The Sims 4: Island Living review

Who doesn’t dream of living an idyllic tropical lifestyle? The latest version of this popular game is surprisingly addictive.

Water-loving sims will particularly enjoy being able to go snorkelling and scuba diving.

I have to admit I’m a closet Sims 4 fan.

Running my very own virtual Truman Show is a lot of fun, with my cast of sims (virtual people) going about their lives blissfully unaware that my (mostly) benevolent mouse cursor is controlling most aspects of their digital lives.

Developer Maxis and publisher EA have just released the latest expansion for the base Sims 4 game, and you can feel the tropical vibes with Island Living.

As the name suggests, this expansion has a very strong tropical pacific island theme and gives your sims the chance to live and work in the tropics, adding the new location of Sulani, a Hawaiian-inspired archipelago

Sun, sand and good times in the tropics are the focus of the Island Living expansion of Sims 4.

It’s a bit different to the recent Jungle Adventure expansion in that the emphasis is basically on having a good time in the sun.

As well as a range of island-themed furniture (if you’ve ever been anywhere near a Balinese or Polynesian-themed resort you’ll know the sort of thing to expect), there’s also tropical clothing and some new career options and activities, including becoming a scuba diving instructor, a lifeguard or a marine biologist.

“Along with beach activities and careers, Sulani boasts a fascinating island culture for Sims to experience and interact with, complete with local folklore, tropical delicacies and ancestors from the island. Sims can rock the island vibes dressed in tropical clothing, all while decorating their rustic oasis or unwinding at the tiki bar,” according to the press kit, and it’s all definitely there to experience.

Your sims can take part in cultural activities such as cooking a barbecue-pit meal and enjoying the island lifestyle.

While the cosmetics are a nice touch, there is more to the expansion, including unique aspects for native Sulani sims — notably, they have to stay in touch with their culture by undertaking traditional activities (such as drinking kava, or eating barbecue pit-cooked food) as well as mermaids to look for/interact with and conservation activities to undertake.

Native Sulani islanders can also talk to the island’s spirits, who appear as ghostly sims and can be interacted with — it’s also mildly amusing to see these spirits playing with mobile phones, just as your regular sims do.

This isn’t a recommended first expansion — for that, I’d suggest City Living — but if you’ve got a few of the other add-ons for the game, then the tropical theme is a nice addition to the Sims world and definitely adds new opportunities and experiences.

The setting is also a great holiday destination for your sims living elsewhere in the game world.

I’ve certainly found myself spending quite a bit of time with it, even though it doesn’t add as much to the base game as some of the other expansions that have already been released.

Still, who doesn’t dream of living an idyllic tropical lifestyle? If you’ve wanted to take your virtual people to somewhere with palm trees, lagoons and cocktails served in coconuts, this is the Sims 4 expansion to do it with.

The Sulani islands have plenty to see, do and experience.

Royce Wilson writes about games and technology for news.com.au; continue the conversation on Twitter @RoyceWilsonAU

Originally published as The Sims 4: Island Living review