Gives you a great new location and fun outdoors activities.
At the point that this released in the Sims 4 ecosystem, this of course being right at the start of game, Outdoor Retreat is a very fun, if a little bit of foreshadowing for what would come. As a concept, game packs are a good idea, offering more tiers of packs for those who do not want to spend as much money on expansions, but want more then stuff packs. This one in particular being a great first entry to that idea. Offering a new destination, lots, collectables, activity's, and lots of charming camping/outdoorsy themed build items. However this was also the first example of EA's trend to break up older packs ideas, into multiple sims 4 packs. This one of course being a broken off part of older packs such as Vacation, and Bon-Voyage; and while yes this did this same thing a little bit in the sims 3, compared to the content of Island Paradise or World Adventures, this seems lacking. Regardless, its a good first pack, and something that while not providing constant mechanics that could be said to be "essential," it is fun for a while.
The Sims 4: Outdoor Retreat is really really good. It focuses on the weakest part of the original game, going outdoor and socializing. So it adds a bunch of new items to make outdoors more fun, it includes 154 new items overall, it includes a new aspiration, a new skill and a new trait and on top of all of this it includes the most beautiful Sims world yet with Granite Falls. As the first representative of game packs, I think this DLC does a pretty good job. And for 20 dollars, I would say it includes at least 5-6 hours of fun just to experience everything the DLC has to offer. Which is good for me.
The Full Review:
A Totally Different Kind of Pack
The Sims 4’s paid DLC is actually not a stuff pack or an expansion pack. It’s a game pack which is a totally new kind of pack first introduced to the series with this game. It goes for 20 US Dollars and it’s that perfect middle ground between a 40 Dollar expansion and a 10 Dollar stuff pack. It features more stuff than a typical stuff pack and throws in a few new gameplay as well but it isn’t as feature rich as an expansion.
Before going into the gameplay let’s quickly get through the new stuff. There are 74 new Create A Sim items for your Sims. Many of them are outdoor and woods themed. I have to say that I liked the female options a lot while male options especially lacked in the hair front. New male hairs are pretty bad in my opinion. However, I really like the outdoorsy look in outfits in real life as well so seeing it in Sims 4 really makes me happy.
There are also 80 Build Mode items. Again, many has a wooden theme around them and I think the items are just incredible. It might not be suited for a normal household but I think they still look cool and I would like to put them in my normal houses as well. I don’t care how weird it looks. So overall, 154 new items mostly outdoor and woods themed. I am pretty happy with the selection we got.
The real deal with this game pack though is of course the new gameplay. Our Sims can now go on vacation. If they have vacation days from their job, they will be able to go to vacation while still getting paid for their working days and having no performance drop. But if they don’t have vacation days available they will gain 0 money and their performance meter will drop. Which might lead you to getting fired.
You can select to go on vacation from your phone and invite your Sim friends as well. After selecting that you will come to the world selection screen where you will see that we have a new type of world. Vacation Worlds. This game pack introduces only one vacation world called “Granite Falls”. It’s a forest area that has 5 lots and a full on, forest.
You can select any one of the 5 lots. They are ranging from cheap options with 1 bedroom and 1 bathroom to 4 bedroom 3 bathroom ones. Or you can go for the cheapest option that has no house. It will just be a campground and you will need to set up a tent. Each lot has a cost and it will be multiplied with how many days you are staying in there. You can get a maximum of 7 days at first but closer to it ending, you can choose to extend your vacation as well.
This new world looks absolutely incredible and has plenty of opportunity to go out and do some stuff. Very appropriate considering that the biggest problem with the main game was that it wasn’t an open world and that forced you to stay in your home all the time. The game is still not an open world but this new location is begging to be explored and some new gameplay features promotes socializing with your fellow Sims.
Like a campfire. You can light it, you can cook some stuff on it with options ranging from marshmallows to beetles. Yeah, I wrote it right. You can also tell some stories as well. Particularly ghost stories who can make other Sims scared. That’s just really fun. We also have horseshoe pits where you can compete with your Sim friends.
One of my favorite additions from this DLC though are tents. They are just, tents actually. If you go with the cheapest option in your vacation and select the campground, there will be nowhere to sleep so you will need to buy a tent. You can sleep, relax or nap in it. Just like a normal bed. This might bring a question to your mind. If it’s a normal bed, can we do THAT stuff? Yes, we have our first post launch WooHoo spot with the tents. You can do woohoo’s or you can try for baby in tents. And the animation for it is hilarious.
We even have options like stargazing at night and cloudgazing at morning that will make your Sims inspired and it will make their relationship better with the person they chose to do that activity with. But back to Granite Falls for a second. You have the location where all 5 of the lots are. You also have a forest. Both of these areas are fully explorable and they include a bunch of collectibles like insects or unknown plants.
There are also fishing spots if fishing is your thing. There is even a secret area in the forest. Just look around for a black hole covered with vines around that map. It will lead you to a very good looking place. If you want to have a checklist of these new features, the game got you covered because the DLC includes a new aspiration.
Outdoor Enthusiast aspiration has 4 tiers of challenges all about Granite Falls and it’s new features. It’s a great idea to give one of your Sims this aspiration and complete the challenges to learn about these new features. This new aspiration will ask you to maximize the new skill added with this DLC called Herbalism.
Herbalism is about plants. Remember those undiscovered plants I mentioned? Well, you need to collect them and attempt to identify them. Both a failed and successful attempt will increase your skill level and of course in order to identify some of these undiscovered plants your Herbalism will need to be at a higher level.
You can also brew herbal remedies to increase your Herbalism skill with using those collectibles like plants and insects I mentioned before to craft things that will give you certain buffs. One of them is elixir of fertility for example which will increase the chance of having twins or triplets for the Sim who drinks it. Finally, there is also a new trait called Squeamish. If you give this trait to your Sim, it won’t like going outdoor much because of the bugs and plants and dirt. It’s like the exact opposite of the main game trait called “Loves Outdoors”.
I said that was the final thing but I want to mention that we also have a new party type. It’s called Weenie Roast and as you can guess by it’s title, it’s about roasting stuff over the campfire.
The Sims 4: Outdoor Retreat is really really good. It focuses on the weakest part of the original game, going outdoor and socializing. So it adds a bunch of new items to make outdoors more fun, it includes 154 new items overall, it includes a new aspiration, a new skill and a new trait and on top of all of this it includes the most beautiful Sims world yet with Granite Falls. As the first representative of game packs, I think this DLC does a pretty good job. And for 20 dollars, I would say it includes at least 5-6 hours of fun just to experience everything the DLC has to offer. Which is good for me.
The Full Review:
A Totally Different Kind of Pack
The Sims 4’s paid DLC is actually not a stuff pack or an expansion pack. It’s a game pack which is a totally new kind of pack first introduced to the series with this game. It goes for 20 US Dollars and it’s that perfect middle ground between a 40 Dollar expansion and a 10 Dollar stuff pack. It features more stuff than a typical stuff pack and throws in a few new gameplay as well but it isn’t as feature rich as an expansion.
Before going into the gameplay let’s quickly get through the new stuff. There are 74 new Create A Sim items for your Sims. Many of them are outdoor and woods themed. I have to say that I liked the female options a lot while male options especially lacked in the hair front. New male hairs are pretty bad in my opinion. However, I really like the outdoorsy look in outfits in real life as well so seeing it in Sims 4 really makes me happy.
There are also 80 Build Mode items. Again, many has a wooden theme around them and I think the items are just incredible. It might not be suited for a normal household but I think they still look cool and I would like to put them in my normal houses as well. I don’t care how weird it looks. So overall, 154 new items mostly outdoor and woods themed. I am pretty happy with the selection we got.
The real deal with this game pack though is of course the new gameplay. Our Sims can now go on vacation. If they have vacation days from their job, they will be able to go to vacation while still getting paid for their working days and having no performance drop. But if they don’t have vacation days available they will gain 0 money and their performance meter will drop. Which might lead you to getting fired.
You can select to go on vacation from your phone and invite your Sim friends as well. After selecting that you will come to the world selection screen where you will see that we have a new type of world. Vacation Worlds. This game pack introduces only one vacation world called “Granite Falls”. It’s a forest area that has 5 lots and a full on, forest.
You can select any one of the 5 lots. They are ranging from cheap options with 1 bedroom and 1 bathroom to 4 bedroom 3 bathroom ones. Or you can go for the cheapest option that has no house. It will just be a campground and you will need to set up a tent. Each lot has a cost and it will be multiplied with how many days you are staying in there. You can get a maximum of 7 days at first but closer to it ending, you can choose to extend your vacation as well.
This new world looks absolutely incredible and has plenty of opportunity to go out and do some stuff. Very appropriate considering that the biggest problem with the main game was that it wasn’t an open world and that forced you to stay in your home all the time. The game is still not an open world but this new location is begging to be explored and some new gameplay features promotes socializing with your fellow Sims.
Like a campfire. You can light it, you can cook some stuff on it with options ranging from marshmallows to beetles. Yeah, I wrote it right. You can also tell some stories as well. Particularly ghost stories who can make other Sims scared. That’s just really fun. We also have horseshoe pits where you can compete with your Sim friends.
One of my favorite additions from this DLC though are tents. They are just, tents actually. If you go with the cheapest option in your vacation and select the campground, there will be nowhere to sleep so you will need to buy a tent. You can sleep, relax or nap in it. Just like a normal bed. This might bring a question to your mind. If it’s a normal bed, can we do THAT stuff? Yes, we have our first post launch WooHoo spot with the tents. You can do woohoo’s or you can try for baby in tents. And the animation for it is hilarious.
We even have options like stargazing at night and cloudgazing at morning that will make your Sims inspired and it will make their relationship better with the person they chose to do that activity with. But back to Granite Falls for a second. You have the location where all 5 of the lots are. You also have a forest. Both of these areas are fully explorable and they include a bunch of collectibles like insects or unknown plants.
There are also fishing spots if fishing is your thing. There is even a secret area in the forest. Just look around for a black hole covered with vines around that map. It will lead you to a very good looking place. If you want to have a checklist of these new features, the game got you covered because the DLC includes a new aspiration.
Outdoor Enthusiast aspiration has 4 tiers of challenges all about Granite Falls and it’s new features. It’s a great idea to give one of your Sims this aspiration and complete the challenges to learn about these new features. This new aspiration will ask you to maximize the new skill added with this DLC called Herbalism.
Herbalism is about plants. Remember those undiscovered plants I mentioned? Well, you need to collect them and attempt to identify them. Both a failed and successful attempt will increase your skill level and of course in order to identify some of these undiscovered plants your Herbalism will need to be at a higher level.
You can also brew herbal remedies to increase your Herbalism skill with using those collectibles like plants and insects I mentioned before to craft things that will give you certain buffs. One of them is elixir of fertility for example which will increase the chance of having twins or triplets for the Sim who drinks it. Finally, there is also a new trait called Squeamish. If you give this trait to your Sim, it won’t like going outdoor much because of the bugs and plants and dirt. It’s like the exact opposite of the main game trait called “Loves Outdoors”.
I said that was the final thing but I want to mention that we also have a new party type. It’s called Weenie Roast and as you can guess by it’s title, it’s about roasting stuff over the campfire.
The Sims 4: Outdoor Retreat is really really good. It focuses on the weakest part of the original game, going outdoor and socializing. So it adds a bunch of new items to make outdoors more fun, it includes 154 new items overall, it includes a new aspiration, a new skill and a new trait and on top of all of this it includes the most beautiful Sims world yet with Granite Falls. As the first representative of game packs, I think this DLC does a pretty good job. And for 20 dollars, I would say it includes at least 5-6 hours of fun just to experience everything the DLC has to offer. Which is good for me.
I am a charlatan, an utter buffoon. A fool in clown’s clothing, already messing up the order of my reviews. Outdoor Retreat is actually the first expansion to The Sims 4 and the laugh track that plays over my life is pointing at me in a never ending cacophony of agony. Is it that I went a little too hard on the fizzy juice or just that this is a pack that isn’t used very often?
That’s not to say that this pack is bad by any means. It’s just that the majority of its content is separated from what would be normal gameplay. It introduced vacations to The Sims 4 and a lot of what it has to offer is located in Granite Falls. This place is by far the best vacation spot in the game so far. The other two are dumpsters in comparison. I haven’t dabbled that much in the woods yet, but it’s a camping site where you can partake in bothering the wildlife and accidentally setting your Sims on fire with a fire pit. In fact, the first time I went here my Sim immediately died upon leaving so I actually believe the place is cursed by this version of Boo Boo Bear.
You could be chillin’ and minding your own business under the stars and suddenly a guy in a grizzly bear costume starts doing push-ups off to the side of your campfire, right in front of your children. The game and your Sim recognizes this person as a real bear, but he’s clearly a dude in a costume and his name is Clyde Johnson or some other randomly generated name. He’s talking to you, but he’s totally a real bear. He’s stealing from the plate of hot dogs you just made as we speak. No one knows his secrets, but he has an agenda. Either Granite Falls is the location of the Sims furry convention or this is just a mystery left in the shadows never to be fully uncovered.
There is also a hermit that you can befriend if you follow the correct paths. I haven’t met them yet and I don’t know if they’re as weird as Clyde, but what I do know is that they’re going to be the next target in my 100 Baby Challenge. They let you fish for rare fish and collect rare bugs like Snow White without the 7 dwarves. I’m going to their house literally right now and bringing the bear with me.
I’m also a bug guy, if I were a Pokémon Gym Leader, I’d let a bunch of kids kill me in the first 1 hour of the game if it meant I could be a Bug Type Leader. This expansion adds the Insect collection that works pretty similar to the collectibles in The Sims 3. Like, they kinda just spawn wherever and then your Sim comes and yoinks them. Ooo yes, enjoy your little glass hut you will now live in forever my pretty little beetle guy. They even got one for the weebs too, look everyone can be happy! I can’t attest for how hard this collection is because I still haven’t finished it, but I doubt it’s anything significant. I’ll just live in the woods for 8 Sim Weeks until I find them all. My children haven’t seen me in years but I will have this awesome collection to add to my basement.
Holy shit, it’s also 4/20 I just realized. Light up that herb baby, we got the Herbalism skill. This works attached to the Gardening skill and helps you identify plants in the wilderness. There are herbs now that are either healthy or toxic, and the only way to find out is to either eat them caveman style or train for your Herbalism PhD. Although, the toxic ones only make your Sim sick and can’t actually murder them. I don’t think it’s that super useful, aside from being able to make herbal remedies on the stove that instantly fill your piss meter or something. No longer do I have to shower when I can just drink a potion that retracts the sweat back into my glands, so I guess I would say it’s not completely useless. There is this weird glitch right now though where if you own a grill outside, your neighbors will just autonomously cook herbal remedies on it and then leave them on the ground. Every now and then I look in my backyard and there’s just piles of jars of this crap just sitting out there. I think in honor of this review I am now going to start drinking whatever horrible concoction they leave instead of just selling them. Godspeed to my Sim.
Aside from that it also adds some really nice features that you can take with you, like a tent. I can just buy a tent and sleep anywhere I want now and not a single other person can say anything to me about it. I got shit to do and my Sim is tired but I’m not leaving and coming back; whip out that bad boy and have a snooze right in the middle of the restaurant. Combining this with the reward trait you get for clearing this pack’s one Aspiration is also pretty wise, as it allows your Sim to enjoy camping no matter what and never complain about it ever again!! You could be homeless and they’d still have a ball.
So while this pack is weird and mostly segregated, it’s still pretty good for the little things it adds. The items you can make and take with you can benefit other aspects of gameplay, at least if you’re me torturing your poor Sim to go through the Olympics of Simming. All in all, it’s just a funny little camping pack you can use whenever you get bored of looking at the four walls you force your Sim to live in. I think I am going to befriend the Bear now, I have some experimenting I want to do with him.
That’s not to say that this pack is bad by any means. It’s just that the majority of its content is separated from what would be normal gameplay. It introduced vacations to The Sims 4 and a lot of what it has to offer is located in Granite Falls. This place is by far the best vacation spot in the game so far. The other two are dumpsters in comparison. I haven’t dabbled that much in the woods yet, but it’s a camping site where you can partake in bothering the wildlife and accidentally setting your Sims on fire with a fire pit. In fact, the first time I went here my Sim immediately died upon leaving so I actually believe the place is cursed by this version of Boo Boo Bear.
You could be chillin’ and minding your own business under the stars and suddenly a guy in a grizzly bear costume starts doing push-ups off to the side of your campfire, right in front of your children. The game and your Sim recognizes this person as a real bear, but he’s clearly a dude in a costume and his name is Clyde Johnson or some other randomly generated name. He’s talking to you, but he’s totally a real bear. He’s stealing from the plate of hot dogs you just made as we speak. No one knows his secrets, but he has an agenda. Either Granite Falls is the location of the Sims furry convention or this is just a mystery left in the shadows never to be fully uncovered.
There is also a hermit that you can befriend if you follow the correct paths. I haven’t met them yet and I don’t know if they’re as weird as Clyde, but what I do know is that they’re going to be the next target in my 100 Baby Challenge. They let you fish for rare fish and collect rare bugs like Snow White without the 7 dwarves. I’m going to their house literally right now and bringing the bear with me.
I’m also a bug guy, if I were a Pokémon Gym Leader, I’d let a bunch of kids kill me in the first 1 hour of the game if it meant I could be a Bug Type Leader. This expansion adds the Insect collection that works pretty similar to the collectibles in The Sims 3. Like, they kinda just spawn wherever and then your Sim comes and yoinks them. Ooo yes, enjoy your little glass hut you will now live in forever my pretty little beetle guy. They even got one for the weebs too, look everyone can be happy! I can’t attest for how hard this collection is because I still haven’t finished it, but I doubt it’s anything significant. I’ll just live in the woods for 8 Sim Weeks until I find them all. My children haven’t seen me in years but I will have this awesome collection to add to my basement.
Holy shit, it’s also 4/20 I just realized. Light up that herb baby, we got the Herbalism skill. This works attached to the Gardening skill and helps you identify plants in the wilderness. There are herbs now that are either healthy or toxic, and the only way to find out is to either eat them caveman style or train for your Herbalism PhD. Although, the toxic ones only make your Sim sick and can’t actually murder them. I don’t think it’s that super useful, aside from being able to make herbal remedies on the stove that instantly fill your piss meter or something. No longer do I have to shower when I can just drink a potion that retracts the sweat back into my glands, so I guess I would say it’s not completely useless. There is this weird glitch right now though where if you own a grill outside, your neighbors will just autonomously cook herbal remedies on it and then leave them on the ground. Every now and then I look in my backyard and there’s just piles of jars of this crap just sitting out there. I think in honor of this review I am now going to start drinking whatever horrible concoction they leave instead of just selling them. Godspeed to my Sim.
Aside from that it also adds some really nice features that you can take with you, like a tent. I can just buy a tent and sleep anywhere I want now and not a single other person can say anything to me about it. I got shit to do and my Sim is tired but I’m not leaving and coming back; whip out that bad boy and have a snooze right in the middle of the restaurant. Combining this with the reward trait you get for clearing this pack’s one Aspiration is also pretty wise, as it allows your Sim to enjoy camping no matter what and never complain about it ever again!! You could be homeless and they’d still have a ball.
So while this pack is weird and mostly segregated, it’s still pretty good for the little things it adds. The items you can make and take with you can benefit other aspects of gameplay, at least if you’re me torturing your poor Sim to go through the Olympics of Simming. All in all, it’s just a funny little camping pack you can use whenever you get bored of looking at the four walls you force your Sim to live in. I think I am going to befriend the Bear now, I have some experimenting I want to do with him.
https://www.backloggd.com/u/HuFe/list/the-sims-4-add-ons-ranked/
Game Packs were introduced as a product in between an Expansion and a Stuff Pack, and they are worth $20, the previous price of Stuff Packs, so yeah this is one of the least predatory things that EA has come up with.
Anyway, this one in particular is good! It provides players with a cute forest area and camping equipment. Compared to the game packs that came after, the forest is a bit too empty, there's basically nothing to do, and many of the best things about it were recycled (they introduced several other campfires, and there's tents in Snowy Escape).
However, I still feel that this is the quintessential summer holiday experience for families, there's something so cozy about sleeping in the forest. It also introduced the cloudgaze/stargaze interaction, which is both the cutest and most OP way to make sims bond. The squeamish trait is a nice touch too. I've never used the herbalism skill in my life.
If they ever do a pack refresh, they could add deer, wolves, racoons and bears, that would make it top tier. Please get on it, Sims Team.
Game Packs were introduced as a product in between an Expansion and a Stuff Pack, and they are worth $20, the previous price of Stuff Packs, so yeah this is one of the least predatory things that EA has come up with.
Anyway, this one in particular is good! It provides players with a cute forest area and camping equipment. Compared to the game packs that came after, the forest is a bit too empty, there's basically nothing to do, and many of the best things about it were recycled (they introduced several other campfires, and there's tents in Snowy Escape).
However, I still feel that this is the quintessential summer holiday experience for families, there's something so cozy about sleeping in the forest. It also introduced the cloudgaze/stargaze interaction, which is both the cutest and most OP way to make sims bond. The squeamish trait is a nice touch too. I've never used the herbalism skill in my life.
If they ever do a pack refresh, they could add deer, wolves, racoons and bears, that would make it top tier. Please get on it, Sims Team.