My forum avatar here is still a TS3 Fairy reading to his child, so one may correctly supposed that this is content I have been waiting on - patiently, as it happens. Once we had Werewolves, the game dev team hinted that they still had other Occult life states in mind and even mentioned Fairies (alongside Zombies, which they were possibly thinking of for Life & Death as opposed to the more robust Ghosts we got, and which I am glad for).
I have no particular interest in Plant Sims, so have no meaningful comment to add regarding them. Mostly, the more or less constant presence of green-skinned strangers in Everdew (where my household is living) merely supplied me with ready NPCs for career tasks, homework assistance, or targets on which to practice Fairy abilities.
I also have made little use of the Natural Living skill, since my Werewolves are already great at that (and their outdoor Wolf Naps, Hunting for Food, Marking Territory or Grooming Self do not count toward the new skill though IMO they should). I am a bit puzzled by their choice of the dated adjective "Bohemian" to describe this lifestyle, which more nearly represents homelessness. But it may have attractions for start-from-nothing, rags-to-riches players.
Apothecary Skill - This seems nifty and has some depth, but again some missed opportunities for overlap between Werewolf Scavenge Ground interaction and the Foraging ability. Also, I have encountered thankfully few Ailments, and none in my own household, but in every case it was simplest for my exploration Fairy (or his first Fairy child, recently a Teen) simply to cure the afflicted party. But I do like that the Apothecary skill is open to everyone, and not just Occults, offering a path for my Spellcasters (or more mystically inclined Werewolves) to be Naturopathic healers, as well.
Where TS3: Supernatural had Zombies that emerged at Full Moon to imperil gardens (a feature I abhored), Enchanted by Nature seems to have delegated the role of perennial menace to Gnomes. Even without the Ailment that causes one to be the especial recipient of Gnomish attention, Gnomes can arrive on one's home lot, in a good mood or bad, even unsummoned or unenchanted. I try to be punctual in seeing them arrive (heralded by weird, green, sparkling auras) and to sell them in my Sim's inventory ASAP as even if they are nominally friendly, they can afflict unwanted upgrades on appliances (turning toilets into fiery deathtraps with unsolicited composting, or add a (polluting) Fuel Cell that can tank your Eco footprint for the benefit of making an appliance (unnecessarily) usable Off the Grid. I was put to no small expense replacing appliances and assuring they were upgraded solely within the specifications that my Sims particularly desired, and more than once my Sims nearly died as a result. Not a fan of the Gnome highjinks - but prefer them to the TS3 Zombies.
Innisgreen is ...okay. Understandably, the Builder team (Sims Community creators, not Maxis employees) wanted to go with a more whimsical style of architecture, but this means that Innisgreen simply does not look Irish. I have been to Ireland, and I can understand why its spare, staight-line architecture (even grander buildings are straightlaced Georgian) that is mostly just boxes with gabled roofs and chimneys that I could master, livened up in exciting seaside spots with coloful paint in lieu of predictable, practical whitewash which is otherwhere de rigueur. They had a choice between "look recognizably Irish" or "be whimsical and fun" and went with whimsy.
Neigborhoods range from the wholly enchanted Fairyland of Everdew, which boasts a magical pool that can swiftly replenish even the most exhausted Fairy's Emotional Force, the Mosswell Fairy Hub, a research rabbithole that also serves as neighborhood restroom facilities for non-Fairy visitors, and administers a sort of minimum daily allowance of Fairy Dust to Fairies whether visiting or residential. It is also the headquarters of the Fairy Council, who enforce diktats like the prohibition of Fairy powers in the neighborhood of Ahdmor.
Sprucederry Grove is largely focused on gardening, and Natural Living, and houses the in-game Naturopath practitioner (who was not on-duty in my exploration save when I went to look for him) and is also home to Mother Nature's estranged lover, part Green Man, part Jolly Green Giant, whom I interacted with very briefly but had little of interest to my Sim. He seems to have a lot to do with the Gnomes. If that was the cause of his rift with the Great Mother, I can kind of see her point.
Sprucederry also has one of my favorite builds in the pack, with a clever split level design created through more playful terrain elevation than I am able to accomplish myself. But for all it's quaint and engaging layout, it isn't built to accommodate a family, and for my usual play style, room to raise children is a must-have. A child-free couple of Gardening enthusiasts could have a lot of fun here.
Ahdmor, the coastal village, is the most "Normie" (their word, not mine) neighborhood, the least obtrusively magical and the most practical and down to earth. By that virtue, however, it is arguably the least interesting. Since my Fairies are cavalier with their abilities, even if kindly intended, I avoid it for the most part, to keep out of trouble with the Fairy Council.
Build/Buy and CAS assets offer a few nice new styles and items, but to me cannot match the architecture of Realm of Magic or the fashion sensibility of Werewolves, both of which really knocked it out of the park as far as those specific areas are concerned. But I have some new favorite jeans, the questionable hooves-as-shoes work tolerably well with most long pants and a handful of capri-length styles, and if one is going of "Enchanted Forest" as an architectural statement, this pack's B/B selection will be handy. I have found that the relatively limited range of masculine attire for the most part plays well with fashions from base game and other packs.
I mostly play my Sims benevolently so I haven't explored the new Disruptive trait, and Plant Lover isn't my thing even if my Sims do keep up a garden. The new trait, Mystical, is however right up my alley, and has a lot of flavor that takes me back to my happily nerdy adolescence. I have paired the trait with the Bibbity Basic Tarot Pack (from Life & Death) until I can unlock the fancy one, and without unduly derailing gameplay, it adds some pleasing flavor.
I played Fairies *extensively* in TS3, and nostalgia is a terrible yardstick, so I approached the core of this pack, the new Occult life state, with some trepidation. Even leaving aside actual real-world beliefs regarding the Good Neighbors (bless Them), this pack had a high bar of expectation and, I am pleased to say, these Fairies by and large measure up. I have long been pleased by the TS4 a la carte pack approach to Occult lifestates, so that I can have my Fairies, Spellcasters and Werewolves and not be bothered with Vampires or Ghosts if I choose not to be.
In TS3, I occasionally felt constrained by an inability to conceal a Fairy's wings. In this pack, one has an ability to present as a mortal if one chooses, and no compulsions like Werewolf fury forcing the Fairy appearance to the surface. Like a Vampire's Dark Form (which I have not played, but am aware of), a Fairy form can vary considerably from mortal appearance. Some options - such as antlers, or hooves - are presented as clothing or accessories, however, somewhat limiting one's range. Also, for all the variety of presets and base shapes, all Fairy wings are of the butterfly sort. One cannot, say, have dragonfly wings irridescent down one's back, unless spread in flight. But within those constraints, customization possibilities are formidable, on a par with detail painting for pets, Werewolf pelts, and tattoos.
In game play, Fairies are straightforward, increasing in skill by exploring the abilities and traits unique to their life state, with four skill trees arranged in five ranks of increasing power. Aside from the fourth skill tree of either-or decisions, the only real choice one has is which abilities to unlock first. Regrettably absent is any means of cashing in accumulated skill points once all options are filled. Being able to redeem a skill point for even 50 lifetime satisfaction points would have been welcome. Fairies have two major modes of influence: over growing plants (including houseplants) and over Sim emotions, relationships and sentiments. I can't say I have looked for an option to blight plants - but it seems that all interventions in that direction are beneficial. In meddling with the emotions of other Sims, however, Fairies can choose to be a blessing or a curse - folklorically appropriate, and I commend the design team in not making Fairies universally sweet. Someday I might want to recreate my TS3 Fairy bad boy, to put the "male" in Maleficent.
As it stands, my usual test is "can I play a Sim in this life state without it totally derailing anything else I have going on? Can a Fairy hold down a job? Get a degree? Raise a family? The answer in this case is very much "Yes!" While the Emotional Force meter, which replaces both Hunger and Bladder motives, can only be recharged by spending Fairy Dust (variously accumulated), or by resort to a Fairy House (a Build/Buy purchase with a 1x2 square footprint), or by visiting the mood pool in Everdew, Fairy Houses are portable, and recharging takes no longer than it does to eat a meal. Fairies are able to eat and drink socially, but get neither benefit nor a displeased moodlet from doing so. And Fairy Sims younger than Teens have regular food and bladder needs.
All of this is for made-in-CAS or born-in-game Fairies. I have not played the path of taking a mortal Sim along the path of enchantment but my understanding is that it is not a particularly arduous task. One gets to meet Mother Nature, Herself - answering for me some questions raised an unanswered until now about Druidical remnants in TS: Medieval. (Is Innisgreen another name for Effenmont? Or shall we imagine an archipelago?)
All in all, while my recommendation is always predicated on "explore what the pack does or does not offer before deciding whether it is worth it to you," I personally am pleased to have Enchanted by Nature, and am very much enjoying my Fairy/Werewolf odd couple. I am not playing the new active career, but it seems like it could pair really well doubled up with Businesses & Hobbies, or tripled up with Spa Day... There is in fact a lot of cross-pack potential, and a lot here is new and useful to all modes of play, even if one leaves out the Occult life state entirely.
