The Sims 4's latest expansion pack, Cottage Living, brings us Sims legend Agnes Crumplebottom, along with the beautiful world of Henford-on-Bagley where she now lives with her cousin Agatha. The rural location enables your Sims to head to the countryside and embark on a self-sufficient adventure; growing crops, raising animals, and embracing village life.
The focus of this pack is on everything that makes up rural life – from cleaning out cow sheds to participating in the village fair. The core gameplay is enhanced by a range of beautiful cottagecore furniture, stylish but practical clothing, and a number of new interactions.
Farming is something that many have been hoping would return to The Sims 4, and Cottage Living brings it in a new and unique way. The focus appears narrow at a glance but this pack is full of tiny touches that help flesh out the new world in a way that feels realistic. Take crops, for instance – growing food and being self-sufficient is an obvious focus for this theme, yet gardening already exists in the game. So, rather than just add more seeds, there is a new way to grow different food types instead. Four-square plots are available and these allow you to grow larger crops. Depending on how well you take care of them, and your gardening skill level, oversized crops grow as four small, two medium, or one large vegetable. These can then be sold, turned into preserves with the new canning skill, or entered into the village fair.
Related: The Sims 4 Cottage Living Preview: Cows And Llamas And Chickens, Oh My!
Animals are another new feature and while the choice of animals you can keep is limited to cows, chickens, and llamas, the depth of gameplay with regards to them makes up for it. You can purchase one cow or llama per animal shed, and up to eight chickens per coop. Once you have animals you can name them, feed them, clean them and befriend them. While you can’t own bunnies or birds, you can befriend various wild rabbits and birds and build homes for them on your lot, encouraging them to visit more frequently.
Over time, you’ll also learn how to craft treats for them that have different effects. While these features were expected, I didn’t anticipate the rogue foxes that can attack chickens, a wide range of pun-based dialogue, and the ability to show off animals at a fair, or sell them for meat. The more you play with animals the more you realize how much thought went into making this experience enjoyable. When milking cows or shearing llamas, your relationship and how well you care for them matters. If you mistreat your animals they’ll return the favor.
Other gameplay aspects in this pack dive deeper into village life. You can buy groceries and gardening items from the stalls in town, and every time you visit the village bar you’ll find familiar faces serving you drinks. However, if you can’t get into town, a friendly local Sim will deliver groceries straight to your door, perfect for the new lot challenge that only allows you to cook with fresh ingredients.
Related: The Sims 4 Cottage Living: How To Level The New Canning Skill
There is a clear aim to replicate small-town rural life and it plays out well. One especially nice feature is the errands system. This sees your Sim running some errands for villagers. The best part of this is that these tasks actually tell a story, offering more information about local Sims. They encourage you to explore the village, find out its secrets, and get to know its inhabitants. While there is only one aspiration, relating to animal care, the errands guide you through the pack content in a more meaningful way than simply ticking off tasks from a list.
Family gameplay has also been extended in an unexpected way, and much of this is also available through the free July update. Children can now join in with cooking and gardening and can interact with animals more deeply than you may expect. Watching my toddler interact with a chicken was adorable, although I didn’t expect the fox to sneak into the gate and upset her by fighting with her favorite chicken.
In terms of clothing, there’s a heavy skew towards adult feminine items, with them receiving the most options across all categories. However, for once there are also more than a handful of items for both children and toddlers. Accessories are lacking for all bar adult females, but most other categories have at least one item for each gender and life stage.
The focus in clothing is cute but practical. There are lots of floral prints, animal motifs, and aprons. You’ll also find rain boots, gardening gear, and a range of countryside staples such as cozy jumpers, padded gilets, and jeans.
For builders who love cottagecore this pack is a dream come true. There is a wide range of items including windows, doors, walls, and floors. You’ll also find new roof textures and decor, allowing you to build cottages with a more authentic feel. In terms of furniture, you’ll find a range of staples including a full kitchen with fridge and stove, dining table and chairs, seating, a bed, and some new storage options. There are also decor items that really add to the cottage feel.
Overall, this pack is more well-rounded than expected and includes a lot of details you’ll just keep finding. One of the reasons this overview took so long was because I kept finding new things just when I thought I was done. The true beauty of Cottage Living is in these details. It’s the dialogue options specific to Henford-On-Bagley residents, the return of Agnes Crumplebottom and her handbag, the snooty major judging the village fate to see who has the best pumpkins, and so much more. As someone who was brought up in rural England, this pack truly encapsulates so much of that village life experience, from the red phone boxes to the nosey neighbors. Just make sure to keep exploring, interacting, and discovering this new and beautiful world and you’ll keep finding new and unique interactions and abilities.
Next: The Sims 4 – A Complete Guide
