Sims 4 Royalty & Legacy expansion goes full Bridgerton with scandals aplenty

Romance in three kingdoms

Electronic Arts revealed the first cinematic trailer for The Sims 4's next expansion, Royalty and Legacy, and it's full of enough lineage drama, seduction, betrayal, and intrigue to make Bridgerton author Julia Quinn blush — and probably Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes and George R.R. Martin, too. Anyway, The Sims 4: Royalty and Legacy launches for all platforms on Feb. 12, and it looks like more than just a redo of The Sims Medieval.

Royalty and Legacy sees your Sim try to claw their way up the social ladder of Ondarion and its three neighborhoods, each ruled by a different dynasty. You've got:

• Dambele, the artsy quarter where people value kindness and community
• Bellacorde, the neighborhood for WooHoo lovers, filled with secret hideaways and romantic scandals aplenty
• Verdemar, the place for noble backstabbing and general skullduggery

Social grace is the currency of Ondarion, and the expansion's new Powershift scenario is how you stack things in your favor. Taking part in ritzy gatherings, dancing well, and doing all the right things will see your ranking in stats like artistry and unity rise. But you can also lose face by having someone discover your dirty little trysts or other unsavory secrets about yourself and, presumably, do the same to them.

You can turn your gains (or shame) into something more tangible with the pack's new Noble, which sees your Sim aim for the as-yet unclaimed throne of Ondarion. Their legacy gets passed down to their children, for better or worse, but ascending to greatness is only the start. Once you gain power, your Sim has to rule their kingdom and balance relationships between nobles and commoners while fending off rivals bent on ruining your good name — or dethroning you in a duel. There's also a dynasty-management element complete with designating heirs and outcasts and hoping your kids don't try to start a rebellion.

The Sims 4's record of turning all these ideas into meaningful simulation is a bit rocky, like with the Get Famous pack and its one-note Actor career. How much room for experimentation and different play styles this pack's new additions have is still a bit murky, but EA promised more info on how this side of things works in a Royalty and Legacy gameplay reveal on Jan. 22.

Royalty and Legacy also introduces a new lot type, the Backroom Lot, whose function changes depending on the time. During the day, you can set it up as a library or gym or whatever other community-oriented lot you have in mind, then designate it as a nightclub hangout once the sun goes down. EA didn't share more beyond that, but it seems rife with cross-pack potential for expansions like Get Together and Adventure Awaits. Dambele has pre-built Backroom Lots to check out if you want to get an idea of how they work before diving into build mode yourself.

EA's also offering a deal where those who buy the pack before March 15 will automatically get a free upgrade to the Grand Bundle, which includes two new kits, Screen Style and Tea Time Solarium.