[typing]
All right, time to take a look at the fourth game pack to The Sims 4:
Vampires– wait a minute!
Hold up. Toddlers were released?
Just like THAT?
Two years of silence and suddenly–
Toddlers!
Yep! Seems they made them available for free in a recent patch
and I don't know about you, but to me,
that is the bigger story than Vampires.
In my comments section alone, it's been Toddlers, Toddlers, Toddlers
Toddlers, Toddlers, Toddlers, TODDLERS!
And then like one person saying,
"hey, uhh..."
"vampires look cool I guess."
Okay, that's an exaggeration. I know plenty of folks wanted them, but still.
They released what is essentially a Toddlers game pack for free,
and this Vampire pack costs $20.
Don't get me wrong, I'm GLAD it's not the other way around,
because there would have been riots in the streets.
But color me surprised that the one feature so many Simmers have requested
for over two years is here at no charge.
Not only that, but it's GOOD!
Real good.
Toddlers are a fully featured life state,
complete with plenty of new clothing, voices, interactions,
skills, traits and Buy Mode objects.
You can play with them, potty train them,
teach them how to walk, talk and learn,
and attend to their unique needs and outbursts,
like attention spans and temper tantrums.
And when they age up into children,
it makes them feel more interesting and invested in your world.
And there's an additional connection formed as they continue to grow
into more complex virtual humans.
By Jove, it's like toddlers should have been in the game from the beginning or something.
What a crazy thought!
Point being that, compared to the surprise of Toddlers,
the Vampire pack that I'm here to talk about today
seems like the lesser, not quite as exciting topic
at this point in early 2017.
Oh, well. Still worth talking about.
And on to what you're here for,
starting with what you already know.
The Sims 4: Vampires brings about the return
of everyone's favorite Hot Topic-shopping neck suckers.
I've been messing with them for a little over a week now,
thanks to EA providing me an early review copy.
And if you've seen my coverage of packs in the past
like Nightlife, Late Night and Supernatural,
then you'll know I'm not big on vampires in The Sims.
When I'm playing these games on my own time,
I prefer a more down-to-earth, realistic representation of reality
so I can immerse myself as much as possible,
which then makes screwing things up a lot more fun.
I typically only find supernatural Sims appealing
if I'm freakin' bored and I'm looking for anything
to shake up the old routines.
Oh, wait, that me with The Sims 4 lately,
so maybe this pack is just what the doctor ordered.
First up with Vampires is the new spooktacular neigborhood,
Forgotten Hollow,
a dark and foggy place that reminds me quite a bit
of Midnight Hollow from The Sims 3.
Well, a lot smaller version of it,
since, in typical Sims 4 fashion,
it is lamentably lacking largeness,
containing only five lots.
Still, I quite enjoy the overall feel of this place,
even if it's sometimes to dark to see much of what's going on.
In fact, it stays darker for longer than other locales,
making it the perfect destination
for the fang-wielding population.
And I enjoy the creepy statues,
creepy mood lighting,
creepy graveyards,
and creepy ambient noises,
if only because it's distinct
from all the other neighborhoods.
To go along with the eerie environs,
there's a respectable load of eerie Buy Mode objects,
all of which readily fits the vampire theme.
And would also fit in rather well
if you're just wanting to build a mansion in general.
And maybe I'm not entirely sold on the supernatural side of Simming,
but I freakin' LOVE the way these decorations and objects look
just from an aesthetic standpoint alone.
Also, a Vampire trying to be all evil and foreboding,
and yet playing an organ badly just cracks me up.
[bad organ playing]
Beyond this, you get an array of clothing, hair and accessories
that's ideal if your Sim is a total goth ball.
Mostly, this stuff is for adults,
but there are a few options for younger Sims as well.
Which makes sense, seeing as any age Sim can be a Vampire.
Yep, Vampire Toddlers. Those exist.
And if they are a mature Vampire,
then you get to create two different physical forms,
just like you do with aliens,
allowing for some Nosferatu creatures of the night.
The nice side effect of all this
is that you receive more wrinkles and facial disfigurements,
darker eye rings, pointed earlobes,
and various teeth options.
And as introduced through a recent free update,
some of these grilles aren't even traditionally vampiric.
So if you've been craving crooked and golden chompers,
the game's got you covered,
with or without the pack.
Of course, the main star of the show is the Vampire life state itself
and the new gameplay this introduces.
Not only are they somewhat immortal,
but they're host of a multitude of exclusive needs
and supernatural abilities.
First up are their needs,
which beyond the typical Fun, Hygiene and Social bars,
they also have to worry about Thirst and Energy.
Thirst, as you might expect,
relates to a Vampire's need to drink blood,
referred to as "plasma" in rated-Teen Sims tradition.
This can be accomplished by either feeding on other Sims
or binging on plasma fruit in its various forms.
Not that there's anything wrong with a vegetarian option, but come on.
Who's *really* going to pass up watching those hot, sucking animations?
[Sims moaning]
The bit marks on their necks afterward are a nice touch,
and I'd love to hear Sims explain *that* the next morning,
if you fed on them without their consent.
The next thing to worry about is Energy,
which wears down quickly by vamps using their powers.
It's also going to drop down fast if they stay out during the daytime,
even if the animation involved isn't particularly impressive.
But hey, at least they don't freakin' sparkle like they did
in the Supernatural expansion for The Sims 3,
so I'll take what I can get.
In fact, it's such a lackluster reaction to the sun
that you might not even notice or treat it seriously,
which will result in an untimely death.
But as long as you stay corporeal,
Energy can be regained by doing things like sleeping in a coffin.
Those sexy coffins. They're multi-use, by the way.
Fun fact: Vampires make irresistible lovers.
But if you've seen any young adult fiction in,
I dunno, the past decade, then you already knew that.
Anyway, supernatural powers are where most of the appeal of being a Vampire comes into play.
And I was impressed by how far they went with this.
It's not just a bunch of interactions to cue up right off the bat–
Heh heh. Bat...
Instead, becoming a Vampire is like embarking on a new life's journey.
A sort of self-guided supernatural career, if you will.
Just hop on Sim Google
and research secret Vampire knowledge,
or read through expensive old books
that probably smell like dead skin.
You can also seek out fellow Vampires
and talk to them about Vampire things.
Training under them or even sparring with them
in a mostly harmless manner.
Once you've accomplished enough animations,
you then move on to unlocking a skill tree of powers
as you dive deeper into studying
how to become a Master Vampire.
And powers aren't just a free-for-all cheat mode,
since there are weaknesses that come along with strengths.
And I like this, because honestly, Sims in The Sims 4
could use more character flaws in general.
And I'm not just talking about their slightly quirky and irritating traits,
like Hot Headed and Kleptomaniac.
I mean straight-up physical and social drawbacks
because more often than not, everyone just goes around
as Mr. or Mrs. Perfect in this game
regardless of their traits, and it gets a bit old.
So, even though these fatal flaws happen with a supernatural slant here
I appreciate it for introducing a bit of much-needed character to Sims.
Even if it's a character that sucks necks
and has a garlic phobia.
What it comes down to with The Sims 4: Vampires game pack
is that it's a $20 add-on that I'll rarely visit after this video.
Now I'll certainly keep using some of the new Buy Mode objects, because those are awesome.
But by and large, I have zero desire to play through my Sims' lives as a Vampire.
It's fun to do once, though.
And yeah, I actually had fun with this pack, doggone it!
But unlike the Vampires themselves,
the fun is short-lived for me,
and my usual play style.
There's also the fact that this is 20 bucks for essentially a single life state,
whereas in The Sims 3: Supernatural,
Vampires arrived alongside Witches, Werewolves, Fairies, Zombies and so on.
And I've read comments from a subset of Sims fans
who were hoping for that kind of fully fledged expansion
and take a bit of offense by the chopping up of this content.
And, yeah, I can get that notion.
On the other hand, I still think this is a neat little distraction for a little bit.
So if you don't mind the gameplay caveats
and piecemeal sales approach,
I'd say give the Vampires game pack
a dark, brooding look.
[synth keyboard dance music]
And if you enjoyed this episode of LGR,
perhaps you'd like to "sink your teeth" into some of my other videos.
I've covered a bunch of other Sims stuff,
and I also talk about weird old computer hardware and software
every Monday and Friday here on LGR.
And as always, thank you very much for watching.