If you’re going to farm, farm this!
While winter might be coming, Farming Simulator gives zero cares. Yep, it’s that time of the year again when we finally see another release of Farming 101. It’s obviously a niche franchise for a specific type of player. We’re not all cut out to farm, even if just digitally. Is this latest entry the best in the franchise though? Survey says yes! Now throw on some trousers, get some gloves on, and let’s farm!
Farm Hard
Farming is tough in real life, not that I would know personally, but I’ve met farmers before, seen the work they do, and watched plenty of Netflix and TV specials that inform me of just how hard it is to farm. Now taking that into the gaming world is no easy task, and when it comes to farming games, at least as far as realistic simulators, it gets no better than the Farming Simulator franchise. There is a reason we’re on the 17th iteration after all. Not that the market is over saturated with these types of experiences, but that gives the developers even a bit more credit, than as they could easily turn out a sub-par product. Instead, they choose to improve with each iteration, as any franchise should do.
MSRP: $49.99
Price I’d Pay: $49.99
Multiplayer: 1-6
How long to beat: 10+ hours
This time out players get to choose between playing as a male or female farmer, wake up at the crack of dawn, and get to farming. There are three modes to choose from: easy, medium, and hard. On easy, the plants don’t even whither, which I totally picked. Though for those hardcore farmers, hard will be the way forward. See, I’m not very good at Farm Simulator 17, or any of the prior games for that matter. I have a tendency to run around, racing tractors, or other silly things eventually. That’s not to say the core mechanics of Farm Simulator suck, far from it. There is a lot of detail and depth to all the equipment, the pace at which players will harvest, and most likely will end up getting into an almost life like schedule. There are also challenges that are layered around the two different maps, I found myself constantly trying to help others with their farm lands repeatedly, gaining money, and forgetting about my own farming land completely. This might make me a bad farmer to myself, but I was helping others, so I’m a good farmer friend.
Not only do they nail the feel of farming, but also using the various brands of equipment, including tractors, sowers, chainsaws, and more. From farming the land for crops, wood, or even raising animals for profit, Farm Simulator has players covered. The addition of pigs or new crops is a bonus. I also found the addition of radio stations a plus, granted they repeat far too often and I believe the songs are entirely made up for the game. That said, there was still a few tracks I would jam out to as I’m running around the farm or city. In addition with this, mods are now available, and even though it seems only dev mods are out now, it will be interesting to see what the community does for the farm. Speaking of community, online play is back again, so if farming with friends or racing tractors has always been a thing, it can be utilized here once again. I was sliding all over the place with my pickup truck, maybe a bit too much as the handling on some vehicles feels a bit loose, but otherwise, I handled it just fine.
All in a day’s work
While the improvements to the farm are nice and the plethora of new equipment, animals, visuals, and other additions go a long way to making Farm Simulator 17 the best, it’s also still resting on the same foundation. Having played other Farm Simulator games prior, this feels fairly similar to the rest of them in game play and style. Take that good or bad as each reader will. It’s a game that has a very specific focus that not all players will enjoy or appreciate, but what it aims to do it does very well. With a more in depth tutorial this year, I feel it goes a long way to help new comers handle the ropes quicker. Once this is done, it can still be a bit intimidating and almost confusing on what to do next and how to run the farm, but therein lies the beauty of Farm Simulator. It’s a Zen like experience for me in that it’s relaxing, therapeutic, and just easy to lose track of time in. No bosses, no time limits, no artificial difficulty, just farming. I’m completely OK with that.
Favorite moment: Farming of course… but racing tractors, using chainsaws, and trains are other perks.
Worst moment: The realization you spent almost 25 minutes harvesting grain in a fake farming game. HA.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
