A Closer Look At The New Hobbies in The Sims 4: Snowy Escape
The Sims 4 has been going strong for over 6 years now, having reached over 10 million players in March 2020. Still, the Sims 4 hasn’t run out of material yet, as players are gearing up for the release of the franchise’s tenth expansion pack, The Sims 4: Snowy Escape. There has been a lot of excitement surrounding this pack, for a variety of reasons.
This world, named Mt. Komorebi, is the first world to be inspired by Japanese culture. It’s absolutely gorgeous, with a snow-capped mountain and two other different, uniquely styled neighborhoods for Sims to explore and live in. However, one of the most exciting additions with this pack is the hobbies of rock climbing, snowboarding, and skiing, which deserve their own deep dive for what players can expect in Snowy Escape.
In order for Sims to start building this skill, they can simply begin climbing designated rock climbing areas or purchase rock climbing equipment on the computer. However, the rock climbing areas that are available to Sims depends on how high their rock climbing skill is. The interaction “Inspect Wall Conditions” will allow players to know if their Sim can handle climbing at that specific location.
When participating in this hobby without proper gear, players should be wary. Sims can fall to their death, especially when trying to ascend to the top of Mt. Komorebi in Snowy Escape. When attempting to reach the summit on an excursion, players need to make sure their Sims’ rock climbing skill levels are high enough in order to reach the peak successfully. Otherwise, they’ll be stuck at one of the lower base camps and forced to turn back around.
These two hobbies, snowboarding and skiing, are grouped together because Sims build them in essentially the same way. The animations are unique from each other, obviously because the two activities are different. However, both hobbies in the new Sims expansion are strengthened by riding down the bunny slopes, or other slopes that increase in difficulty. There are four different routes available after Sims ride up to the top of the slopes, ranging from “Easy” to “Ludicrous” difficulties.
When snowboarding or skiing, Sims hop onto a snowboard or skis and make their way down the mountain. Sims can either rent the equipment, or purchase them in build/buy mode and have the items ready to go in their inventory. The animations for these hobbies are impressive, especially when Sims have a high skill level, because players of the Sims 4 can see them perform tricks and jumps as they descend the slopes.
Though these new hobbies are exciting and fun to play, Sims can become injured relatively easily from participating in them. Snowboarding and skiing can lead to “Injured” moodlets that, understandably, can put Sims in an Uncomfortable or even Sad mood. Rock climbing injuries make Sims feel dizzy after falling from high elevations, making them unable to climb again until they recover from the injury.
When Sims are stressed and injured, it’s the perfect opportunity for them to visit the Onsen bathhouse, located just beyond the slopes. Just make sure Sims shower before entering the hot springs; otherwise, they’ll dirty up the water and leave everyone with a bad first impression. The hot springs work wonders on reducing stress, and help eliminate the discomfort associated with injuries with ease.
It’s safe to say that most Sims 4 players are itching to get their hands on this pack, whether they’re a builder or legacy player. Some exciting features, like platforms and Sentiments, will be available as a base game update, but these three hobbies are exclusive to Snowy Escape.
The Sims 4: Snowy Escape is available for preorder now and releases on November 13 for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
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