I’ll be the first to admit, here in front of all of you, that I’m relatively new to the hardcore simulation game genre, especially the farming sim genre. Sure, I have amassed countless hours in farming games like Stardew Valley and Harvest Moon. But those barely hold a candle to Farming Simulator 22. This is one hell of a game, and it’s on another level altogether. Here’s our official Farming Simulator 22 review!
New Player Friendly Simulation
As I said, this is my first foray into the Farming Simulator franchise. I’m immediately thrust into the campaign mode, as a nameless, voiceless character that I designed from a selection of faces, hairstyles, beard types, and clothing options. For a farming simulator, there’s actually quite a bit here. In the end, I look like a wanna-be farmer out of a television series, not a hard-working fieldhand.
From there, it’s all work and plenty of play as you hope into one of three unique maps. The short but to-the-point tutorial carefully guides you through the major steps in cultivating and harvesting your first crop. It features short tidbits on the various tractors and pieces of equipment already available on your modest farmstead. I have to admit, when it comes to the bevy of equipment on hand, I’m lost. I’m thankful for the short descriptions provided at the top of each piece of equipment.
Once the tutorial concludes, you’re left to your own devices. It’s here that your farming career begins in earnest. You could focus on logging, seasonal crops, or build a farmstead with livestock at its core.
It will immediately appear overwhelming. I say appear because it doesn’t genuinely feel wholly overwhelming. The game moves at a pace that allows room for experimentation and learning. At no time did I feel pressured to push forward, to complete an objective that grants rewards. Furthermore, you immediately gain access to Giants University, which features more extensive guides and tutorials to enjoy the game to the fullest. If that wasn’t enough, an easily-digestible in-game guide, found in the menu screen, offers tidbits on every aspect of the game and its gameplay.
You have a lot of resources at your disposal as a new player. To me, that’s a huge plus.
Is the Grass Greener on the Other Side?
While you’re busy toiling the fields, you may find yourself gazing upon the landscape, across the rooftops of the smalltown outside your farmland, or at the tractor itself. The latter is highly detailed. Every piece of equipment and machinery is meticulously recreated for Farming Simulator 22. The landscape, too, looks excellent in most places. It does the trick.
But the background scenery, the buildings especially, are bland and boring. A small detail, to be sure, in a farming sim game, but take a look inside the windows of your home next time you play. It’s a single image meant to convey depth but comes across as alien-like. A blackened window or slightly reflective nature would have been better suited here.
But that’s nitpicking. You’re here to farm, not stargaze and sightsee.
What matters most in Farming Simulator 22 – the crops, tractors, and farm buildings – look exceptional. Developer Giants Software spent a noticeable amount of time modeling what mattered in the game, and that’s another plus in my book.
A Vast Fleet of Equipment
A big portion of Farming Simulator 22 focuses on the equipment you’ll utilize to prep and till your fields, harvest crops, and produce consumer goods to sell in town.
I mean, seriously, the developer went above and beyond when it comes to vehicles and tools found in-game. Their most recent content update included even more pieces of equipment to mess about with, too. Each one is intricately designed, with true-to-life details, logos, and functionality to help truly set the mood of being a genuine farmer.
You have equipment from the likes of CLAAS, Massey Ferguson, Iseki, Komatsu, Kuhn, Fendt, John Deere, Landini, Grimme, Challenger, McCormick, Mack Trucks, and so many more.
These manufacturers produce vehicles in categories such as small, lightweight tractors to heavy-duty tractors, eighteen-wheeler trucks to forage harvesters.
If you’re a gearhead, or simply a fan of farming equipment, the large selection is sure to be a notch in the positives column.
Bugs and Glitches
To say developer Giants Software understands their genre and series is an understatement. But even so, after a few years of cooking in the development studio, Farming Simulator 22 was released with a few minor bugs and glitches.
Most notably, I found myself with an overturned truck more than once when coming to a railway crossing. At one point, an NPC vehicle smacked into the side of my trailer, sending both it and myself flying into the stratosphere.
Overall, however, this is a well-polished game. The view physics-based concerns I stumbled upon appear few and far between, and I went entire seasons without any issues whatsoever.
A Great Game With a Great Future
I have to say, my first experience with a Farming Simulator game is a completely positive one. I’m excited to see what the future holds, both in terms of content updates and DLC for Farming Simulator 22 and for the next title in the franchise in a few years’ time.
Farming Simulator 22 is available now, and I do recommend picking up a copy if you enjoy virtual farming to any extent!
***Review code provided by the developer***