About Ranch Simulator
Ranch Simulator - Build, Herd, Farm, and Hunt!
An Epic Ranching Simulation
A New Indie Simulator Game for Aspiring Ranchers
Ranch Simulator is a simulation game from developer Toxic Dog and publisher Excalibur Games. The game is currently in Early Access and can be played in single-player mode or with up to four-player co-op!
Concept - The Title Says It All
“Ranch Simulator” pretty much says it all. Simulation games have been around for a long time now, and animal husbandry is one of the most popular topics. You manage resources, build and expand your ranch, cultivate animals, sell your stock and collect your profits.
The day-to-day activities can be a little repetitive, but hunting is available to break things up. The hunting doesn’t break new ground either - it’s a basic FPS presentation. But overall, it’s a solid premise. If you are looking for a ranching simulator with loads of potential, Ranch Simulation is worth a try, even in Early Access.
Graphics & Audio - Ooh, Pretty Mountains!
Okay, full disclosure: I’m a sucker for majestic mountain views. Ranch Simulator keeps the mountains in view, with their forested hills and snow-capped peaks. They’ve put a lot of work into the weather simulator, so the clouds, fog, rain, and snow give you something new to look at every time. When the weather simulator kicks up storms for you, they feel big and real and scary - that’s when the graphics and audio both shine.
The buildings also look good. I almost regretted fixing up my siding, because I liked the Gothic-horror look of the derelict farmhouse better, but it looks nice fixed up as well. The ranch livestock looks great - better than the humans do.
RATING: 5/5
Gameplay - Authentic Ranching Action in Early Access
Ranch Simulator is primarily about resource management, but it also includes more action with the hunting sections.
Ranching is all about taking care of the health of the animals. This means feeding and watering them regularly, monitoring their health, herding them, breeding them, and rearing the offspring.
Your ranch starts in sad shape, and you’ll have to fix it up as best you can with limited resources. As you start to make money from the ranch, you can invest in new improvements. These improvements then allow you to ranch more animals. You’ll need to build barns, pens, and coops to hold more animals to expand.
In the hunting part of the game, you take on a first-person shooter perspective to stalk deer, wolves, and bears. The hunting section is more than just a welcome change in the gameplay - it also complements it, as wolves can threaten your livestock, and hunting them can remove the threat.
The gameplay of Ranch Simulator is solid and enjoyable ... the parts of it that are complete. This is an Early Access game, and not all of it is fully built out yet.
RATING: 3/5
Looks Great, But is Still Under Construction
Ranch Simulator sets itself on a simple mission. It simulates ranching, with hunting and beautiful wilderness views to enhance it. What the game sets out to do, it does well - at least, the parts that are complete. This is an Early Access game by a small studio, and it’s still a work in progress.
REPLAY VALUE: 3/5
TL;DR
Ranch Simulator has you build and expand a ranch in a beautiful mountain wilderness but as it stands it's substantially incomplete.
