The highly anticipated gameplay trailer for The Sims 4 Snowy Escape dropped today, providing us with lots more information about all the features briefly seen in the initial reveal trailer. Below, we’ve compiled a list of some of our favourite features we spotted in the trailer, both confirmed and speculative.
Festivals
In the trailer, we can see Sims enjoying some festivities going on in Mt. Komorebi. Festivals are a confirmed new feature discussed in the official blog post. Festivals were initially introduced with City Living but many players have been asking for more variety when it comes to the festivals. The City Living festivals have become a bit repetitive over the past four years, so it will be refreshing to see some new ones.
Cave Exploration?
Cave exploration is not a confirmed feature, but in the trailer, we can definitely see some Sim-sized openings in the mountains and one Sim bravely venturing forth into one of these dark caverns. Sims Online has reported that these spots are in fact WooHoo locations, but we’d be quite surprised if that was their only purpose.
Hiking
Hiking appears to be more interactive than we previously anticipated! We can see Sims actually taking a walk in a group together in the nature of Mt. Komorebi and the narrator talks about hiking being a new activity. In the past, modders have added hiking activities to the game; however, these excursions had Sims disappear off the lot in a rabbithole for a period of time. It seems like we’ll be able to follow our Sims through these hiking trails which is great news!
New Greetings
It’s not surprising to see two Sims bowing to each other in a Japan-inspired pack. Bowing is a common greeting in Japan and is a sign of mutual respect between two people, so it’s nice to see that social custom in the game, as well. It’s both a fun and respectful new way to interact with other Sims.
Bare Feet Indoors
One feature some players noticed from the reveal trailer was Sims being in socks or bare foot indoors. The gameplay trailer features this more prominently. Most people take their shoes off when they enter someone’s home, so it always struck us as odd that our Sims were always walking around the house in their footwear to begin with, but removing one’s shoes before entering a building has even more significance in Japanese culture, so we’re happy to see this small but important detail come to the game.
New Disposal Bins
We couldn’t help but spot some new disposal bins outside a home in one shot of the trailer. Eco Lifestyle was primarily focused on living green and being more aware of how we dispose of everyday items, but these new colour-coded bins seem to hint at proper waste disposal being implemented somehow in Snowy Escape as well. It also looks like the bins are part of the editable lot and not just set dressing in the common space.
Customizable Platforms
Another confirmed feature coming to the game is customizable platforms! These new platforms can be resized, stacked on top of each other, and have varying degrees of height to open up a whole new way to build! This will be useful not only for recreating integral aspects of Japanese design, but also for all kinds of advanced architectural techniques seen in many types of modern homes around the world.
Floor Seating
Some new floor seating and low dining tables are a perfect compliment to the Japanese architecture and interior design featured in this pack. This will surely make for some warm and inviting family dinners or gatherings among close friends.
Lifestyles
We catch a glimpse of one of Snowy Escape‘s most anticipated new features; Lifestyles! As our Sims embark on new adventures and take up new hobbies and activities, they have the potential to pick up a new Lifestyle surrounding their interests. This gives us all types of The Sims 2 Freetime vibes and honestly? We’re living for it!
School Uniforms
What looks to be a group of teenagers attending school in Mt. Komorebi are wearing some traditional Japanese school uniforms! Personally, the lack of school uniforms was something this author has always been bothered by. I attended a high school that had uniforms somewhat similar to the ones depicted in this trailer and have always mixed and matched different clothing pieces to recreate school uniforms for my younger Sims. It is so exciting to see proper school uniforms in the game! Could this also be a hint for more teen-focused gameplay in the future? Hmmm…
Koi Fountains
We can see koi fish swimming around in shallow waters in the gameplay trailer, which is a feature confirmed in the official blog post. We will be able to add koi fish to our decorative fountains in Snowy Escape, making our outdoor spaces feel much more alive with the beauty and grace of nature!
Zen Skill?
There has been a lot of talk about “finding your zen” in the trailers and blog post for Snowy Escape, and the narrator talks about being able to tune out distractions in order to control emotions better. We’re still not entirely sure how this zen aspect is going to function in-game, but this definitely looks like new gameplay we will be able to explore, whether through a skill or some other type of practice.
Respectful Tourism
The narrator talks a lot about being respectful towards Mt. Komorebi’s culture; keeping selfies to a minimum in order to fully experience everything the world has to offer and to be mindful of the rules in place while visiting the bath houses. It makes us wonder if our Sims will be able to go the opposite route and get up to some tourist mischief in Mt. Komorebi? Maybe we’re reaching a little too much here, so we’ll just have to wait and see.
What was your favourite part of the gameplay trailer? Let us know in the comments or come chat with us on social media!
The Sims 4 Snowy Escape comes to PC, Mac, PS4, and Xbox One on November 13th, 2020.
Missed the trailer? No problem! You can watch it right here!
