Review-Farming Simulator 22
As the main menu of Farming Simulator 22 loads up after its opening montage, the faint strains of John Denver’s classic song ‘Thank God I’m a Country Boy’ could be heard in the background of my mind “Well life on the farm is kinda laid back, ain’t much an old country boy like me can’t hack it’s early to rise, early in the sack, I thank God I’m a country boy”. Farming Simulator 22 is here and the developers from GIANTS Software have brought farming wannabes a game that allows them to truly experience and explore the life of a farmer who works the land for a living.
GIANTS Software has created a game that is vastly different from its predecessor ‘Farming Simulator 19’ with some amazing new additions that players will welcome, most noticeably the customisation of the player’s character which has never been offered before. Farming Simulator 22 is the game that lovers of simulation and farming have been waiting for. Once the customised character has been created, players will be keen to explore the maps of either Elmcreek, Haut-Beyleron or Erlengrat, and start building their farming empire. There’s also the addition of new ground working features like mulching or stone picking, an improved build-mode adding greenhouses and beehives.
Farming Simulator 22 feels like a game in which the player has been given the keys to the city to not only explore the maps and build their farming empire, however, GIANTS Software have grasped the notion that new gameplay features and offering more new content and greater player freedom will lead to players sinking hours into creating the farm that they envision. Farming Simulator 22 is a game that is easy for players to sit down and lose the track of time as they work to build a farm that is a money earner. There is no doubt that GIANTS Software has set out to truly make Farming Simulator 22 feel that it is all about the enjoyment of the player.
GIANTS Software has introduced new features into the game that will make players think outside the box with the introduction of seasons in Farming Simulator 22. Seasons make the player think ahead about the crops they want to plant because just as in real life, plant the wrong crop at the wrong time and the farm won’t be able to make a profit and it could take the player a few growing and harvesting cycles to recover from that decision. It’s a nod to real-world physics and how farming truly works with players having to adopt the notion of careful planning to turn a profit, acquire new land to work, and expand their produce empire on the map. Seasons add a layer to Farming Simulator 22 which shows that GIANTS Software hasn’t been resting on their laurels in the time between Farming Simulator 19 and Farming Simulator 22.
Players can see how GIANTS Software has continued to bring evolution to the Farming Simulator series and can be found with its other major addition: production cycles, which involve the player in the refining, distribution, and finally the selling of their goods. In one scenario, players can harvest wheat, take it to a factory to be turned into flour, then transport that flour to a bakery to be cooked into bread. And in a sign as to how much more elaborate Farming Simulator 22 is, players can spend an entire in-game year if they choose to so which means that they can figure out how to grow or harvest strawberries, sugar, milk, eggs, and butter to do something as simple as manufacturing cakes to sell.
The controls on Farming Simulator 22 are fairly simple to work out and once mastered players will quickly be able to operate the various farm machinery that comes in all different shapes and sizes as well with different purposes on the farm. Understanding the seasons, production cycle will only mean that players will be able to put themselves in a position to advance their farming careers and expand the size of their farm depending on which map they may have chosen at the start.
The level of a player’s success is also determined by the difficulty level picked at the start menu with there being 3 different levels to choose from, which are Easy where the player starts their farm together with fields and some machines. The machines are basic and the player gets $100 000 capital to start with. Medium where the player is a farm manager, getting more cash and a wider choice of agricultural machines and vehicles, more extensive freedom to choose specific machines and fields to buy. But players start with nothing, $1 250 000 capital and a $250 000 bank loan. And the final level is Hard, where the player starts totally from scratch with only $500 000 available to use and no loans.
There is no shortage of tractors, trucks and various farming machinery for the player to use, with over 400 machines and tools from over 100 real agricultural brands such as John Deere, CLAAS, Case IH, DEUTZ-FAHR, New Holland, Fendt, Massey Ferguson, Valtra and the new addition of the Mack Anthem Truck which truly makes Farming Simulator 22 stand out from previous Farming Simulator games. As with the beautiful detailing of the tractors used in Farming Simulator 22, GIANTS Software has paid attention to the way the Mack Anthem has been modelled in the game with the interior view showing a gorgeously detailed cab which makes players feel as if they truly are in control of a big rig as they drive down the roads with a fully loaded truck and trailer combo.
Players still can pick up contracts on the side from other farms which means more money can be made to purchase upgrades from the store when it comes to tractors, trucks, utes and tools that mean player’s farms are expanding and growing. This enables players to hire workers to do the jobs needed to be done on their farm whilst they are off earning money by working on another farm on the map. Not only that, players can utilise cross-play so that they can play with friends who may otherwise play on other platforms such as PC, , PS5, PS4, Xbox One and Stadia. This makes playing Farming Simulator 22 even more enjoyable when playing with friends simply due to the benefits of being able to help each other out on the farms.
Farming Simulator 22 is a game that has been well thought out, well designed with the evolution from the previous game seen by the new additions brought into the game by GIANTS Software. It is a game that can be both played in front of the family as well with kids over the ages of 5 and upwards who may get enjoyment out of learning what life on the farm is truly like. It is one of those games that can transcend the screen and educate in some way as to the true realities of life working on the farm and what it takes to not only grow crops but also to be successful.
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J for One More Game
9 – Amazing – as near to a 10 as you are going to get without it being a 10. It’s an amazing experience that just requires that little something else to make it a masterpiece. Your hard-earned cash and time would be well spent here.
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Farming Simulator 22 was reviewed on the Xbox Series X with a code that was kindly provided by the publisher for this game. All thoughts on this game are ours and ours alone.