Farming Simulator Nintendo Switch Edition Review
Available now on the Nintendo Switch
Farming Simulator is back again on the Nintendo Switch but are the developers milking the series? Keep reading to find out!
I have personally never played any of the farming simulator games on any platform at all so going straight onto the Nintendo Switch version was a first for me! The Nintendo Switch version is apparently a portable version of the highly popular Farming Simulator 17, I am hopeful the Switch version is going to include all of the features of FS17 but playable on the go anywhere!
If you like a challenge and have no farming experience this will challenge most…
The game starts and gives you a few brief tutorials on how to use some of the vehicles, manage the fields and how the menus work. Once these are complete the hand holding is over and you are pretty much left to it! While it’s great to get straight to work new players like myself can feel a little lost to say the least!
There are plenty of menus on offer to help but having some actual real life farming knowledge is a massive bonus here, being able to tell the order you need to do things for the crops gives the player a huge head start over someone like myself with absolutely no farming experience.
After endless reading trying to get my head around things it’s starts to make sense, you will need to remember which vehicle and attachment is needed for the certain task you are trying to perform, again for a newbie this is all a little daunting!
Want to be a farmer without any of the real hassle this is as close as it gets..
If you have ever wondered what is actually like to run a farm this experience possibly the closest thing to the real thing without actually getting your hands dirty! The game is so in depth and will actually leave you feeling like you have gained some real farming knowledge! Fields and crops will need to be harvested and then taken to the places to sell your produce, this takes careful planning as some places will pay more than others and prices fluctuate.
Hiring a workforce is a must and essential to making a decent profit as there is way to much for you to do alone but remember the more people you hire the more you will lose when it comes to profit so finding the balance is really important. You can hire workers to carry out the tasks of plowing and seeding the fields etc while you get on with other things, every time a worker completes their task an alert will be given and you will need to take the tractor and trailer to collect the produce and transport it to the best priced place for sale and to make a profit. After finally driving the produce all the way to your selected buyer you will need to tip your trailer and empty the produce into the buyers unloading station.
I found there is no real aim to the game it is mainly to make as much profit as possible and expand the farm while buying new equipment tools and livestock. With there being no real aim rather than make money you might think that it can get boring but it’s honestly not, it’s so addictive trying to keep on top of everything and manage all whats happening, the sheer amount of tools and vehicles is enough to keep you good for many months to come!
Is it fun or too realistic?
Ok so Farming Simulator takes itself very seriously and doesn’t hold your hand throughout at all but is it actually fun to play? Yes and no, once you get your head around the basics it can be fun to build up your land and earn the money to buy some of the vehicles on offer but on the other hand most people may find the whole experience a little bit much and just be left frustrated and confused
I don’t think I have fully experienced all Farming Simulator has to offer if i’m totally honest as the amount of things to do and content is unbelievable! I have put a fair few hours in now though and it’s starting to get a little easier and makes a bit more sense but it’s seriously made for a dedicated gamer/farmer!
Another good Switch port?
Lastly I just wanted to talk about the Switch’s visuals and sound on Farming Simulator, visually the game looks great with a real attention to detail, real life branded vehicles and tools add to the realism and then there are the roads and cities with cars and pedestrians which make everything feel very realistic. The only thing I noticed visually that I didn’t like was some of the draw distances, it’s really clear at times to see object textures popping away but this has to be expected with the Switch’s hardware.
Sounds are also pretty good and you can hear the combine clearly fire up before it’s hard days work ahead, there is some music also on offer that fits well with it’s farming game play!
Verdict:
Farming Simulator is a difficult game for me to review as I haven’t played any of the previous games, on one hand it’s a fun and addictive game but on the other it will leave many players a little confused and frustrated! The Nintendo Switch does a great job porting this over with virtually no performance issues while looking really good at the same time! If you are desperate to try farming without the millions of pounds outlay then this is definitely one to try if not and you just want a bit of fun you should probably avoid this.
Score: 8 / 10
Farming Simulator
Pros
- Realistic
- Real Life Brands
- So much content on offer will keep players busy for ages
- Works perfect on the Nintendo Switch farming on the go!
Cons
- Without any real farming experience everything can be a little daunting!
- Very easy to get tottally lost
- Poor draw distance