Tick tock, what’s behind the clock?! With the new The Sims 4 Royalty & Legacy expansion pack comes an interesting new gameplay object with a whole spectrum of opportunity to go with it… secret passageways!

As much as some Simmers might love the idea of actual underground passageways to travel along, others don’t want to deal with how long it would take the Sim to walk down into the tunnel and across the map just to be greeted by a loading screen to slowly and painfully go into the next lot anyway. So as much as snooping around tunnels may have been fun, this is sadly a rabbit hole/a way to travel between lots… or maybe not sadly as it still brings some fun gameplay!

Our beautiful model for todays article is Her Majesty Whatshername made by Puddlef00t and of course her royal highness Princess Cordelia with a guest appearance by Bella Goth!

What is a secret passageway?

Well, what is a Sims 4 secret passageway you might ask? Secret Passageways are a new build/buy and gameplay hybrid system designed for castles, palaces and legacy homes, but they can be used pretty much anywhere. It is an object with more uses than meets the eye, subtly (or not so by the sheer size) in the form of a grand father clock with a variety of beautiful and fabulous colors.

Not just a bookcase door like we have seen before (though the bookcase doors could lead into a some-what secret room which could be locked…), but a proper hidden passageway to another area in your Sims world. This brings proper castle intrigue, hidden corridors and scandal-filled storytelling to your fingertips and lets you play out some rather fun scenarios.

If The Sims 4: Royalty & Legacy expansion becomes part of your game, it delivers the most advanced hidden architecture system The Sims 4 has ever seen. These are not just decorative doors, they are a fully integrated gameplay mechanic tied to secrets, scandals and royal intrigue. For the first time, Sims don’t just walk through hidden doors – they use secret routes for gameplay reasons and vanish into the unknown to discover a world of possibilities. This is next level secret trees, werewolf tunnels and overgrown jungles.

But how does it work?

Secret passages function as a hidden routing network, you may not be able to see it but I promise it is there. Once your Sim has discovered more than one secret passageway they may travel between them, much like going from lot to lot. The only difference here is that it is linked directly to an area, room, or lot where the opposite secret passageway resides. Think Sylvan Glade and Forgotten Grotto vibes, how going through a tree or mine shaft brings you out to a secret lot, only the lots you come out onto are made or placed entirely by you opening up a world of storytelling.

First up is to “inspect clock” on any of the very large, very intimidating grand father clocks that can be found on any particular lot of your (or Maxis) choosing. Currently in game there are about 6 for your Sims to find and ‘unlock’ in the world of Ondarion.

Unlocking the passageways

To use The Sims 4 secret passageways your Sim needs to follow the next prompt that appears after inspecting the clock – “explore secret passageway“. It really is, unfortunately, as simple as that. First inspect then explore. No pop up menus on which way your Sim should go or what path your Sim should follow, like in The Sims 4: Jungle Adventure. Simply ‘explore’ and off they go. The animation is somewhat fun, your Sim um’s and ah’s around the clock before pressing onto two hidden panels and voila – the doors open! Then off they sneak into the unknown.

It is not hard to unlock, it isn’t even remotely difficult. In my opinion this is unfortunate, and a missed opportunity in terms of making players work a bit more or try figure out some kind of puzzle before moving ahead. But either way, here we are, any old Sim could use a secret passageway whenever they like if they find it (and with it being such a large object it’s not hard to miss).

Using the passageways

To use the passageways as a form of transporting your Sims from one particular point to another, your Sim needs to find two points in order to travel between them. Found more than one grandfather clock – ire. a destination point? Your Sim can choose where to travel to when clicking on the clock and selecting “travel to“. Even if the two clocks are on the same lot! Think about that for a second and let it sink in… same lot… same prison/tower/secret room…

Using the passageways for secrets or other things is as simple as going exploring, there is no secret formula, there are no prompts to follow, just go explore the secret passageways. You simply enter and hope for the best on your travels if you are looking for anything in particular, some juicy news about your neighbor pehaps?

Be careful of exploring too many times as your Sim will become dazed after too many attempts at finding all those hidden secrets.

What you may discover

Secret passageways tie directly into the new secrets and scandals gameplay system that comes with The Sims 4: Royalty & Legacy expansion pack. Using these ‘hidden’ passageways your Sims may discover a very steamy yet very secretive romance amongst your neighbors. Hidden heirs might be hiding out in plain, or not so plain, sight. Of course there is always the blackmail element that comes with the new secrets & scandals system and maybe even some political conspiracies.

Beware the coocoo clock!

Being struck while repairing the clock is not just funny, it’s fatal! It may be a darkly comedic nod to aristocratic mansion accidents, but also a very entertaining interaction to witness. Your Sim will try their hardest to dodge the coocoo clock bird but fail more than once until they are hit with the final blow. The minute your Sim attempts to fix/repair a sabotaged clock is the minute their fate is decided. No cancelling out unless it is queued up, no second guessing – your Sims final breath is sealed by a tiny electronic birds beak.

But what’s the point?

Well have you ever started a story line where there is a secret affair? Or perhaps a secret heir exists out there in the world that no one knows about. Hidden princesses in castles? Sounds like a Disney movie in the making… or some kind of horror film – you are the narrator, you tell us! As a fun side note, once the secret passageway has been discovered the door to one of the rooms can be deleted, making a secret room only accessible by the secret passageway. You see the potential right?!

Whether you want hidden lovers sneaking through corridors to secret hidden getaways, secret heirs tucked away in a far off neighborhood, or full-scale palace conspiracies that you have hiding up your sleeves, the secret passageway system adds a whole new layer of storytelling and gameplay.

Your Sims can also share the secret knowledge of finding secret passageways with other Sims by selecting the “gossip” option from the friendly social category and then “share secret passageway access“.

Ontop of all of that, your Sims can find some super random items along the way while they are out on their exploring adventures. From potions to parts, your Sims could come across some ‘treasures’ instead of secrets, but who are we kidding – we are here for the secrets!

Your Sims’ homes are no longer just houses, they could now be full blown houses full of secrets. No one wants their super secret, super hidden, room of treasures discovered! Your homes are now a connected system made up entirely of your wildest dreams, like tree roots snaking out into the world. Hide and seek for your neighbors to sniff out. So Simmers let your imaginations loose and let them run wild. A whole new adventure awaits, and we aren’t talking about the previous expansion!

And to top it all off?? This new grand father clock is also a new woohoo spot, as if we weren’t spoilt enough with just this one object being full of surprises. At this point we all know simmers love when the team adds new deaths AND woohoo spots! So this new grandfather clock is definitely a top tier item.

For more information about The Sims 4: Royalty & Legacy expansion pack have read through all of our other articles covering the latest pack, and let us know what fun things you have concocted with the new secret passageways in the comments below!