The Sims 4, functioning as a life simulator, strives to encompass various facets of life, including enjoyable perks and occasional challenges. While the Sims community introduces its own challenges to the game, such as the widely known Rags to Riches or Legacy challenges, the developers of The Sims 4 have also incorporated a diverse array of challenges in the form of scenarios. Notably, they've introduced gameplay functions like tiny homes and, most prominently, "lot challenges" as part of the game.
Among the various lot challenges available, the Off-Grid lifestyle challenge stands out as one of the most intricate and noteworthy. Interestingly, this is also the sole lot challenge included in the base game, offering players the opportunity to take on this challenge without the need for additional packs. However, it's worth noting that the Eco Lifestyle and Cottage Living expansion packs complement this challenge exceptionally well. They provide players with diverse approaches to tackle the challenge, whether they aim to make it easier or more challenging.
What Is Off The Grid Challenge
The Off The Grid Challenge is one of the lot challenges in The Sims 4, imposing strict restrictions on the use of plumbing and electricity by rendering these items non-functional. Consequently, players must seek alternative methods for their Sims to fulfill their needs. Fortunately, there are a variety of different interactions available to Sims off the grid, ensuring that they aren't entirely disconnected from their normal way of life. However, their lifestyle tends to lean more towards rugged simplicity than luxury. Interestingly, this challenge offers Sims certain advantages and provides players with a unique gameplay experience, deviating from the typical routines of their Sims' lives.
How To Enable Off The Grid Challenge
Activating this challenge is a straightforward process. To do so, players can navigate to Build/Buy mode on a residential lot and access the Lot Traits and Challenges menu from the top-left corner of the screen. By clicking on the trophy icon, players gain access to all the available challenges for that specific lot. To activate the Off the Grid challenge, they simply need to check it off from the list. It's important to note that, unlike Lot Traits, which allow for up to three at a time, players can activate as many lot challenges as they desire, enabling them to increase the difficulty by combining multiple challenges if they wish.
How To Successfully Live Off The Grid
Although players won't have access to conventional electronics or plumbing, there remains a wide range of items that enable Sims to maintain a functional home. To make their home lot compliant with the Off The Grid challenge, players should navigate to the Off The Grid section under Buy Items and make the necessary changes by replacing the restricted items with suitable alternatives. In some cases, it might be simpler for players to initiate this challenge on an empty lot and construct their desired setup from scratch.
However, it's important to note that while there are items like bathtubs and fridges designed to function off-the-grid, this aspect is just a fraction of the overall challenge. These items may make it easier for Sims to address their needs without relying on other lots for various activities, but they don't operate in the same manner as those tied to electricity and plumbing. Consequently, players will need to maintain these items on a daily basis, such as collecting water for the bathtub or restocking ice in the fridge. To conserve these resources, Sims should also refrain from taking long baths and be more mindful of their shower times. The Off The Grid challenge also provides an excellent opportunity for Sims to spend more time outdoors, utilizing bonfires, grills and similar objects for cooking instead of traditional stoves.
Perks of Living Off The Grid
The primary advantage of embracing the Off The Grid challenge is to introduce a fresh and challenging gameplay experience, deviating from the typical routine. However, it also offers tangible benefits for the Sims themselves. Since the household is disconnected from both electricity and plumbing, they will notice a substantial reduction in their bills. This reduction in expenses can alleviate the need for Sims to prioritize money-making activities and high-level careers if they choose not to pursue them. Consequently, living off the grid provides an excellent opportunity for players to combine it with community-made challenges like Rags to Riches, further enriching their gameplay experience.
Living Off The Grid Integration With Other Packs
While the Off The Grid challenge is enjoyable in its own right, players can significantly enhance their experience by owning specific expansion packs like Tiny Living, Eco Lifestyle, and Cottage Living. While Tiny Living doesn't directly tie into the challenge's concept, it offers benefits for creating compact homes, which can be even more advantageous in this context, given that there are limited entertaining or highly useful indoor activities for Sims.
Furthermore, the Eco Lifestyle expansion pack can offer one of the most significant advantages when living off the grid, as it allows players to generate their own utilities through items like solar panels and dew collectors. This means that if players can produce more power and water than their household needs, they can actually use non-off-grid items as they normally would since they have access to these utilities without being connected to the grid. Moreover, the Reduce and Recycle lot challenge can complement the off-the-grid challenge exceptionally well, as it further promotes sustainability. Therefore, Simmers who wish to expand beyond the constraints of off-grid items, which might not always be aesthetically pleasing, may find this functionality appealing.
Lastly, the Cottage Living expansion also empowers players to become self-sufficient in various ways without heavy reliance on indoor amenities. It encourages the cultivation of livestock and produce, promoting a more self-reliant lifestyle. Particularly when paired with the Simple Living challenge from this pack, players can live in a completely self-sustaining manner. In this case, players must ensure that all required ingredients are present in their inventory to prepare dishes, as opposed to them being automatically available.
The Sims 4 is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.