It’s Bridgerton! It’s Medieval Dynasty! No, it’s The Sims 4 Royalty and Legacy, and I think it’s the best of both worlds
I’ve spent the last few weeks trying out the latest expansion pack for The Sims 4, Royalty and inheritanceand I’m obsessed. Its release, fortuitous in tandem with season 4 of The Bridgerton Chronicleshas breathed new life into my gameplay, bringing brilliant features, outrageous new Sims, and a diverse range of items to build/purchase.
Now your Sims can join the Noble career and compete with others in the same career to take the throne and rule the Kingdom. Every day, you will complete royal tasks in this active career as you rise through the royal ranks, before ultimately claiming – or challenging – the crown.
Look on it
Along the way, you’ll have to choose whether you want to win the favor of commoners or other nobles; This can have a real impact on your standing with other group members, including your own family, so it’s not a choice to make lightly. The higher your rank, the more power you have over the world; New royal edicts act as more global lot traits, and you can even set taxes for your subjects.
There can only be one ruler in each kingdom (and these include other worlds from different packs too!), but your noble titles can be passed down to your family members and your heir. This is probably one of the most fun times I’ve had in a Sims 4 career in a long time, especially when I’m holding court to address the concerns of your residents; I was expecting a few bugs here, but to my surprise and delight, it worked perfectly every time.
There are many more in store for The Sims 4 Royalty & LegacyHowever…
Everyone wants to rule the world
Set in the new world of Ondarion, a coastal kingdom with three opulent districts ruled by powerful families, this nobility-themed expansion introduces a host of new storytelling mechanics, particularly in the Scandals and Dynasty features.
Dynasties create the opportunity to add some prestige to your Sims’ families, with a named dynasty leader acting as the de facto champion of their values and activities. By forcing them, you earn your dynasty rank and points to unlock perks (much like other expansion packs that use the Social Groups panel for things like organizations and clubs), and gain prestige to dominate other Sims.
Division between members of a dynasty can lead to instability, limiting your dynasty’s ability to assert its good (or at the very least nefarious) name of power – I found it quite difficult to accidentally mess up, even when family members had opposing views, as long as social interactions remained friendly.
You can even designate members of your family as outcasts if they don’t quite fit the mold, and form alliances or feuds with other prestigious families. It’s a great addition for Sims Family players who want new ways to manifest their storylines, and I can’t wait to see how Dynasties interfaces with the other packs.
With Scandals, your Sims can hack, buy, or observe the secrets of other Sims, then choose to expose or exploit these assets to further manifest their own power. When my gossip-loving Sim discovered Geoffrey Langraab’s penchant for frog kissing, for example, I was able to extort some of his many simoleons from him. You can also exploit Sims to force them to give up their nobility titles, accept those excluded from their dynasties into the fold, and much more.
If you choose to reveal a secret, the Sim in question and any co-conspirators will be subject to scandal, angering the Sims around them, affecting their careers and even their dynasty prestige. Or, of course, you make friends by promising to keep these secrets away from the prying eyes of the general public. The friends and enemies you make along the way could prove very useful if someone discovers your own illicit behavior; my Sim was finally unmasked for losing a sword fight to a commoner (the scandal of all that!), but it was quickly resolved in the same way that many of the top celebrities and influencers escape the consequences of their actions; denying the accusation online.
And what better place to get some juicy gossip than at a Grand Ball, the new kind of event that sees big families come together over drinks, dancing and dirty little secrets. Simply select your dance partner for romance, fame or friendship and you can start a joint waltz with other couples at the party; it’s a little stiff but pretty cute to look at. Again, these events work perfectly – although once or twice my Sims missed their waltz shot due to routing issues.
Additionally, with the new Swordsmanship skill, you can also compete against other Sims for fun, for secrets, for a title, or even for love. In my case, I repeatedly faced my enemy, Eliza Pancakes, until she eventually became an elder and was exhausted. A sweet victory, completely justified and proportionate.
A most elegant setting
Ondarion provides a diverse and dynamic backdrop for the pack, bringing with it three unique districts, palaces, and even a new terrain type.
In Dambele, Sims can celebrate the arts or stroll through the open gardens of the palace, while Bellacorde is themed around romance and Latin opulence, and the nautical-themed Verdemar presents a fantastic playground for adventurous and crafty people. Each brings different dynasties, each with intertwined stories and scandals to discover, as well as plenty of attractions in the neighborhood.
The new Backroom Lots also enable multifunctional destinations; for example, a library during the day could become a nightclub at night. It’s a nice addition to the pack, although I would have preferred it as a free update for an older pack like Get Together where it would feel more thematically cohesive.
With a variety of cultures represented in The Sims 4 Royalties and Legacy, the build/buy mode and Create-a-Sim options are impressively diverse, but not without their flaws. I am really happy to see the fruits of Sims’ partnership with the Pan Africa Gaming Group (PAGG) and Simmers with West African roots bearing fruit in the culturally rich Dambele and its nobility, on the one hand.
There’s a pretty robust selection of build/buy options with plenty of assorted samples as well as a full suite of cooking utensils, and the new secret passages are a lot of fun and definitely very useful in larger grounds like Ondarion Palaces (or as a WooHoo location for a secret rendezvous at a grand ball).
Still, I was frustrated to see that many of the new (and gorgeous) crowns and tiaras clipped hair models in unattractive ways – including those created for the pack. Given some of the issues previous packs had at launch, I’m willing to give them a pass on this one, but it seems like the bare minimum we can expect from an expansion pack in the happy new year of 2026 is assets that actually work together.
The Sims 4 Royalty & Legacy is a delight overall and will pair wonderfully with Supernatural Packs, Deluxe Party and Romantic Garden Stuff Packs and Kits like Secret Sanctuary, Storybook Nursery and Castle Estate.
The new expansion releases on February 12 for $39.99 / £34.99, so there’s still time to draft your next save’s illustrious family tree and sharpen your sword for some dueling action.
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