The Sims 5 may be in the pipeline, but EA is releasing yet another Sims 4 expansion pack called Eco Lifestyle, arriving Friday, 5 June.
Eco Lifestyle is all about being green, taking action and making a change in your neighbourhood - keep reading for a full breakdown and review of the expansion pack.
Neighbourhoods
Within the world of Evergreen Harbour are three neighbourhoods.
Port Promise
Port Promise is one of the most un-eco friendly neighbourhoods to settle down in. For players wanting a bit of a challenge, this may be your match.
Grims Quarry
Although an improvement from the Port, Grims Quarry still has a lot of work to do! Anyone wanting a step ahead in cleaning up the town should give the Quarry a go.
DO YOUR BIT: Every positive change you make impacts your neighbourhood
Conifer Station
A sort of middle ground of previously mentioned neighbourhoods, Conifer Station is the downtown part of Evergreen and was given its name when the trains stopped running. Players looking for a balanced experience may want to start here.
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Recycling
Recycling is a focal point of this expansion.
A Sim can take old furniture they don’t want anymore and instead of selling it, they can turn it into something new with the Fabricator.
REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE: Recycling is a big part of the new expansion pack
As you recycle more and more you get a sort of “recycling currency” which you can use to create furniture and décor.
Careers
Explore a brand-new career as a Civil Designer by fixing up your
neighbourhood with the help of Eco Inventions.
If a Civil Designer doesn’t interest you, try out becoming a Freelance Crafter by selling your recycled/fabricated unique products and furniture.
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As well as the above new skills allow you to make candles and fizzy
juice which you can sell online or at a community market.
Create A Sim
There are 100+ new CAS items, all ages are being offered something new
with adults and teens getting the most.
More piercings! Leading on from the introduction of piercings in The Sims 4: University, we are now offered septum rings, ear stretchers and more.
PLAY IN STYLE: There's a load of new CAS items
Paper bags? Each generation has a new hat and it’s... a bag.
We’re not sure what this is meant for or if it has some significance, but they come with different expressions drawn on them.
Traits & Aspirations
As you'd expect, there's a load of new traits and aspirations, giving your Sims a purpose in their lives.
You can check out a full list of the new Traits and Aspirations here.
Build/Buy
One of the huge changes to the catalogue is that every item has an eco-footprint which it tells you how negatively or positively something will impact the environment.
The new expansion brings some exciting build/buy features. We now have ladders - that means no more awkwardly placed staircases or sacrificing space in a tiny home.
GET BUILDING: There's a load of new items in the catalogue
Wind turbines, rain collectors and solar panels are all great ways to
power a home, especially if you’re off the grid.
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In general, this pack comes with a huge amount of new stuff from pretty much every category in the catalogue.
Final Verdict
Now we've had a chance to play the new expansion pack, here's what we make of it.
Pros:
- You can impact on a
neighbourhood and see it change before your eyes - There are three
“levels” of difficulty - New career options
- Eco-footprint isn’t
world locked, will carry through to all other worlds - Loads of new
content and items
Cons:
- Can be quite
overwhelming to get to grips with at first - Careers like
Astronaut aren’t very compatible with the world as rocket’s eco-footprint is
pretty negative
Ranking:
8/10
You can check out our full ranking of allThe Sims 4 Expansion Packs here.