Just when you thought they couldn’t churn out anymore Expansions for The Sims 4, they release their twentieth: Adventure Awaits. This isn’t one to overlook, though. The Sims 4 Adventure Awaits Expansion Pack has a number of different new things to entice you. Getaways, Formative Moments, Imaginary Friends, a new world with unique quests and a new collection, new Skills and activities: there’s something in this mix that’ll tempt you. Let’s take a closer look at everything Adventure Awaits has to offer and whether you think it’s worth expanding your collection.
The Sims 4 Adventure Awaits Expansion Pack is available now for $39.99 on PC via Steam and EA App, Mac via Origin, PlayStation 4 | 5, Xbox One | Xbox Series X/S, and Epic Games Store. Buy before November 13th to get bonus items including the Toasty Tower Lamp, Toasty Tootsie Socks, and the Toast-Tea Kettle.
Story – Getaway to Gibbi Point
Adventure Awaits adds a new world, and with the new gameplay, it was necessary. Gibbi Point is the hub of Getaways, geysers, glowworm caves, butterflies and moths, and the mysterious Plumbird. Lots of worlds have been introduced to The Sims 4 since its release in 2014 and its subsequent DLC. Some have been great, others more disappointing. Gibbi Point is not a disappointment in the slightest.
Gibbi Point’s Pros and Cons
You might think that Gibbi Point is going to be a vacation world like Granite Falls or Selvadorada, but it’s actually a residential world. There are 3 pre-built Getaway Venues at Gibbi Point, but you can live there too. It has a mix of residential and community lots, as well as empty lots to build on, and lots with pre-made families already living there. Gibbi Point does fall under the same issues as previous worlds, feeling a tad lacking in starter homes, empty lots, and community lots, but it’s not the worst (and this is a general problem with The Sims 4, not just Gibbi Point).
Gibbi Point is an excellent world to explore and play in. Every time you visit this place, you discover something new, whether it’s a new activity, a new tidbit, or even just a new detail you never noticed before. It’s been beautifully put together. It’s so vast, and with so much to see, you won’t know where to look first. Also, Gibbi Point doesn’t feel dead as a world. It feels alive everywhere you look, everywhere you go.
Gibbi Point, a vibrant world with plenty to see and do.
Gameplay – New Ways to Grow and Develop
The new gameplay that is primarily advertised with The Sims 4 Adventure Awaits are Getaways. While these are great, I was personally more attracted to (and more impressed by) other aspects of gameplay Adventure Awaits introduced.
Getaways
Getaways is meant to be the big core addition with Adventure Awaits. This is essentially what the Expansion is all about. Unfortunately, I feel I have to disagree. For some reason, I had a difficult time connecting with Getaways.
What Are Getaways?
The idea of Getaways in The Sims 4 is to leave your normal day-to-day routine, go away to some designated place, and either relax or work on your skills or relationships, depending on the Getaway. When applying to a Getaway, there are lots of options to choose, like how long you want your Getaway to be, what activities you’re going to do, and if there are any rules. Having these options is good because it allows you to choose exactly how you want your Getaway to be, giving you some flexibility and control.
However, Vacations are preferrable, as there are no rules, no schedule, just you going off and doing your own thing. In fairness, the purpose of Getaways specifically is to follow the scheduled activities to help expand skills, relax, or work on relationships. If you do so, you’ll get rewarded at the end of the Getaway. It also helps that on Getaways, you’re with other Sims who are there for the same reason as you, allowing you to mingle and perform activities with others, creating a sort of companionship.
There are 3 pre-determined Getaways, but you are free to create your own.
Flaws With Getaways
Part of the problem is that Getaways aren’t exactly flawless, even when you’re going to a pre-built Getaway with a preset schedule. It sometimes feels like Sims are all over the place, and while for the most part they do follow the schedule, it can still feel pretty chaotic. Not to mention it doesn’t feel like there are enough beds to even accommodate yourself, requiring you to boot out another Sims via the Assign Bed option, which does feel a little mean.
Getting food ready is also a bit of a nightmare, with Sims giving up cooking just after starting and everyone rushing to the kitchen, so it’s a bit of a lottery having someone prep a meal. Also, you don’t see any kind of progress notification, letting you know you’re on track to have a successful Getaway, or you are correctly performing the activities.
Although not “broken”, Getaways don’t always run entirely smoothly either.
What Did Work With Getaways
Even if Getaways aren’t necessarily your thing, you can appreciate their overall goals. You do feel as if you have a different routine than normal, and you get the opportunity to make new friends and try out new things, or do things you enjoy. Also, it’s good to know there’s the option to create your own custom Getaways, both the venues and the Getaways themselves, if you ever wish to do so. Judging by all the options available, the only limit really is your imagination, so it’s not too restrictive.
Getaways Summary
All-in-all, Getaways are a positive addition with Adventure Awaits, and it seems clear why they were heavily promoted. They just need more polish to make them feel less chaotic. Also, Vacations still feel more ideal for just relaxing, either alone or with friends and family. Getaways are more ideal for focused skill-building and friend-forming.
You do get rewarded for doing Getaways, so they are worth it.
Formative Moments
Formative Moments is a personal favorite new addition with The Sims 4 Adventure Awaits. These are exclusive to Child Sims, and work a bit like Soul’s Journey goals. Child Sims randomly have a selection of up to 5 Formative Moments presented to them – or you can start a Formative Moment challenge by interacting with certain objects in the world. The best part is challenges are completely optional, can be canceled anytime, and you can do more than one at a time.
In these challenges, you have to complete all the tasks to earn special perks. These can help your Sims develop even into adulthood. Formative Moments can affect their future skill-building, careers, and interacting with others. Not only are Formative Moments useful, they’re also fun (and sometimes healthily challenging) to complete. It certainly gives you something new to do with kids other than working on their Aspirations, building up their skills, and helping them at school.
Formative Moments are just for young Sims, but they are fun, challenging, and rewarding.
Imaginary Friends
After all the hassle with Imaginary Friends in The Sims 3 Generations, there was scepticism about how they would work out in The Sims 4 Adventure Awaits. If you have similar concerns, rest easy: Imaginary Friends are an excellent feature in The Sims 4!
First off, Imaginary Friends are totally optional. They’re not forced on you, you don’t receive them as an unwanted gift, and they’re not a pain to deal with.
How Imaginary Friends Work in Adventure Awaits
You get four different designs of Imaginary Friends, and further still, you can assign their personality, in which there are four to choose from. Once you’re happy with your choice, you can transform the doll into an Imaginary Friend! These work as NPC Sims who you can interact and play with. This is especially useful if young Sims don’t have any friends or their Social Need is low. They’re also handy for suggesting activities to do. After a while, they’ll automatically return to Imaginary Land, but you can summon them back anytime.
If you befriend an Imaginary Friend enough, once you age up into a Teenager, you can turn the Imaginary Friend into a real Sim, turning them into a Teenager that is added onto your household, where you’re free to control them fully. On the other end of the scale, if you’ve had enough of your Imaginary Friend, you can let them go for good.
Imaginary Friends are a great addition, rather than a nuisance.
New Skills in Archery, Papercrafting, and More
Adventure Awaits adds several new Skills, including Archery, Papercrafting, Entomology, and Diving. Entomology is useful if you’re interested in raising caterpillars into butterflies, or want to further expand on the Butterflies and Moths Collection. Diving’s also good if you want your Sim to improve at this activity. The best new skills though are Archery and Papercrafting.
Sims can practice Archery at the new target practice range, unlocking new bows and even special objects. You can also take part in archery competitions, which happens most days in Gibbi Point. Even after mastering Archery though, winning this contest isn’t guaranteed, which is a bit frustrating, although the prize for winning first, or even just the top three, is worth the effort.
Papercrafting is a fun and creative activity in Adventure Awaits. As you level up this skill, you unlock new creations, colors, and designs, making progression well worth it and even addictive.
Papercrafting is fun, creative, and even addictive.
Adventure Quests in Gibbi Point
If you’re looking for more to do in Gibbi Point, or want to learn more about this world, or you just like going on adventures and completing quests, Gibbi Point has you covered there. There are several optional side quests you can complete, a bit like Errands. You won’t earn much money from doing them, but it’s more the tasks themselves and the lore you learn that’s rewarding.
There’s also a cool feature with the adventure quests. As you complete the three main Gibbi Point quests, you can update a mural in one of the neighborhoods, which is a nice touch.
Park Worker Career
There’s also the new Park Worker Career. Admittedly, this was a bit of a disappointment. It did initially sound very appealing, but there are a few downsides. You only work Fridays to Sundays, and you are away the whole weekend. It doesn’t take much effort to fulfil the daily work task for promotion, and it’s not always guaranteed after a long shift at work, meaning you’ll have to wait several days before trying again.
You also have to keep an eye on your Sim while they’re away at work, still managing their Needs. You are given a host of options that may help with performance boost and need tending. Unfortunately, the Park Worker Career is full-time but not active, which was a hugely missed opportunity.
Park Worker should have been more hands-on, not another rabbithole career.
Graphics & Audio – Adventurous New Items
The Sims 4 Adventure Awaits includes a host of new Create-A-Sim items and Build Mode objects. These all suit the outdoorsy theme of the pack perfectly. You can find fitting outdoor attire for your exploits in Gibbi Point. The expansive inclusion of new fitness-themed clothing is definitely a welcome bonus. The new objects are great, too, fitting the new world and gameplay.
There is also some new music to listen out for with Adventure Awaits, both in different game modes and the in-game radio. From the few tunes that have been heard, they’re good to listen to and fit the theme of the Expansion well.
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- There’s new pool stuff, such as diving boards and water slides.
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- Kayaking is a relaxing activity.
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- The new Create-A-Sim items are vibrant, stylish, and practical.
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- The new Collection is fun to work on and not ridiculously challenging.
The Sims 4 Adventure Awaits Expansion Pack was reviewed on PC.
