This New Sale is Tempting, Suggestions?

Pros: The countryside is very charming and almost Fae-like. The town feels a little out of modern time, which I love, so the world gives me a little flexibility to do past-era gameplay as well as rural. (Except for the occasional old trucks that are placed around the world - wish they hadn't done that.) I love the llamas, they are amazing and very iconic for The Sims. The rabbits are adorable, love the foxes, even the chickens are fun because the "docile" animals can have a crazy, wild streak and attack sometimes, lol. A lot of the CAS is cute, I've found a use for many pieces, and the b/b is awesome. I love the cottages, they're probably my second favorite house type, just behind Victorian mansions, as they give that storybook feel, which I sometimes like to alter to be a little more like "Grimm's Fairy Tales". Also, Ms. Crumplebottom the NPC is in this pack and I just love her cranky self and Pummeling Purse. The town quests are new and different, a unique gameplay mechanic, and there's a bunch of new crops to grow, new lot challenges, and other stuff I can't remember, lol.

Cons: The town fair is buggy and not much really happens anyway. I entered the hen contest and won second place I think? But my chicken literally disappeared. (Funny story, the game said it would be in my inventory or house inventory, so when I went home and looked, there was a whole cooked chicken and I exclaimed in surprise, then laughed a lot. I don't think the game "cooked my chicken", it was probably already in there, but the timing was hilarious so I wasn't mad. Poor Banshee. She was a spicy hen.) The world, while beautiful and quirky, doesn't have much to do in it. If you have Horse Ranch, it's perfect for taking a ride around the countryside, but other than that there's just scenery, a bird tree, and maybe a rabbit or fox. Also, the town quests are a little too bland for my tastes, although I think some people really like them. I wish there was a little more drama, chance, and mystery. But that's always my beef with the game in general. You might feel differently.

How I use it: I don't use this pack to play "farm life" really, just a little. My two main households right now in that world consist of a pack of rambunctious Werewolves, and two semi-wealthy Spellcaster sisters in a Victorian mansion with some livestock and horses. One of them is the "dark" sister who manipulates the other one and seeks to control the village. But I don't know, with Ms. Crumplebottom there, that's going to be quite the nemesis, lol. Maybe they'll form an alliance. :D

Pros: Well, first off, you get two worlds in this pack. One to live in, one to play in. I do love both of them because they each bring something new/different to the game. Glimmerbrook is quite rural, lots of trees and charm, almost looks like it could be an extension of Henford (Cottage Living) but in the forest. Would make a great place to build a Witch's cottage like in Hansel and Gretel. I like how it feels isolated, but in a different way than Forgotten Hollow (Vampires). The Magic Realm is fun, I've spent a lot of time there with my Sims because I just really dig the vibe of it. Strange floating rocks in space with magic? Yes, please! And while there's not a plethora of things to do, with only one major lot, a magical shopping area, dueling grounds and a small harvest area, I do love to hang around on the main lot where many Spellcasters come and go. You can dig through the library for books, learn spells and potions, practice magic, challenge for duels, or just meet new Spellcasters. The shopping area is only three booths, but they change what they sell (brooms, wands, components, Familiars) so you can keep returning to find new stuff. The gameplay is a lot of fun, there are four different magic paths to choose from, one of which is Potions. As you learn new spells it unlocks in your spellbook. Spellcasters can travel by broom (no real flying, they fly up and disappear, then reappear), cast with or without wands (you choose), and they can also get hexes/curses or "overload" on magic, which is dangerous. I like that there are risks and consequences to using magic. A nice touch with this pack is that if you have Cats and Dogs, you can make your pet your Familiar. Familiars can prevent death from magic overload. The b/b is gorgeous and true to the theme, and there are a lot of unique CAS pieces, both of which I find seem to meld well with Cottage Living styles, but with a more magical twist.

Cons: To be honest, my main "con" with this pack is that it could have been bigger. It should have been a full EP because there's so much more they could have done with magic and it really would have been next level. I feel like it needed a few more edgy and dramatic spells like raising the dead, creating zombies, aggressive weather control, druidic plant manipulation akin to Strangerville effects, things like that. I've seen a lot of people complaining that most of the spells are just "cheats", because they do things that a player can do with the game cheat codes, but I personally disagree that this takes away from any fun gameplay because you get animations and effects without breaking immersion and turning a cheat into a gameplay feature spell, for me, is a win. I don't know all of the cheat codes, nor do I use them all. Cheats, to me, aren't gameplay. For some players though, I guess this matters. I will say that the glaring oversight of this pack is that no Sim under the teen age can use magic. They can have a magic bloodline secret trait, but it doesn't really do anything until they become a teen. Lots of missed opportunity for the little ones, as usual in an Occult pack. :/ I've also seen people say there's not a lot to do in the Magic Realm. The gathering area doesn't really have much there to gather, and the dueling ground, while decent enough with plenty of room when you use it to duel, usually just sits as an expanse of wasted space, as no other Sims come to witness the duel even when you utilize it. Another complaint is that there aren't really any "classic" witch or wizard garb in the CAS. Kind of weird to exclude them, but if you have Spooky Stuff, you can use the witch outfits from that, I guess.

How I use it: I use the heck out of this pack. I'm so happy that they stepped away from the Witch/Warlock trope and went with something much more flexible so we can determine for ourselves what kind of magical being our Sims are. I do have some classic witches, but I also have a voodoo Mambo, Victorian mages, sorcerers, modern street mages, wizards, hedge witches, and I even use this pack for my makeshift Fairies and other magical beings. I usually choose a specific magic path or two for each Sim and only allow them to cast from that chapter. This, for me, makes them all stand out from each other. I can have a Spellcaster for any environment, any world in my game. I love this pack. I just wish there was more of it.