The Sims 4's Star Wars expansion is out now
It's life, Jim, but not as we know it
Captain's log, stardate 74156.3. We've encountered an entity calling itself 'Electronic Arts', which demonstrates godlike powers and treats human lives as pawns in a game for its own twisted enjoyment. It tells us we are its latest toys, and our homes, our heroes, and our decor shall join the fantasy it calls The Sims 4, declaring our imprisonment to be a 'game pack' named Star Wars: Journey To Batuu. Worse yet, the entity claims that our very lives are not real, that we're mere props from an attraction at Universal Studios, a theme park in 20th century Earth. From how enthusiastically it stokes fires in our kitchens and sabotages our electrical appliances, I fear we may prosper but not live long.
The Sims 4 Star Wars: Journey To Batuu boldly goes to an outpost on Batuu, a popular holiday planet for Federation officers seeking a walk on the wild side. There, you can flirt with fascism for funsies, join a rebellion, or just hang out being a scoundrel (the Riker approach). You can befriend famous folks like Rey Palpatine Skywalker and Kylo Ren, though you can't really Riker it up with them - unless you use cheats. You can even build your own laser sword, which I imagine will be useful for any Vulcan pon farr ritual combat. Then you get to bring keepsakes home with new items and character customisation doodads.
The Sims 4 Star Wars: Journey To Batuu is available now on Steam and Origin for £18/€20/$20. The Origin page details all the Create-A-Sim and Build Mode items in the pack. It's also on Xbone and PS4.
The Sims veering into Star Wars is not what anyone expected, and not what many fans desired. This combined with other concerns and boiled over, leading EA to make a statement acknowledging discontent. They noted that yes, "cars, babies, farms and bunk beds" are requested frequently and tried to defuse future disappointment by saying no, they're not in the next expansion either. They noted that sometimes there is "foundational technology we need to work through" before they can add certain big new features. And yup, they said they have plans for representation beyond the improved skin tones coming later this year.