Island Living; is it lacking?

I think Carl's Sims Guides' review of Island Living gives some insight on this.
It definitely feels lacking in actual game-changing gameplay.
Cool animations and more moodlets aren't game-changing.
Mermaids have no progression system. Go from freshly-made human Sim, gain 500 aspiration points and buy some Mermadic Kelp, eat it, and boom you're suddenly a mermaid with instant mastery of all of their various abilities.
There's more, but there's no denying that Island Living's biggest strengths are that Sulani itself is quite beautiful, and seeing the cultural-inspired aspects apparenty in the various CAS and BB options.

I'd recommend checking out his video review to see his takes on the positives/negatives of the pack:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVDCU82W7U0

It's beautiful in cosmetic and other visual details, but the gameplay/content is really sparse. Because of this it's not really a "game pack" but at the same time there isn't enough content to justify it to be an expansion pack either.

Mermaids didn't have to be as super fleshed out as vampires, but they're absolute barebones. Pretty but not much different from regular sims. We should've gotten at LEAST one underwater/special lot accessible to scuba-diving sims and mermaids, along with lifeguard being an active career.

There is a lot of good ideas/good intentions behind IL, but it needs more meat, so to speak.

Very empty pack. Not that I care about this but they give mermaids but no diving, just another basic addition. They give us jet skis but our Sims cant ride them together and it was not added as a club activity to ride them together. No real new group activities besides 2 Sims building a sand castle or pranking a Sim on a lounge chair. Old worlds were ignored and made this pack a mini game where the majority of the content is a 1 world thing instead of expanding the game overall which really is one of Sims 4 major downfalls such as apartments being a 1 world thing.

I think there's enough to do for those who like aquatics and living in a tropical world. I would have liked a feature outside of swimming and boating. Like resorts for vacationing and managing.

I am enjoying the look and feel of Sulani, the new build items, and dolphins.

But I do feel that it is lacking in some features.

First, for me would be the mermaids. They're an okay addition but since you can make a good non-sim killing mermaid or an evil sim killing mermaid/siren, the team could have given them a trait tree, like for vampries, where players could have picked from different traits to flush out their mermaids characteristics/personalities.

Next would be the cave in Mua Pel'am. For me it should have been made into a proper secret lot for sims to explore to find items after unlocking a puzzle or feature to get there.

Then there's deep sea diving. I would love to see my sim actually swimming under the water and interacting with the sand and objects to discover items.

And finally there's the jet ski and canoe. They are a great way of getting around but they can't go from island to island. And given how close the islands appear not having a Loading Screen when traveling to them would have been great. (Then shattered when it would be back just because you want to travel from lot to lot on the island once you get there. :D )

100% lacking in many things. I rate it a 2.3 out of 10 stars. It’s my least favorite EP. I’m playing with it to see if my opinion will change but in the end it’s just sad.

I think it is. Even if we only count the things we got and not things we wish we got. Tanning for "reasons" only works on natural skin colors even though mermaids were shipped with the alien tones . Mermaids can't do basic things like climb the ladders and they weren't given a snorkel animation so they also can't really do daily or stay at home tasks for the new marine bio career. The long awaited and anticipated lounge chairs not only look like our sims are super tense using them but they can't talk, read, or listen to music while on them. The cave and mural in Mua Pel'am were a weird build up for what amounts to nothing. I don't get it.

I want to be in love with this pack but it feels like so many shortcuts were taken.

While I love the pack, after playing it some more, it does feel lacking in some areas.

The rabbit hole careers, lack of dive lots/underwater camera and more rabbit holes, and mermaids not being able to drown sims and being fully fleshed out (like: not having transformations, younger life stage versions, or having a even a cute mermaid baby crib), lack of houseboats, (and lack of resorts for some simmers), and not having enough water or beach activities really do lower the pack’s value in my eyes.

I realized how much I am especially missing houseboats, being able to see the actual Kraken swimming underneath the water (which was so cool and creepy in Sims 3!), having danger with the kraken and sharks, having a lifeguard career, and seeing my mermaids from below the water.

I still love the pack, and consider it a must-have for myself since it has my number one favorite supernatural (merpeople), but I’m disappointed by some elements of it. I am glad I preorder it for a cheaper price elsewhere as the pack feels more of a game pack price.

"AjaGio;c-17140457" wrote:
I'm enjoying the pack just fine :) there is alot to do, I made a new Sim for this Island. If you feel that it is lacking your not taking advantage of all it has to offer, slow down and enjoy island life ;)

Listen, I do still love the pack, but it does feel lacking. And it has nothing to do with slowing down or anything like that.

Island Paradise is okay-ish for me as well, but at least it tries and it has: resort system, lifeguard career that is NOT a rabbit hole, underwater camera view, underwater dive lots that are NOT rabbit holes, houseboats, an actual visual of the kraken that you can see, water skiing, sailboating, a sense of danger with sharks and krakens (and you can see them) and a rabbit hole monster, a big world with hidden islands, and treasure hunting. There are probably some other things I’m missing, but those are some major cool features that I remembered that Island Paradise brings to the table.

Island Paradise brought a sense of immersion when it comes the ocean activities, the deep ocean life environment, and the active career of being a lifeguard.

(And I say all of this as someone who’s more of a Sims 2, Sims 1, and Sims 4 fan than a Sims 3 fan. I would have loved Island Paradise much more, though, if the mermaids were better, and if I liked Sims 3. Sims 3 has some charm, but I could never fully embrace it like I did with Sims 1 and Sims 2. *sighs*)

The Mermaids in Island Living are what feels lacking. I wish they had similar bonuses and skill trees to Vampires and Celebrities.

I wish the cave took you to a separate location similar to the tree in the base game.