The Sims team has just released a trailer for the upcoming Sims 4 game pack, Realm of Magic. This much-anticipated content will see magic finally added back into the franchise.
The Sims first introduced magic back in the original game with the Makin’ Magic expansion pack. The Sims 2 featured witches as a life state in Apartment Life, while The Sims 3 went one step further with the Supernatural expansion pack.
In The Sims 4, the team has chosen to focus on individual occult life states through game packs, rather than combining them in an expansion. We’ve already seen vampires and now Realm of Magic brings us spellcasters.
While the pack isn’t due to be released until September 10, (October 15 on console) we’ve already got a lot of information from both the trailer and some SimGuru’s who took to Twitter to answer fans questions.
Here’s what we know so far.
10 There Will Be 2 New Worlds
The pack is set to bring 2 new worlds, Glimmerbook, and the Magic Realm. Glimmerbrook is said to be equivalent to Forgotten Hollow and will include 5 residential lots, while the Magic Realm contains 1 lot, which is only editable with cheats.
Glimmerbrook functions like a normal residential area and there are 2 households living there, a couple and a family. Both households are spellcasters. The world will also have a blank lot, a starter home and a venue.
According to the SimGurus, the areas have a custom day and night cycle, and Glimmerbrook has a full complement of seasons.
9 Spellcasters Are A New Life State
Spellcasters are a new occult life state, the first to have only one form. You can create them in CAS, using either the new stories function or the traditional interface. Alternatively, your existing Sims can seek out one of the 3 Sages and ask them for a right of ascension. This will allow them to transform into a spellcaster.
Children can be spellcasters and there is a new magical bloodline trait that will ensure they come into their powers as a teenager. Child spellcasters cannot cast spells but there is “some stuff for them to do.”
8 Spellcasters Will Have Progression
Spellcasters are said to work like vampires, in that they will have a progression or skill tree to work through. The tree has been described as “very similar to vampires, plus some.”
While they won’t have weaknesses, they will have curses. These will kick in if a spell goes wrong. Don’t worry though, there will be ways to dispell them.
Spellcasters will also have a spellbook in which they can log the spells and potions which they’ve learned. It appears that all magic has to be discovered and learnt, although the exact details are not yet known.
7 There Are Many Spells And Potions
SimGuru Romeo stated that there will be more spells and potions in Realm of Magic than in any previous Sims game. We can expect 24 different spells, 15 types of potion and several curses. Only spellcasters will be able to make potions but all sims will be able to cook on the new cauldrons.
Spells include a “copypasto” spell, which copies things, and an “inferniate” spell, which burns things. Just be wary, as too much wayward spellcasting can apparently bring Grim to your door.
6 Magic Doesn’t Leak Into The Regular World
As in much of pop culture, magic is supposed to be a secret from the normal world. As such spellcasters will only freely cast spells within the magic realm itself. The realm will be accessible via the portal in Glimmerbrook or by using either a spell or the glimmerstone which spellcasters possess.
Your sims will be able to cast spells in any world but other inhabitants may not take kindly to them, so you may need to cast with caution.
5 You Can Have Familiars
For those with Cats and Dogs, your pets can become your familiars. There will also be a range of other purchasable familiars including crows, owls, fairies, a bubulas and even a phoenix.
Familiars are said to help your sim conserve magical energy. They are also protectors, who aren’t afraid of death.
You can have as many familiars as you wish but only 1 can be summoned at once. All none pet familiars will follow you around in a similar way to the Get Famous drone and do not have needs.
4 There Are Different Styles Of Magic
Spellcasters will be able to choose from 4 different styles of magic. These are said to be practical, mischief, alchemy, and the terrifying sounding untamed.
Players will be able to choose one style to specialize in or choose to invoke a broader range of spellcasting skills. There are also 2 new aspirations linked to the paths, 1 which is alchemy and potion related and another which is spellcasting related. Once you’ve mastered magic you'll also be able to test your skills in magical duels.
3 You Can Own A Magical Store
Spellcasters will be customizable and you'll be able to choose wands, brooms and familiars. There will also be different accessories for your spellcaster.
For those who own Get To Work, you'll be able to create a store selling magical items. To help with this there is a wand display case and you will be able to hang brooms on your walls.
From what we can tell, all magical items will be able to be marked for sale in a store, making those Harry Potter dreams one step closer to reality.
2 There Are New Collectibles
The trailer also showed us a new area, which has been confirmed as a place to collect ingredients for potions. These include 2 new types of plant, valerian root and mandrake root.
For those will a pet as a familiar you’ll be able to send them out to find magical items for you, likely as a variation of the existing foraging interaction. A pet that is a familiar will also gain a unique sparkle effect.
1 You Can Fly Everywhere
Brooms will allow sims to fly everywhere. There are said to be a variety of brooms but it’s unclear if some are better than others.
Once a spellcaster owns a broom they'll be able to click the item and set it as a preferred method of travel. This means that you will be able to fly everywhere, something which is bizarrely said to be a benefit to residents of Sulani.
It’s currently unclear if flying is a skill, with more grace being shown as you practice but this would be a nice addition.