The Sims 4: Island Livingis the seventh expansion pack released forThe Sims 4franchise, and it brings the tropical paradise of Sulani to life. On July 04, 2025, players were given the opportunity to explore a variety of vast and diverse islands, as well as become a mermaid. With a variety of activities to choose from, such as ocean swimming, beach activities, meeting locals, and uncovering secrets of the islands, players will be getting the whole island experience.
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In general, this expansion pack ofThe Sims 4franchise can be compared toThe Sims 3: Island Paradise,given the similar core elements brought to the game, such as mermaids. It also bears some similarities toThe Sims: Vacation,The Sims 2: Bon Voyage, and evenThe Sims: Castaway Stories. This pack is one of the coziest inThe Sims 4, as its main focus is a relaxing beach life and does not offer much for other worlds. Regardless, it is perfect for those who are looking for a tranquil atmosphere with blue waters, coral reefs, and a peaceful lifestyle.
Sources for this article and its images includeEA.comandSimsCommunity.com.
Everything New In A Nutshell
Sulani
Sulani, the tropical paradise introduced withThe Sims 4Island LivingExpansion Pack, offers players an entirely new world to explore. From breathtaking beaches to coral reefs, Sulani promises to be a paradise for players to relax, explore, and create their own unique stories. The tropical archipelago also offers a variety of activities for Sims to enjoy. From relaxing beach activities such as sunbathing and swimming to more adventurous activities like snorkeling and canoeing, Sims will have plenty to do. They can even explore the depths of the ocean and meet mermaids or witness volcanic activity.
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Sulani is heavily inspired by Polynesian islands, particularly the Hawaiian Islands, considering the whole atmosphere of the world. This vibrant world consists of three distinct neighborhoods and fourteen lots, providing plenty of space for exploration. Eight of these lots are built on the water, allowing for a unique style of house building. Players can nowbuild their dream underground or on water houseswithout needing to use pools to be able to do so. Not only are these lots perfect for building, but they also offer easy access to the ocean for swimming, letting inhabitants take a plunge off their deck whenever they please.
Mermaids
Mermaids are a returning occult life-state to be brought back toThe Sims 4 Island Living Expansion Pack. As of now, mermaids are the only other occult life state introduced with an Expansion Pack, apart from aliens. Much like their counterparts inThe Sims 3, Sims inThe Sims 4canbecome a mermaidusing a Mermaidic Kelp or by being born from mermaid parents. However, unlikeThe Sims 3,The Sims 4players can also create mermaid Sims and customize both their human and mermaid forms in CAS.
Mermaid Sims have similar needs to regular Sims, but with a new need - Hydration - replacing Hygiene. To replenish this need, mermaids can swim in the sea or a pool, shower, bathe or drink water. Furthermore, mermaids do not offer any perk or level-up system similar toother occult Sims, such as vampires, spellcasters, or werewolfs, but they still do have various powers. Mermaids can influence various different emotions or actions of other Sims with various Siren Songs, most of which use up Hydration.
Furthermore, with the use of a conch, mermaids can also control the weather, such as calling for rain, thunderstorms, or clear skies. Calling for rain can help replenish the hydration need of mermaids, while clear skies can be beneficial for Sims who want to enjoy a pleasant day at the beach. While swimming in the ocean, mermaids can also call upon an azure dolphin. They have unique interactions with both normal Sims and mermaid Sims, making them an interesting occult to explore. Since they do not have many limitations, they can be played in every world with ease, quite similar to normal Sims.
Conservationist Career
Being a conservationist in Sulani is an important activity that any Sim can take part in. By engaging in activities such as cleaning beaches and digging for trash, players can help to improve the Islands' ecosystem and gain points. This interactive system is not explicitly mentioned, but it is nonetheless an important part of the island, and it is great to see how the island transforms over time. The new conservationist career in Sulani has the primary aim of maintaining and improving the local ecosystem.
By taking part in activities that help Sulani bloom, the conservationist seeks to create a positive impact on the environment for future generations. While the career on its own is quite straightforward, with tasks related to spreading awareness for the ecosystem, this career also gets additional interactions exclusive to the Sims following this career, which significantly helps with improving the world. For example, spraying invasive species, which only this career can do, gives 10 points, while digging for trash only gives 1 point.
The Conservationist career is divided into two distinct branches: Marine Biologist and Environmental Manager. Marine Biologists require logic and fitness, while Environmental Managers require logic and charisma. Both of these branches have reward traits for the highest rank, with Master of the Sea for Marine Biologists and Natural Speaker for Environmental Managers. Sims with the Master of the Sea trait have an easier time navigating on water and can make friends with mermaids and dolphins more quickly.
This makes it an ideal career for both mermaids and normal Sims alike. Natural Speaker Sims have the ability to easily convince other Sims to take more action in protecting the environment, which can be used to help restore the Sulani ecosystem. Lastly, if players own the Discover University pack, the Environmental Manager career is one of thebest choices to pursue if they receive a distinguished degree in Foxburyfor Economics.
Part Time Jobs
Part-time jobs offer the perfect solution for Sims of ages teenage and above. For teenage Sims and students in university, part-time jobs provide a great way tomake some moneywithout compromising their studies. Working a part-time job also allows Sims to focus on other activities for most of the day. For older Sims, it is possible to take on two part-time jobs, as long as their schedules don’t clash. All part-time jobs have up to three levels in total. Currently, the base game offers five part-time jobs, whilst Island Living and High School Years add three and two more respectively. The part-time jobs included with Island Living - Diver, Lifeguard and Fisherman - all align perfectly with the world of Sulani.
Although these part-time jobs in the expansion could have been a great way to introduce immersive mini-careers toThe Sims 4, none of them require any daily tasks or allow for any real immersion in the career. Sims will be going to rabbit hole locations during their shifts, which typically last between 3-4 hours on 4-5 days of the week. The promotion tasks are also relatively simple, requiring only high performance and a few other simple tasks. For the Diver job, players are required to buy some inexpensive items, while the Lifeguard career requires fitness skill and the Fisherman career requires fishing skill. Out of all the jobs, the Diver job is the most worthwhile since the work hours better align with school schedules, and Sims can make more money while working fewer hours at 70 Simoleons per hour at level 3.
Odd Jobs
Odd Jobs inThe Sims 4with the Island Living Expansion Pack are an excellent way for your Sims to make some extra money. Although the pay isn’t particularly high, the gig-based system provides great flexibility since these tasks can be performed alongside regular careers and don’t have stringent requirements. Multiple odd-jobs can be completed in a day if they wish to do so, making it a perfect way for carefree Sims who want to spend their days relaxing at the beach. It is also a great way for players to challenge themselves in a rags to riches playthrough and see if they can survive solely on odd jobs without a career.
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Odd Jobs can be accessed through phone menu, and Sims can take advantage of these one-time job offers to gain a reputation for their odd job abilities. The Odd Job list refreshes daily at 8 am, and can be accessed until 9 pm. By taking more odd jobs and completing them successfully, Sims will gain reputation, which is denoted by stars; the more reputation a Sim has, the higher paying and more complex Odd Jobs they can take. Odd Jobs in come in two types: Needed By and Begins ASAP. Needed By Odd Jobs offer a deadline, while Begins ASAP Odd Jobs prompt the Sim to go to perform the odd-job right away. Sims with careers should pay attention to the timeframes, as otherwise overlapping schedules can be a problem.
New Traits
Island Living brings twonew traitsfor Sims, namely Child of the Islands and Child of the Ocean. The Child of The Islands trait comes with advantages that encourage Sims to interact with Sulani, such as Kava parties, eating local food, and other activities. This trait is a great fit for the Beach Life aspiration that was introduced with this pack. Additionally, Sims with this trait have the unique ability to summon Island Spirits, and giving players an incentive to explore all the exciting features the expansion pack has to offer.
Trait Type
Child of the Islands
These Sims experience a spiritual connection to islands of Sulani. Honor the islands by partaking in their culture, summon powerful elementals and reap the rewards of their blessings—or the consequences of their disfavor.
Lifestyle
Child of the Ocean
Answer the call of the ocean! Sims with this trait will prefer water related activities and feel closer to denizens of the sea.
Child of the Ocean trait is an incredibly unique trait that offers a wide range of features. These Sims are naturally drawn to water-related activities such as swimming, scuba diving, snorkeling and boating, and they are even immune to drowning. However, they will experience a sad moodlet when fishing, and an uncomfortable moodlet when eating fish-related foods - a fitting trait for mermaids that adds some quirkiness to any Sim’s personality.
New Lot Traits
In total, 3 newLot traitswere added withThe Sims 4: Island Living Expansion, namely Oceanic Paradise, Island Spirits, and Volcanic Activity. Later on, Volcanic Activity was swapped to be a Lot Challenge with patch115 in July 2021. All of these traits come with unique elements. Oceanic Paradise allows for Sims to enjoy swimming at the lot more, as well as rare fish and dolphins spawning at this area. It is important to note that this trait is a fixed trait in Sulani and is not customizable, meaning it cannot be removed from pre-existing lots or added to new ones. It is comparable to the Historical lot trait on San Myshuno apartments.
The Island Spirits trait allows Island Spirits to occasionally spawn in this lot, making it possible to interact with them even without having the Child of the Islands trait. Lastly, Volcanic Activity occasionally spawns rocks of variety of sizes, which might occasionally destroy objects on the lot or cause fire. It presents itself as a fun challenge, but is not too difficult to live with.
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With the release of this expansion pack one new trait and one new challenge were also added to the base game with a free update: the Clothing Optional lot trait and the Off-the-Grid Lot Challenge. The Clothing Optional lot trait is exclusive to public lots and allows Sims to choose whether they want to wear clothes or not.
Meanwhile, Off-the-Grid is a popular lot challenge, especially when combined withEco Lifestyle’s tiny housing. This challenge requires that no objects that require electric or plumbing be used, however there are still many options that can be used off-the-grid, allowing Sims to fulfill all their needs. Additionally, Sims living in off-the-grid zones will benefit from reduced bills due to the lack of utility costs.
Beach Life Aspiration
Beach Life aspirations is a straightforward one with tasks that require relatively little effort to achieve. To complete it, Sims will be taking advantage of many of the features the pack has to offer, from small tasks like getting a suntan and beachcombing, to larger activities like earning gold in a Kava party, exploring caves, and diving for buried treasure. Sims will be even required to doze off on a lounge chair. All of these activities come together to create a stress-free, fun-filled life on a tropical island.
The Laid-back reward trait from this aspiration is incredibly powerful and is suitable for all Sims, regardless of if they live in Sulani or not. Sims with this trait will never become tense, allowing them to do activities like working hard without worrying about their fun need. Players can easily work towards this aspiration without living in Sulani and can use it as a side-aspiration while focusing on other ones.
New CAS And Build/Buy Items
The Sims 4: Island Livingoffers an impressive array of CAS items, primarily focusing on beach wear and Polynesian culture-inspired outfits that perfectly capture the atmosphere and weather of the islands. In addition to a wide variety of hairstyles, the CAS also introduces new items specifically tailored to Mermaids, allowing them to customize their tail type and color, as well as explore a variety of fun and fitting makeup and accessories.
The Sims 4: Island Livingbrings a plethora of new items for players to enjoy, with over 180 new Build/Buy items perfect for building beach houses. In addition, there are a variety of new collectibles for players to find, such as new fish and seashells, offering an exciting challenge for those who are dedicated to collecting every item in the game.
The Sims 4is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S
