StrangerVille - My honest review
I was one of the lucky simmers that got early access thanks to the EA Game Changer program.
https://twitter.com/AlbaWaterhouse/status/1099705890217832450
I really wanted to like this Game Pack since I found the idea behind it very refreshing and fun. It looks like the devs had a blast conceiving and creating this pack and their Twitter campaign for it was super fun to follow. There are many cool things in the pack but unfortunately it does not completely work for me gameplay wise.
CAS is overall really good. Plenty of versatile items mixed with a cowboy/girl aesthetic with on point textures. Most items come with beautiful colour swatches and combine really well with clothes from other packs (specially Jungle Adventure and Outdoor Retreat). The haistyles are fantastic and I can see myself using them a lot. Kids get only 2 items and toddlers get none but for a GP I think it's quite a good amount of CAS items overall.
I'm very confused about the laptops, you can drag them into your sim's inventory but you can't use it unless it's placed on a table/desk. Not sure if this is a bug or a mistake or just not supposed to happen but I was under the impression that a laptop would be usable directly from your inventory, like a tablet.
Build/Buy mode has some of the most beautiful doors and windows we have received so far and a good amount of grungy looking items that are always welcomed. Many items are also perfect for industrial builds and modern houses. The colour swatches are great apart from one of the floors that comes with NO swatches at all (???). Some of the Build items fit really well in worlds like Brindleton Bay and Willow Creek and I love when this happens.
The new world is stunning, specially the neighbourhood on the top of the rocky mountains. It is however tied to the storyline and
The plants in this new world are so so beautiful but for some reason none of them are available in the catalogue for us to use. No new rocks nor plants despite the world being full of them is a bit odd and a shame. But I have hope, you guys!
Gameplay is the biggest focus of this pack and also my biggest problem with it.
Right off the bat, and for context of what I like in my game: my least favourite pack (not counting MFP) so far has been Get to Work because the careers and retail felt extremely restrictive and against the sandbox gameplay that I love about The Sims.
The atmosphere of the StrangerVille town and the idea of the mystery are great. However, the RPG style gamplay is not. While playing the new aspiration I did not have fun trying to solve the mysterious story even though the story itself was fun in theory.
Again, the story itself is quite creative and refreshing and the idea of having such a town is really cool but the execution makes it feel really repetitive and I had the feeling all I was doing was going from one loading screen to another loading screen for hours.
I feel like the gameplay is very self-contained and restrictive because of the RPG style its trying. The pack doesn't add anything to the rest of the game gameplay wise apart from the military career. The idea of having packs that are more detached and don't blend with the rest of the game is not a bad idea per se and I am happy that the devs are exploring options but such a script and story would have worked way better in an open world game, I'm afraid it does not work that well in TS4.
Overall, I am happy it exists and I love that the sims team is trying new things. I would still buy it if I wouldn't have it already because of CAS and BB and because the world is really beautiful
I am sure many simmers will enjoy playing the story but I am unfortunately not one of them.
https://twitter.com/AlbaWaterhouse/status/1099705890217832450
I really wanted to like this Game Pack since I found the idea behind it very refreshing and fun. It looks like the devs had a blast conceiving and creating this pack and their Twitter campaign for it was super fun to follow. There are many cool things in the pack but unfortunately it does not completely work for me gameplay wise.
CAS is overall really good. Plenty of versatile items mixed with a cowboy/girl aesthetic with on point textures. Most items come with beautiful colour swatches and combine really well with clothes from other packs (specially Jungle Adventure and Outdoor Retreat). The haistyles are fantastic and I can see myself using them a lot. Kids get only 2 items and toddlers get none but for a GP I think it's quite a good amount of CAS items overall.
I'm very confused about the laptops, you can drag them into your sim's inventory but you can't use it unless it's placed on a table/desk. Not sure if this is a bug or a mistake or just not supposed to happen but I was under the impression that a laptop would be usable directly from your inventory, like a tablet.
Build/Buy mode has some of the most beautiful doors and windows we have received so far and a good amount of grungy looking items that are always welcomed. Many items are also perfect for industrial builds and modern houses. The colour swatches are great apart from one of the floors that comes with NO swatches at all (???). Some of the Build items fit really well in worlds like Brindleton Bay and Willow Creek and I love when this happens.
The new world is stunning, specially the neighbourhood on the top of the rocky mountains. It is however tied to the storyline and
Spoiler
. I love the fact that we get a very decent size world for a Game Pack with really nice lots. The trailer park lot is cool but at the same time a bit frustrating. Seeing all those decor trailers around your fake looking trailer is a shame, I wish the pack would have come with some usable trailers (no need for them to move, just be functional for our sims to live inside and for us to customise the interior like we can do with apartments). But it is nonetheless a nice vibe to have the lot in the middle of a trailer park. won't be really normal until you have a sim defeat the mother
The plants in this new world are so so beautiful but for some reason none of them are available in the catalogue for us to use. No new rocks nor plants despite the world being full of them is a bit odd and a shame. But I have hope, you guys!
"SimGuruHouts;c-16971240" wrote:
@AlbaWaterhouse To be honest, I'm not completely sure why those objects weren't included in the build catalog. I do know that world objects are built to different specs than on-lot objects, so there may be some restrictions our Art team was bound to when creating those assets. I'll be looking into it.
I can't make any promises about future patches at this time, but I'll be looking into what's feasible and making sure to avoid this kind of thing as much as possible moving forward.
Gameplay is the biggest focus of this pack and also my biggest problem with it.
Right off the bat, and for context of what I like in my game: my least favourite pack (not counting MFP) so far has been Get to Work because the careers and retail felt extremely restrictive and against the sandbox gameplay that I love about The Sims.
The atmosphere of the StrangerVille town and the idea of the mystery are great. However, the RPG style gamplay is not. While playing the new aspiration I did not have fun trying to solve the mysterious story even though the story itself was fun in theory.
Again, the story itself is quite creative and refreshing and the idea of having such a town is really cool but the execution makes it feel really repetitive and I had the feeling all I was doing was going from one loading screen to another loading screen for hours.
Spoiler
The tasks in order to defeat the mother are very fun in paper but very tedious in reality. Go to the bar, talk to townies, go to the library, talk to other townies, go to the lab, go back to the library, talk some more to townies, go back to the lab, go talk/vaccinate townies again, travel back to the lab, go back to the bar...you get the idea.
I feel like the gameplay is very self-contained and restrictive because of the RPG style its trying. The pack doesn't add anything to the rest of the game gameplay wise apart from the military career. The idea of having packs that are more detached and don't blend with the rest of the game is not a bad idea per se and I am happy that the devs are exploring options but such a script and story would have worked way better in an open world game, I'm afraid it does not work that well in TS4.
Overall, I am happy it exists and I love that the sims team is trying new things. I would still buy it if I wouldn't have it already because of CAS and BB and because the world is really beautiful
Spoiler
Plus, once you defeat the mother you get then to choose what level of "strangenest" you want for the town if you decide to reawake her which is a nice touch https://i.imgur.com/XhaC4c0.png
I am sure many simmers will enjoy playing the story but I am unfortunately not one of them.
