Video games don't always have to lift us entirely out of reality and place us in a fantasy world or on a distant planet. Sometimes we just want the ability to watch a virtual life play out in front of us while we sit at the helm, hence the ongoing popularity of The Sims more than 20 years after it first launched. The Sims isn't always exactly like real life, though. Sometimes you can be wiped out by a tiny meteor heading right for you.Yes, that could technically happen to you in real life too. However, thanks to a free update that is now live in The Sims 4 (thanks, NME) the likelihood of being struck down by a space rock has become far more likely. Fear not, as there will be plenty of warning before your Sim is hit by a meteor. For starters, it can only happen when you're using the game's new tiny telescope.You will also get a warning ahead of time when the meteor is incoming, presumably because your Sim spied it through their new telescope. You'll then have enough time to get your Sim inside before they get hit. No, this isn't a meteor update that will lead to a cataclysmic event that wipes out your entire neighborhood, although that sort of simulated chaos probably sounds like a lot of fun to some of you Sims players reading this.
If you happen to go and grab a drink while your Sim is stargazing, or you're simply interested to see what happens to them should they not move out of the way in time, the worst will happen. Your Sim will be struck down and killed by the meteor, turning them into a ghost. Their ghost will stand out from all the others haunting your game though, as they will have a glowing meteor embedded in their chest.
Sims players have been discovering the strangest and most gruesome ways for their Sims to kick the bucket ever since the series debuted. Meterorite deaths were actually a feature in The Sims 3, but this marks their debut in this latest installment. This week also marks the arrival of The Sims 4's Werewolves update, and last month the game's pronouns update split its player base.