The Sims 4: Cottage Living Review
Escape the rat race and head to the countryside for some sustainable and wholesome farming action
They’ve finally done it. After years of fan requests (with longtime fans practically begging and pleading for an official farming expansion pack), the creators of The Sims 4 have finally granted our wish.
I have been playing The Sims for as long as I can remember; from watching my Auntie play the first game (when I was too young to play it myself), through to getting my own laptop with a copy of The Sims 2 (and then using every birthday as an opportunity to bag a new expansion pack), culminating with the purchase of my own PC and every single one of The Sims 3 and 4 expansions (aside from Journey to Batuu). It’s safe to say that I know a thing or two about the venerable franchise, and I came to Cottage Living with many expectations.
The moment I got paid, I purchased and downloaded the game — I could barely contain the excitement as I embarked on my farming adventure.
Prior to picking up the expansion, I’d already modded The Sims 4 with every kind of mod you can imagine (yes, even the serial killer one; who could resist?!), but I wanted to experience this expansion in its purest form. So, I disabled all my mods and got to work.
Meet Annabeth Galloway
She’s a quirky city girl who moved away from the hustle and bustle of the 9–5 rat race in favor of a countryside retreat (and she’s brought her kitten Fae Fae along for the adventure).
Usually, I would create my own house from scratch in build mode. I must confess, though, I couldn’t wait to dive right in and see what the actual gameplay as like. I moved into the Cordelia’s Secret Cottage lot and edited it a bit to suit my tastes.
This lot was preloaded with two challenges to tackle: wild foxes, and simple living. These challenges are actually a new addition to the game that can be turned off (or edited) in build mode.
“Wild foxes” is exactly as it sounds: foxes will appear on your lot to terrorise your chickens. You have the option to shoo them away or plead with them to leave you alone. You can even befriend the foxes (just as you can wild birds and bunnies). Befriending involves building a relationship with the animals in question, which is just as adorable as it sounds. The foxes look, behave, and sound just as real foxes do; this impressed me, because I’d initially expected them to simply be another resin (just as raccoons were in the Cats and Dogs expansion).
“Simple living” was the challenge I was looking forward to the most. It places strict limitations on your experience in order to emphasise self-reliance and sustainability. This means you can only cook with the ingredients readily available on your lot that you’ve cultivated yourself (for instance, you’ll get milk from your cows, eggs from your chickens, and other produce that’s grown on your lot). There are also an abundance of fishing spots dotted all over the new town, Henford-on-Bagley, so if your sim is a savvy angler they’ll always be able to bring dinner to the table.
The Simple Life
Annabeth wasted no time getting to work, using the last of her moving in funds to purchase three hens, a rooster, a cow, and even a llama. Then, she planted some starter vegetables in her garden.
Of course, these things all take some time to cultivate to the point where a delicious meal can be created. On her first night in her new home, Annabeth didn’t have any food readily available to cook with — so I took her to the pub and had her order some classic English bangers and mash. It’s worth mentioning that there are other food options for your sim if local produce is thin on the ground. For example, they can partake in a grocery delivery service and even an Uber Eats style service called Zoomers. But a trip to the local felt like a fitting introduction to Annabeth’s new neighbourhood.
After a few days of farming away — collecting eggs and getting kicked in the head every time I tried to milk a cow — I thought I had this farming malarkey down. There was so much to do — new recipes to play with, experimentation with treats (if you feed your cow with chocolate, they’ll produce chocolate milk!), new skills to master — I was almost overwhelmed for choice. But I kept my shoulder to the wheel, investing in the best fertiliser I could find to grow my mushroom super crop in order to win that sweet ribbon at the fair.
Then, to my surprise, my chickens laid a viable egg! After a few days of waiting, while my hens tended to it and kept it warm, my chick finally hatched and I immediately fell in love.
Her name is Nugget and she is very well-loved.
Agnes Returns
This wouldn’t be a legit review of Cottage Living without a mention of everyone’s favourite old hag, Agnes Crumplebottom. She’s back, and she’s as nasty as ever. But that didn’t keep me away. In fact, I couldn’t help myself; I took Annabeth over to meet her immediately. I then realised I could run errands for her in exchange for some cash and handy farm items. Agnes being Agnes first instructed me to plant a pumpkin, bring her some milk, and scold the grocery shop owner (something about being too flirty at the pub? I’m not sure, but I wasn’t going to turn the offer down). I needed cash, and on top of everything else, Agnes gave me a lovely new cross-stitch pattern to use. How generous of her. Who knows, maybe we’ll become besties and I’ll soften her heart?
I couldn’t finish my play session without trying one of the new village competitions. I entered my rooster into the ‘best chicken’ competition and…he didn’t win. But we got a lovely participation ribbon and some farm treats for the rest of the animals, so it wasn’t a total loss.
This is the most fun I’ve had with a Sims 4 expansion since the release of Get To Work. If you’ve ever dreamed of running away to the countryside and living a self-sustaining life, this is the pack for you.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a cow to milk.
