The Sims 4: Cottage Living - A New Expansion Pack

As I watched the trailer for The Sims 4's latest expansion pack, Cottage Living, I couldn't help but feel a sense of nostalgia wash over me. The pack promises to bring a new level of authenticity to the series' rural setting, with players able to raise chickens and can vegetables in a virtual English countryside. For this cynical Sim fan, it was a welcome respite from the usual fantasy-focused expansions that have come before.

Upon launching the pack, I was immediately drawn into the world of Henford-on-Bagley, a quaint little village nestled into rolling green hills with drystone fences dotting the landscape. The architecture is unique and pleasant, reminiscent of a Cornetto Trilogy movie. My initial instinct was to jump straight into re-purposing some old Sims with new clothing, hair, and accessories on offer, as I always do with new content. While there's plenty for adult Sims to enjoy, unfortunately, there's very little for youngins.

The Cottage Living pack is all about managing a small ranch and partaking in some Dr. Dolittle roleplay. Players can raise livestock, grow crops, and talk to animals in plain Simlish so they become your allies and happily do your bidding. I must admit, chickens are my jam, and the way it works in this pack is spot on. You simply buy a coop and order some birds - either chicks or fully-grown - and then care for them as hands-on or hands-off as you like. Chickens generally don't need much beyond food, shelter, and basic hygiene, but you do have the option to get pretty close to them by socializing and befriending each individual bird.

One of the standout features of the pack is the ability to name, talk to, play with, take them around in your pockets, and even enter chickens in local fairs and win sweet prizes. I've had my fair share of experience with raising poultry, one of my Golden Polishes actually won best in show for its breed at a fair in the '90s. It's a minor detail, but this is an especially nostalgic addition that I approve of.

Of course, gathering up eggs is a big part of raising poultry too, and those can be used either as ingredients in recipes or sold to a vendor in-town. You can't eat the chickens themselves, or any of the other animals, unfortunately. Free-range chickens are totally available, but when it comes to larger livestock, forget it. Cows and llamas, on the other hand, are forever restricted to living inside their sheds.

Despite the restrictions on these bovine sprites straight out of Doom II, cows and llamas do bring a level of authenticity to the pack. Cows can naturally be milked for milk with a milk bucket, and the type of milk you get depends on the cow's comfort level. Brushing them, keeping their stall clean, and socializing with them keeps them happy and productive. If you're feeling extra generous, you can even go cow tipping - although I'm not sure how that one would translate to real life.

The pack also introduces new animals, including rabbits and wild birds, which spawn at specific locations and come with their own gift preferences and skills. You can't befriend individual birds, but once a sim befriends a flock, you can have them chase insects away from crops instead of relying on bug sprays. It's a small detail, but it adds to the overall sense of realism in the pack.

Finally, there are cows and llamas, with llamas being notable since they've been the Maxis mascot since the early 90s, going back to SimFarm and SimCity 2000. While both animals act like actual livestock rather than Disney cartoon characters, don't expect them to bring you gifts, sing songs, or clean the house for you. They're plain old livestock purchased at animal sheds, with only a small preset area where either a llama or a cow can live in each stall.

Overall, The Sims 4: Cottage Living is a fantasy expansion that's still a fantasy expansion, even when it's not one. It's a welcome addition to the series and a great opportunity for players to experience rural life in a whole new way.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enHmm, The Sims 4 is still a thing huh?Let’s see, have I missed anything groundbreaking...Bust the Dust kit?No.Dream Home Decorator?Nah.Country Kitchen kit, no.Courtyard Oasis, nope.Throwback Fit, uh-uh.Paranormal Stuff.Not for me.Star Wars: Journey to Disneyland Advertising,oh c’mon are you kidding?Oh okay, a full new expansion pack, finally.So yeah, The Sims 4 Cottage Living is a thing.A thing that happens to be TS4 expansion packnumber eleven, which now ties The Sims 3 fortotal number of expansions.A record that no doubt will be broken withina year, because EA has no chill.Still, despite my cynical view of the companyitself and a lack of interest in the gamein general anymore, I still catch trailersfor new stuff they’re trying to sell.And this $40 Cottagecore pack didn’t lookawful judging by the teasers.A pack where you’re raising chickens andcanning veggies in a virtual English countryside?Sure, why not, let’s do this!The Sims 4 Cottage Cheese kicks off with anew world to explore: Henford-on-Bagley.A quaint little village nestledinto rolling green hillswith drystone fences dotting the landscape.Pleasant, comfy, unique regional architecture.Looks like the setting of aCornetto Trilogy movie.Noice.I quickly went through my usual routine ofre-purposing the same sims I always do withsome of the new clothing, hair, and accessorieson offer.As usual there’s plenty for adult sims andvery little for youngins, and overall it’sinoffensive decent-looking apparel tailoredto the pack’s theme.There’s a couple new traits as well: animalenthusiast and lactose intolerant.And a new aspiration: country caretaker.Naturally these tie in directly to the corecottage gameplay going on here, which revolvesaround managing a small ranch and partakingin some Dr. Dolittle roleplay.Y’know, raising livestock, growing crops,and talking to animals in plain Simlish sothey become your allies and happily do yourbidding.Totally normal stuff in the UK from what Igather.On that note, the main thing that drew meto this pack were the chickens,cuz chickens are fun.I raised hens and roosters myself for years,and honestly I still would if I had the option.And in this pack, the way it works is yousimply buy a coop and order some birds,either chicks or fully-grown.And then care for them ashands-on or hands-off as you like.Chickens generally don’t need much beyondfood, shelter, and basic hygiene.But you do have the option to get pretty closeto them too,by socializing and befriending each individual bird.You can name them, talk to them, play withthem, take them around in your pockets andwander around town with them.You can even enter chickens in local fairsand win sweet prizes.Something I also have experience with, oneof my Golden Polishes actually won best inshow for its breed at a fair in the ‘90s.So yeah, it’s minor, but this is an especiallynostalgic addition and I approve.Of course, gathering up eggs is a big partof raising poultry too, and those can be usedeither as ingredients in recipes or sold toa vendor in-town.You can’t eat the chickens themselves bythe way, or any of the other animals.Although you can “trade them for meat,”which in a way equates to the same thing?Kind of?You can also have them reproduce by lookingout for hatchable fertilized eggs, providingyou’ve got an open coop slot.Heh, and I sure do wish an 8-bird coop wasas easy to clean in real life as it is here,where you just pick up a small bag of trashand that’s it.No wiry scrub brushes, garden hoses, or smellsof warm droppings here.Chickens are gross.And quite free-spirited, the birds often wanderoff on their own and roam around the lot.So keep an eye on them if you’ve got foxesaround, and chances are you will, especiallyon lots where they’re more likely to spawn.It should be noted these wild foxes are alsodistinct from the “fox” dog breed inCats & Dogs, being much more fox-like than thatpack’s weird dog-fox variants.And no matter what they say, foxes are delightedto kill smaller animals on your ranch, andthey��ll even sneak in and steal eggs ifgiven the chance.Unless you can chase them off or repel themin some way, or convince each fox not to stealby talking to it long enough to reason withthem.Some... how.Yeah with or without the animal enthusiasttrait, sims can converse with all the newanimals and even form somewhat complex relationships.Like to the point where animals eventuallybring your sims daily giftsand provide services to your ranch.The rabbits for instance, they spawn at theserabbit hole stumps and typically hop aroundjust bein’ bunnies.But if you talk to one enough and exchangethe right gifts according to their preferences,they’ll eventually join your staff as unpaidinterns, keeping weeds out of your gardensby eating them.Same goes for wild birds, which spawn at theirown tree stump thing and come with their owngift preferences and skills.You can’t befriend individual birds, butonce a sim befriends a flock, you can havethem chase insects away from crops insteadof relying on bug sprays.Ah The Sims 4: even when it’s not a fantasyexpansion, it’s still a fantasy expansion.Finally, there are cows and llamas, with llamasin particular being notable since they’vebeen the Maxis mascot since the early 90s,going back to SimFarm and SimCity 2000.And yeah, both llamas and cows are a littlemore grounded, in terms acting like actualanimals and not Disney cartoon characters.Don’t expect them to bring you gifts, singsongs, or clean the house or whatever.They’re plain old livestock purchased atanimal sheds, with only a small preset areawhere either a llama or a cow can live ineach stall.You can’t have more than one in a stalland they can’t wander outside,so that’s unfortunate.Free range chickens, totally, but when itcomes to larger livestock forget it.Other than these bovine sprites straight outtaDoom II, cows and llamas are forever restrictedto living inside their sheds.At least it’s also a woohoo location, becauseof course it is.Nothing like a little after-hours plowing.And sims aren’t the only ones getting milkedin the barnyard.Cows can naturally be milked for milk witha milk bucket, and the type of milk you getdepends on the cow’s comfort level.Brushing them, keeping their stall clean,and socializing with them keeps them happy and productive.And if you’re feeling extra generous youcan go cow tipping.Hunhh, get it?Cow \"tipping,\" nyeh-heh.Affecting livestock even more directly isthe food you give them,or more specifically, the treats.Animal treats are things sims can now buyor bake that work like magic potions.Some of them accomplish generic stuff likefilling their needs, increasing lifespans,or upping relationship levels.Other treats do things like flavor cow’smilk with chocolate or strawberry,or make them produce plant... milk.Uh-huh.So wait, if cows can produce plant milk thenwhat do cow plants -- y’know whatever,I don’t wanna know.And with llamas, well they produce wool.So treats can change their color and makethem grow specialized wool.That can then be either sold, like everythingelse, or used as crafting material for knittingwith the knitting pack, or with the new cross-stitchhoops.Cross-stitching is a minor 5-level skill wheresims can choose from a selectionof pre-made patterns at first.And eventually Stitch By Reference, wheresims can craft unique patterns from a screenshot.A welcome addition indeed.As is the new canning feature, functioningthe same as other recipes, just with moretwine and mason jars.If a sim has the right ingredients, they cancan cans, making for a well-preserved snackto munch on later or sell for a tasty profit.Truthfully I’m just glad canning doesn’trequire yet another stupidly oversized pieceof machinery like half theother side activities do.So uh, let’s see, what else is here.I guess picnic baskets are a thing again,returning from The Sims 3 and functioningbasically like glorified lunch bags from theParenthood pack.Older sims can now teach child sims to cook,which is pretty cute and whatnot.Making meals in general has been expandedwith group cooking options, along with a fittingassortment of traditionally English dishes.You can also order groceries and have themsent to your sims homes, and that’s radsince there’s now a greater emphasis onfresh ingredients,especially with the Simple Living lot challenge.There are also specialized NPC sims wanderingaround town which act as quest-givers, distinctlycalled “residents” instead of “townies.”So like, the Crumplebottom ladies for instance,they’ve got a buncha rewards to hand outif you spend your time running errands forthem.As if you didn’t already have enough 24/7busywork with your ranch.Oh and yeah, growing stuff, obviously that’sbeen expanded on a bit.Including a handful of new crops that growin dedicated squares of soil.But while it’s neat that you can now growgiant pumpkins, watermelons, lettuce, andeggplants using copious fertilizer?I didn’t find it any more engaging thanthe existing gardening options.Tedious, sure, but not engaging.Properly maintaining your ranch is understandablytime-consuming, especially when you take intoaccount all the animals’ daily needs.But if you were looking for an in-depth farmingexpansion, this ain’t it.I’d actually recommend checking out theFarmland mod pack instead, which adds a ridiculouslyimpressive amount of new content for a freedownload, including plenty of features I’vewished were included in The Sims for years.And lastly, there are two lonely new chairs.Unless you count a stool, a mushroom, anda bale of hay,and in that case there’s a grand total of five.So yeah, that’s the Cottage Living pack.In terms of content and new gameplay it’sreally not half bad.But I mean, it costs 40 dadgum dollars, man.It is admittedly quite charming at times andit easily keeps your sims busy as ballswith caring for crops and critters.And I love chickens dude, but c’mon.This is the 11th forty dollar packfor a game from 2014.If you’ve seen my reviews before then youknow my stance.I cannot and do not recommend paying fullprice for any of these packs.As is tradition, it feels like this one should’veeither cost less upfront and been labeleda game pack, or included more substantialgameplay additionsif it’s gonna be a full-on $40 expansion.And that’s what it comes down to.I may be amused by the chickens, but the priceis somewhat foul.And if you enjoyed this pack review, sweet!I don’t plan on covering many more of themat this point, and instead I’ll only dothe full expansion packs when it comes toThe Sims 4.I couldn’t care less about all the otherstuff EA is dumping out in between.That said, I do plenty of other videos weeklyhere on LGR,so check those out if you’d like.And thank you very much for watching!\n"