As always, huge thanks to EA for offering me early access to this pack, as well as to a giveaway code I was able to share on stream. I’m thrilled to be part of the EA Creator Network.
tl;dr version: Enchanted by Nature has a lot to offer Sims players: a unique and unified aesthetic, new fairy interactions, CAS, and build/buy, and the very cool nature nomad system. That said, this is one of the packs I consider Not Really For Me.
Why? Two reasons. First, for someone who is largely a builder, it’s a niche pack. The aesthetic is specific and, while lovely, not to my particular tastes. That said, it’s a bonanza for players who like woodsy swatches, knotty furniture, swirls and fairy lights and all sorts of quirky shapes. Plus gnomes!
Second, I find Inisgreen to be a largely inert world. I am a huge fan of both Life and Death and Businesses & Hobbies in part because both of those packs feature tons of world events — Afterlife Anonymous, festivals, lectures, and classes. The packs offer structured options for Sims to encounter each other, while Enchanted by Nature, though beautiful, offers few opportunities for Sims to gather and interact besides the usual bars and town squares.
What do I enjoy about Enchanted by Nature? The apothecary skill and naturopath career are both fun, though I’m glad the Sims developers have chilled out on the constant ailments. I’m also pleased the apothecary build/buy includes a sort of “storage cabinet” for items used in the skill. Great for inventory management!
I’m also in love with the living-in-nature vibe of the pack. I may have dabbled with fairies, but I am all in with my Sims sleeping on the ground, foraging for things they need, bathing in ponds, and so in. It’s a great addition to any Rags to Riches gameplay, plus a fun challenge as a builder — how do you make a lot that a Sim barely needs charming and cool? I’m enjoying that facet of the pack so much.
Fairies seem fun, with a robust set of powers and options plus new interactions with the other occults. The animations involving shrunken fairies are adorable. I’m not sure why they don’t resonate with me as a player — perhaps the twee factor? They’re very quirky and cute, which isn’t usually my vibe. That said, I need to play more with the darker side of fairydom. Maybe I just need them to have more of an edge!
As for Inisgreen: Sprucederry Grove is quite pretty, full of plant sims, lush green foliage, and (sadly) rabbit-hole retail experiences. It’s my favorite of the three neighborhoods by far. Everdew is as fairy as anyone might want (I love Moondrop Springs), but difficult to build in thanks to the dim, purple cast of the lighting. The Coast of Adhmor is my least favorite neighborhood in the pack. It’s very gnomey, very cute and pastel, and again chooses to put its retail experiences in rabbit-holes. I get it, I do — every lot EA fills is more strain on computer systems, more NPCs, and probably fewer lots for us, but I wish a few of the rabbit-hole experiences were ones we could actually visit “in person.”
How would I have improved the pack? I’d have added a few more community lots to make the area feel more alive. I’d have added gatherings, fairy festivals, and the like to give Enchanted by Nature players more to actually do in Inisgreen. Beyond that, my feelings about the pack come down to aesthetic taste, which means another Simmer might fall head-over-heel in love with the quirky, dreamy, sparkly world of the fairies.