The Sims 4 remains the longest-running entry in a series with what many call a current monopoly over family life sims. The TS4 expansion packs have a varied reception, with early installments like Get to Work coming out buggy and fading in interest fast, while others like Get Famous are exciting to some and dull to others. In the midst of community feedback, calls for quality of life updates, and concerns about race, EA has released The Sims 4 Star Wars: Journey to Batuu, a game pack that has drawn an incredible amount of backlash.
The Sims team has done brand crossovers before, but one of the biggest Journey to Batuu criticisms is that the game feels like a marketing ploy, perhaps to promote Disney’s new Star Wars-themed areas in its parks. Moschino Stuff was the biggest brand move from the Sims team to date, and it came out just last year. Sure, there’s plenty of nods to Star Wars for film fans to enjoy in Journey to Batuu, but the game can be confusing for people unfamiliar with sci-fi franchise. And even for people like this reviewer, who have watched all the films and have engaged with the expanded universe, the real issue with J0urney to Batuu is that it just doesn’t appeal to what a mainstream The Sims 4 audience wants.
Like most TS4 DLC, a lot of what makes or breaks a pack can be found in Create-a-Sim mode. Although it isn’t a dealbreaker, it is pretty disappointing to open up CAS and find that there are no new traits, and the two new aspirations are pretty much just walkthroughs for the pack. The aspirations do give a bonus trait called Prepared Voyager, which again is mostly applicable to the pack. As one interacts with the pack’s content, it becomes clear that this is a very self-contained experience, which means that Star Wars fans can have a few hours of fun but that overall the replay value is low.
The clothes options are actually pretty promising, and the devs seem to have leaned heavily into layering options. There are outfits that are clearly only going to fit in on Batuu, but there are also a lot of tops that just look like a sweater combo anyone might wear. And while players don’t have a wide range of skin tones in TS4 yet, there are some cool makeup, hats, and mask options that can make the Sim look like a Star Wars alien. Again, while this last feature fits great into the world of Batuu, it’s difficult to see how it can fit into average gameplay. For players who were looking forward to changes to the alien race introduced in Get to Work, this sci-fi alien-themed game pack completely neglected the mechanics and opted for cosmetic changes players can make to normal Sims.
The furniture and build items are impressive, and clearly a lot of visual fine-tuning was done to make the objects fit into a Star Wars theme. They fit well in the Batuu location, and make areas like Oga’s Cantina in Black Spire Outpost feel like they’re taken directly from the movies. However, when one lays out the objects in The Sims 4‘s build mode and tries to assimilate them into existing lots, the integration falls flat and it becomes clear that these objects are pretty one-note. They’re great for diner builds and anything industrial-themed, but pretty much any other kind of restaurant theme would be a hard combination. The average TS4 house build that most Simmers make is not going to be able to use most of these items.
Batuu itself is a visual treat, and it does seem to work well for the game that it’s a vacation destination and not a neighborhood, since Batuu was clearly designed to be a largely self-contained experience. Players can visit the Resistance Encampment, First Order District, and Black Spire Outpost, but the early game will probably be spent in that last location. The aforementioned aspirations guide the player through getting to know the world of Batuu, and there are some cool paths players can go down, like alien gambling and forging a lightsaber in-game. Sims can take home recipes and even their own lightsabers, but overall going to Batuu feels like going to a theme park and then returning home.
However, there is another major flaw with the world of Batuu, because once one gets over the initial awe of how pretty the locations are to look it, mousing around reveals that most are impossible to interact with. Of the locations players can click on, most are rabbit holes, meaning the Sim can enter the building and purchase items, but the player can’t see anything inside or directly control the Sim. Notably, players can enter and interact with Oga’s Cantina, just like they can in the Disney parks, further reinforcing the idea that the entire pack is centered around brand marketing.
While on Batuu, players can pursue various actions and experiences to further their reputation with one of three factions (the Resistance, the First Order, and the Han Solo-esque Scoundrels), which is a cool feature that could be interesting to see the devs explore more of in future DLC. Leveling up a Sim’s reputation unlocks Galactic Credits, a Batuu-only currency that forces players to complete Star Wars quests instead of using their stockpiles of Simoleons, as well as fun interactions, items to buy at Batuu’s stores, and clothing in CAS. The Sims team is leaning into the idea of unlocking clothing through gameplay like in TS4‘s Nifty Knitting, meaning this could very well become a staple of future packs.
Overall, Journey to Batuu is pretty to look at, and it provides the player a few hours of fun completing the aspirations, although that feature can quickly feel repetitive after the initial shininess of the Star Wars references wears off. The faction reputation system is intriguing, as is the mission feature, and it could be cool to see the devs integrate these into everyday gameplay. However, this pack doesn’t add a whole lot to The Sims 4, and probably won’t be appealing to the average Simmer, whether they’re focused on creating builds, family generation challenges, or just telling interesting stories with their Sims.
Whatever direction the Sims team goes for next, it’s clear from the online backlash against this game pack that really tuning in to what the community is specifically asking for would be a good way to turn public opinion in favor of TS4. The devs are certainly focusing more time on this installment than any of its predecessors, and since there’s not been a whole lot of official info about The Sims 5 yet, players might be in this game for the long haul.
The Sims 4: Journey to Batuu will be available September 8, 2020, for PC, PS4, and Xbox One. Game Rant was provided a PC code for this review.
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