This review was made possible by EA Game Changers, thank you EA for allowing me early accessFull disclaimer: I have only played the pack for like 6 hours so farMY HONEST FIRST IMPRESSIONS I wasn’t this excited for a TS4 pack since Seasons. When seasons released, I liked many things about it but was also critical of some aspects, specially gameplay related. After Seasons came Get Famous (my very first early access pack), and then Strangerville (which I wrote an honest review here) Neither one of those 2 packs suited my gameplay style, so I was eager to finally get my hands on Island Living since it theoretically ticks almost all the boxes for me. Did it live up to my expectations? Let’s travel to Sulani and see.THE WORLD: We have kind of gotten used to smaller worlds and the last EP had a very disappointing one. This world comes with 14 lots, more than the last EP but still not enough for a player like me. The world is gorgeous, it is lush and full of details. The sunsets and sunrises are on par with the ones you can see from the island in Windenburg, just stunning! It is a shame that we can’t see underwater because from the surface it looks like it would be breathtaking.I haven’t had the time yet to experience the locals nor the festivals because I spent most of my time on the other islands but I'll comment on it as soon as I can, tomorrow I have the day off and I'll be playing the whole day so if you have any questions, shoot away!

CAS:The hairstyles are great, and I am really getting used to this! They have been consistently good since Seasons, a year ago. I still wished we would have gotten at least a new hairstyle for toddlers and a hairstyle with a more subtle flower crown for all the life stages. Spoiler (Highlight to read)I always like to see how winter hats look with new hairstyles, I must say they look amazing with this particular 2.I always like to see how winter hats look with new hairstyles, I must say they look amazing with this particular 2.The feminine clothing items are exactly what I wanted from such a pack, beautiful patterns and shapes, flowy, summery, colourful. The masculine items are as usual more lacklustre but very well done all the same, I know I’m going to overuse some of the items here. It’s a shame we didn’t get more “full outfits” for men, the only one being the diving one.Kids and toddlers didn’t really get much as usual although kids got a bit more than I expected and toddlers look so cute on theirnew outfits! They should have also added the leaves bracelets that teens+ have for both toddlers and kids. My main issue with CAS though, is that barely any tops match properly with any bottoms (patterns or otherwise). Here, some very gorgeous outfits that do match:Spoiler (Highlight to read)Mermaid CAS is nice, I love the patterns and shiny scales! It is great that they added “mermaid faces” that you can choose from. Spoiler (Highlight to read)BUILD/BUY: I didn't have the chance to build too much but I am planning big things! The items are unbelievably detailed. There are 2 distinct styles, one more chilled and unpolished and one more high-end. Both extremely pretty.As we knew by now, pools can't be built at sea level, howhever, they can look really great on the second floor.My only issue with BB is very minor and is that yet again, they forgot to add (ironically) island counters that match the new kitchen counters

GAMEPLAY:Let’s start with Mermaids:Right off the bat I’d like to say that I’m terrified and attracted to mermaids simultaneously. They are the mythological creature that scares me and fascinates me the most. So, when I decided to play with and evil mermaid last night, I was very scared of it but also couldn’t stop looking at her swimming around in the night. Which means they did a great job. The way they move is exactly how you'd imagine mermaids would swim if they existed. As far as how developed the lifestate is compared to Vampires or Aliens, I would say is something in between but unfortunately closer to aliens than to vampires. There aren't many special interactions but the ones that are there are pretty fun. They don't have anything close to what vampires have (powers, weaknesses, etc) and that is a shame but I know that it's not possible to bring such a fleshed out lifestate in a pack that has a thousand other things going on. They can sleep on the water and I thought that was really cool---------------Normal gameplay:The part-time jobs added in the patch plus the new ones coming with the EP are a great way to enjoy the island and have a more chilled experience. There are also the odd jobs which are one time opportunities (rabit hole).I didn't have time yet to properly play the conservationist career but so far, for those concern about the island being litered, I haven't seen much debris around.It is a shame that toddlers can splash around in the sea with an adult but you can totally create the illusion by grabing the toddler and walking into the water with themThey can however build sand sculptures alone or with an adult and also play in the sand. Spoiler (Highlight to read)I can tell there's much more to the island because I feel that after 6 hours I am only scratching the surface. Here some more pictures Blowing the conchYoga at the beach@catloverplayer I know you'll like this oneSunbathingAnd more:Spoiler (Highlight to read)Also, very important!I learned that there are 2 types of buoys (am I spelling that right?)The colour matters: red for diving and diving supplies, green for snorkel.

Thank you for doing this! I'm curious to see the Game Changers' take on this pack. I've wanted a beach pack for a long time now, and I want to know if it's worth getting on release or if I should wait for a sale.

"AlbaWaterhouse;c-17121087" wrote:My only issue with BB is very minor and is that yet again, they forgot to add (ironically) island counters that match the new kitchen countersI thought one of the Game Changers said they were working to get the matching island counters in before release? That's a shame ?

Early Access - My honest first impressions

26 Replies

icemanfresh
Legend
7 years ago
Yeah, TS4 at least gets the harvestables right.

I remember seeing bananas introduced in TS3 Showtime, and when I saw the banana tree, my thought as a tropical native was "this ain't it chief" :D
TomasGrizly
7 years ago
Well, TS3 had one or two tree templates, a high bush template (more added in the university and supernaturals DLCs) and a low bush template. TS4 has much more diversity on plant design.
bellagoth23
7 years ago
Have you had the glitch of sims taking baths or showers with their clothes on? I noticed it in a few Simmers gameplay videos and am concerned.
Rawla
Seasoned Ace
7 years ago
Thank you for all the great pictures and thoughts concerning this pack. Have fun playing today! <3
AlbaWaterhouse
7 years ago
"MorinGlory23;c-17123193" wrote:
Have you had the glitch of sims taking baths or showers with their clothes on? I noticed it in a few Simmers gameplay videos and am concerned.

I haven't seen this happening in my game so far.
AlbaWaterhouse
7 years ago
I now have a formed opinion of the pack and after the initial hype, I must say there's not much to it.

The world is gorgeous (but small), I love the concept of the island being "alive" and evolving, I love the culture and little festivals. CAS has really pretty items and so does Build/Buy.
But I feel like that is all.

Mermaids are much closer to aliens than they are to vampires development wise and there's barely anything you can do with them that you can't do with a normal sim. You can't even create havoc by drowning sims around because they just won't die from your mermaid interactions. They can't eat in the water (no raw fish, no kelp, nothing). And the worst part is that they don't have a "habitat". The inability to go underwater for real is very obvious when playing a mermaid. Even aliens have a hidden world that they can visit! Mermaids have nothing. It was a big mistake, in my opinion, not to give mermaids a habitat. If making going underwater anywhere was not a possibility, at least they should have made a special mermaid lot. The cave that is just a rabbit hole should have been a hidden lot where mermaids hang out, a lot they can call home.
So, I wonder, if mermaid didn't get much to do or any special place to go, what was the trade off?
Sims themselves don't have much to do either and most gameplay is small or very niche. There's no feature in this pack that changes anything in the game. No new system of any kind.

There's also the issue that Sulani feels very isolated from the rest of the residential worlds and it is just weird to me to travel with a Sulani sim to Windenburg just for visiting a park or having a beer. Therefore, I feel like I'm stuck in Sulani unless I pretend they go on holiday to visit other worlds.

I am struggling to see how Island Living is an EP and not a GP. I just can't really justify it.
You can tell a lot of love and attention went into making it but it just feels...empty.

Some things that could have made the pack feel fuller:
- It could have more fleshed out mermaids and and underwater neighbourhood or at the very least and underwater hidden lot
- Maybe they could have gone the hotel route as many wanted and add a new hotel system for sims to stay or for sims to manage
- They could have made all the new careers in the pack interactive like the conservationist one
- Make a larger world with more neighbourhoods to explore
- Add a feature/system that would make sense to use in other worlds

It is a shame, and I do love many aspects in the pack. I know I will be playing a bunch there and specially I will be building a lot there and creating sims. But it doesn't feel like a full EP.

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Early Access - My honest first impressions

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