Author: Andrew
Vroom Vroom! Welcome back to the Farming Simulator franchise with the new installment of Farming Simulator 15! How does it hold up to compare with the previous installments? Let’s find out!
Farming Simulator 15 follows from its predecessor (Farming Simulator 2013). There were very many major issues with Farming Simulator 2013 that were thankfully fixed in Farming Simulator 15.
The first, and very noticeable upgrade is the new physics and graphics engine, which fixes many of Farming Simulator 2013’s lousy physics and graphics engine, which for a simulator did not feel very realistic and was often problematic to play with. Everything―from the tractors to the grass―looks superior to that of previous installments in the series. With the improvement of the graphics engine comes the improvement of the physics engine. In Farming Simulator 2013, it was very frustrating when one of your highly needed vehicles would sporadically flip or get stuck in a tiny incline in the environment. Although my tractors flipped and got stuck a few times out of the twenty hours I spent on the game, it was a huge improvement from Farming Simulator 2013.
With the enhancements of the graphics and physics engines comes a disappointing point of gameplay. In terms of a tutorial, there isn’t much for beginning players to educate themselves with. Being able to have played the previous games in the series I do know what everything does and how to do it, but there is a lack of beginning guidance which I felt was needed especially as these games get better and more players become interested in the series. That being said, there is in fact a tutorial, it just isn’t very efficient at its purpose, and this can be easily fixed for the next game.
Another upgrade which can be seen as soon as you boot up the game is the redesigned and very friendly user interface (UI). I would go as far as saying this is one of the best UIs that I’ve seen on a game all year. It’s very efficiently designed and looks great! While playing the game, the UI allows you to see what button does what on a tractor, how much money you have, how much seed percentage for the tractor you have left before you run out.
Woodcutting has been added and its basic at its current stage, but is a great addition to the game franchise. Players can now cut down wood―if they get bored with farming―and transport their wood to nearby sellers. This enables players to use woodcutting vehicles and chain saws to cut down wood, which is a great diversion from the (sometimes) dull farming.
With the addition of woodcutting comes something even more mind-blowing; multiplayer! Now players are able to create their dubstep remixes―cough―I mean…farm while playing with up to 15 players alongside them! The players I played with seemed to be friendly, but I have met some over-the-top people whose only goal is to mess up farms, which was rarely a problem due to how Farming Simulator 15 is structured as a game. There also seemed to be some connection issues with whatever servers I joined, but that may have just been my connection. Playing multiplayer with my friends and trying to find every bug we could was a blast and would definitely recommend trying to get one of your friends to play the game with you if you decide to purchase the game. It’s definitely worth it and is a great break from just playing by yourself.
One negative which I realized at about ten hours of playing was a lack of a spark, which has yet to be found in a Farming Simulator game. It’s not that the Farming Simulator games are mediocre, it’s just that they lack any real finesse that kept me wanting to come back for more. While driving by other NPCs in my fancy tractor, I found they lacked real emotion and even the little details in Simulator games can alter the mood.
Although there’s a lack of spark, I would argue that the price that Focus Home Interactive seems to fit for the gameplay that is provided. Mods created by people/developers always seem to expand upon the game’s limits which can add-on many more hours from the vanilla version and there is no end to Farming Simulator 15 as there has never been an end to one of the Farming Simulator games. There are missions and multiple maps to choose from to have your farm and grow, which provides for a different experience every time you start a new game.
7/10 In conclusion, Farming Simulator 15 expands the franchise to new heights, but unfortunately has its flaws. If you’re a casual gamer or a previous buyer of one of the older Farming Simulator games who’s looking for a relaxing, yet interesting game, you will not be disappointed.
Click here to visit Farming Simulator 15‘s Steam Page!
Click here to go to the official Farming Simulator 15 website!
Decrypted Gaming 