The Sims 4 For Rent Expansion Pack Review: Vibrant Fun (PC)

The Sims 4 For Rent Expansion Pack focuses on your Sims being able to live in rental properties or even rent out their own, hence the title. As a bonus, this Expansion introduces a fun vibrant exotic new world to play and live in. I’ll admit, when I first learned what this Expansion was about, I was a bit sceptical about if I’d like the whole rental gameplay. I’m pleased to say that I was quickly proven wrong. It definitely feels like a big step-up from the City Living Expansion, with its apartments. While For Rent may have a few teething problems and could be better in some departments, it’s an Expansion worth investing in. Read this review to find out why you should add The Sims 4 For Rent Expansion Pack to your collection.

The Sims 4 For Rent Expansion Pack is now available on PC via EA App and Steam, Mac via Origin, Epic Games Store, Xbox One & Xbox Series X | S, and PlayStation 4 | 5.

Story – A Tour of Tomarang

As ever, The Sims doesn’t have a set story. That’s down to the player. However, there is a brand-new world for your Sims to live their enriched lives in. For Rent introduces the exotic world of Tomarang, heavily inspired by Southeast Asia. Tomarang sets itself apart from other The Sims 4 worlds with its culture, style, and architecture. Since the game was first released, The Sims 4 has accumulated a huge roster of interesting worlds to play in. I love all the different worlds in The Sims 4, including Tomarang. It’s obvious a lot of research and thought went into creating the world. It’s such a rich and exciting place to live in. There’s a lively night market with lights and stalls, a temple and tiger sanctuary you can visit, and it’s all surrounded by lush jungle. You really feel as if you’ve been transported into a different world when playing in Tomarang.

Then you’ve got the Sims themselves, the Tomarang residents. There’s only a small cast of new Sims to meet, but they’re all great characters, and you get to play as them if you wish.

On the whole, Tomarang is an impressive world. However, it could be better. Once again, Tomarang falls foul of a common problem with some of the worlds in The Sims 4: there’s hardly any Lots. The world isn’t exactly empty, but most of it is just buildings designed for aesthetic, not ones your Sims can actually live in. I get that they can’t have too many Lots or it’ll be overwhelming, but to have very little available, it is disappointing. There’s also just two commercial lots: a park and a bar. Saying this, there are some consolations. The residential Lots that are available are decent enough, and there are actually some empty Lots that gives you freedom to place whatever you like, whether it be building your own residential rentals or placing other Lots such as spas or restaurants. There’s also a pre-built residential rental available in the Gallery, which you’re free to plonk down in the world, and it’s a good one as well.

Tomarang, up there as one of The Sims 4’s more attractive worlds.

Gameplay – Renting Has Never Been So Fun

The core theme of For Rent, as the title suggests, is rental properties. But there’s a lot more to it than you think. I thought it would be similar to apartments in City Living, but I was mistaken. Your Sims can not only live in rental properties, but they can also purchase and rent out their own properties and become landlords.

Be a Landlord

I couldn’t do this review of The Sims 4 For Rent and not try out being a landlord. I have to admit, I was a bit edgy about doing it, thinking it would be difficult and hard work. I was wrong. Not only was it really straightforward, but I also found it to be good fun.

The set up is very simple. You just buy a property, get a tenant to move in, and that’s it. Of course, it’s not quite as straightforward as that, but that’s the general idea. The whole system is surprisingly easy to follow. It’s not overcomplicated, which saves headaches. You feel like you have a lot of control over your properties; how you want them to look, who lives there, how much rent you charge. You can even set rules such as no social events or no pets. Rental properties also come with star ratings, with one being the worst and five the best. The star rating is based on a few factors, such as the amenities, if the property is well decorated, and maintenance.

When buying properties, you’re not entirely unlimited. You obviously have to buy the Lots first, which requires plenty of money. Otherwise, any Lot can be turned into a residential rental, and you’re not limited to Tomarang either.

As a landlord, there is some responsibility. You have to make sure the property is up to scratch, that the tenants are happy. If they need your services, you have to run over and deal with it (or hire a cheap or expensive contractor, which may or may not be successful). You also have to make sure your tenants abide by the rules (if there are any), but most importantly that they pay the rent. You have the power to boot them out if you’re not happy with them.

The landlord gameplay with For Rent as a whole is a great experience. You can build your own residential rentals and be completely creative. You can set up single houses, or have multi-tenancy Lots. You can buy and manage multiple properties. Nothing is overly complex or overwhelming. I was seriously impressed and pleasantly surprised. I didn’t think I’d enjoy it as much as I thought I would.

As a landlord, you have a lot of responsibility, but there’s nothing you can’t handle.

Rental Living

On the flipside, you can live in a rented property. The system, while it has similarities to apartments in City Living, is a bit more complex, but pretty easy to follow and understand. When moving into a rental property, your Sims have to pay rent, and there’s a tenant agreement that may have rules, or none at all. When pay day is due, they essentially have 24 hours to pay up, or risk being evicted. Also, if you want to move out of your rented home, there’s a big fee.

On the whole, living in a residential rental is no different to other residential Lots. You get all the same amenities, and you can freely purchase stuff for your property. There are a few things to keep in mind. Your Sims answer to a landlord, but I had a good experience with my gameplay and had a friendly landlord. If you have any problems, such as objects breaking, you can call the landlord over any time to get them to sort it out. As a tenant, you may also experience unique events. The ones I had was an electrical outbreak, where the power went out on my rented Lot and lots of electrical items had to be fixed or replaced to get the power back. The new electric unit also had to be repaired. Other events included the trash bin constantly overflowing, and even a ghost that needed exorcising. It was exciting to experience all these things.

One thing you have to watch out for is mold. The Lot my Sims rented had a mold problem sometimes, usually from a stray puddle or the trash bin overflowing. Mold can create lots of problems for your Sims, looking generally unsightly and making your Sims ill. If it’s not sorted, things can go from bad to worse. Fortunately, it’s easy to control. You can just clean up the mold and keep your property clean to stave off mold infestations.

For Rent’s rental living is a different experience to apartments from City Living.

Nosy Sims

The Sims 4 For Rent is about rental properties and communities. This pack also introduces Sims who can’t help but poke their noses into other Sims’ businesses. The new Nosy trait you can assign your Sims is perfect for this pack’s gameplay. You can pry on other Sims, learning gossip and secrets, and eavesdrop on conversations. One new feature is being able to break into other Sims’ Lots. This isn’t to steal stuff, but just snoop around and learn about your neighbors, searching their property. This works like a timed event, with the Lot vacant so you can look around without being interrupted. It was quite fun playing as a poky sneaky Sim.

There are 4 other traits to look out for as well. Child of the Village has your Sim rooted in the Tomarang community, Cringe Sims can be, well, cringy, the Generous trait says what it is, and there’s even an exclusive trait for Elder Sims: Wise. 

Life in Tomarang

I’ve already talked about Tomarang in the Story section above, but I’ll go into the gameplay aspects here, as it’s such a big part of The Sims 4 For Rent. Tomarang is an interesting exotic world to explore, and offers some unique features. There’s the temple and tiger sanctuary, and while these are sadly only rabbit holes, they do provide something different for your Sim to do. There’s a cave to find and explore as well, and who doesn’t like exploring a cave?

Apart from the residential rentals, probably the heart of Tomarang is the night market. This is an interesting place to visit, with stalls selling food, clothing, and other wares. However, I couldn’t help feeling a tad disappointed. I was kind of expecting a bit more, maybe street performers, more Sims flocking the place, lively music playing, just like a real market. The stalls are also a bit lacking. Like the world, most of the stalls are just for visuals, with only about 3 actually being interactive. It’s a shame you can’t have your own stall as well.

Tomarang’s night market is worth checking out.

New Aspirations

The Sims 4 For Rent, being an Expansion Pack, has spoiled its players with not just 5 new traits, but also 4 new aspirations to check out. There’s one centered on being a property owner, another for being a tenant, the third about being a Nosy Sim, and the fourth aspiration focuses on life around Tomarang. All these aspirations are fun to try out. However, I was hit with a few teething issues. Some of the tasks I was unable to complete, stopping my progress to the next level. For example, one aspiration’s task required me to purchase clothing from the night market. However, my Sim had already purchased all the available stall clothing, and this didn’t register. I don’t know if this is a flaw with the aspiration or a bug. Generally, there are a few things that need addressing, but they’re rather minor, and hopefully they’ll get sorted out with time.

Graphics & Audio – A Vibrant & Exotic Experience

Here, we can talk about things like the new clothing, objects, and world. 

The For Rent Expansion Pack comes bundled with a ton of new items in Create-A-Sim. There are new hairstyles, tops, bottoms, outfits, and shoes. With these items, your Sims will look right at home in Tomarang with the Southeast Asian inspired clothing. Nothing felt really lacking or disappointing. I especially like the new shoes.

There’s a wide range of new items in Create-A-Sim available with For Rent.

Then there’s the new objects. There’s something for every category. You have everything you need to create your own Tomarang home. My favorite objects are probably the new four poster bed, curtains, and rugs, as well as the rattan furniture.

Tomarang is an amazing world to look at. It might be lacking in Lots, but it’s nonetheless impressive. The lush jungles and vast waters really adds to the atmosphere of the place, and the night market is well worth a visit. It’s probably one of the prettier worlds of The Sims 4.

I don’t think I have much to say about the pack’s audio. I caught the new opening music one time and enjoyed listening to it. Sometimes an Expansion Pack’s theme music is obnoxious, but not in the case of For Rent. There are also some new tunes to hear in Create-A-Sim, Build Mode, and in World View. I may have heard them amongst the numerous tracks that come with the other DLC I have, but they sounded good. The in-game radio stations also have some new songs added, but I have yet to listen to them. The music in The Sims series as a whole is pretty decent though, so I imagine these are as well.

The Sims 4 For Rent Expansion Pack was reviewed on PC.