batuu's setup, for all its attention to detail, forces Sims to constantly travel and constantly have their needs run low. This is especially true due to the fact there is currently no way to fulfill all a Sim's basic needs anywhere but the main district, Black Spire Outpost. The three new Star Wars aspirations related to the different factions give players the special trait of Prepared Voyager, which gives Sims a small needs boost while traveling between districts. However, even this boost is not enough to mitigate the hygiene and needs issues. These problems extend to the other NPC Sims, and it is not uncommon to see many with clouds of green stench hanging over them, giving the player's Sims a disgusted moodlet when in close .
There is almost no way to complete missions without getting a Tense or Very Tense buff very quickly from a lack of fun, which defeats the purpose of Batuu as a vacation world for a Sim. The missions mechanic quickly becomes repetitive, and while Sims may struggle a little to complete missions at first due to low Handiness, Programming, Rocket Science, or Fitness skills, these are never too large an obstacle that the Sim won't succeed at everything they try in Batuu.
For all the good things about it, there simply is not enough content in The Sims 4 Star Wars: Journey to Batuu to keep it engaging long-term or to encourage players to bring their Sims back after one trip. Unfortunately, it seems this was not, in fact, the DLC Simmers were looking for.
The Sims 4 Star Wars: Journey to Batuu is available for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. Screen Rant was provided with a PC code for the purposes of this review.
