Well, here I am again reviewing another simulator game. This time it’s Farming Simulator 23, and just like all simulators before, my reaction remained the same. Rolling my eyes and asking, “Who would want to play a game where you pretend to work?”

This time, this simulator hits a little is a little closer to home. Growing up I spent many school holidays on my Pops’ steer farm. Feeding the cattle, pushing them through the crush, herding them into pens, driving the large farm machinery, all of it was immensely fun and I couldn’t wait to return the following lot of school holidays to do it all again.

So, has Giants Software managed to develop and publish a game capturing the magic of my past? Having never played a Farming Simulator, it was time to find out.

Farming Simulator 23 has no story or narrative of any kind, the plot is to farm. Grow crops, breed livestock, and sell the assets. It’s all about building your own narrative. Due to the build your own narrative, the gameplay is the most important thing to carry this game, and thankfully, the gameplay is extremely robust. With 131 pieces of machinery, 14 different crops to cultivate, five different animals to rear, and 24 different items to produce, you have an enormous number of functions and items to play with.

However, with all this functionality and items, the sheer magnitude is overwhelming, especially for a newcomer to the franchise like me. The game offers a tutorial, but it is incredibly limited. You will have the user interface explained to you and given minor tasks of field farming, but once that is complete, you are on your own. Personally, being so new to the experience, I would have liked a more in-depth tutorial, or missions or guidance continuing throughout gameplay to learn all that Farming Simulator 23 has to offer.

Navigating either of the two available maps is easy on foot or by vehicle. With plenty of map markers, you can travel with ease without getting lost. If ever you find yourself turned around, you can also drop a waypoint to help yourself get back on track. All the menus and user interface functions are just as easy to navigate as well, and with button prompts displayed on top of the command, you will never be left wondering how to operate a function. However, due to the enormity of the offering, knowing what you’re looking at and how it works is completely mind-boggling.

Farming Simulator 23 is realistic and very pretty to look at. The two maps look every bit the part of where they’re inspired from. The European map of Neubrunn and the American map of Amberstone could easily be mistaken for a real place.

The flow of time from day to night, and the seasonal changes from month to month all add to the visual spectacle. The equipment and animals are all just as impressive with their movements and colour.

The audio is no slouch either, particularly when it comes to immersing you in the world. The pleasing music fits the theme solidly, and the classic farm sounds are ever-present, thematically matching the gameplay. Be it from a rooster crowing, the sound of a car driving past, the roar of a tractor, or the whir of a wheat thresher, every sound is perfectly matched.

So back to the original question, has Giants Software captured the magic of my past? Yes, the jobs you undertake, the visual spectacle, and the immersive sound capture what can be experienced on a farm.

Sadly, for me, this is not enough to keep me playing. The lack of guidance has the game teetering between cathartic and boring. For veteran players of the Farming Simulator franchise, you will undoubtedly be getting exactly what you’re asking for, along with some new features. For those coming in new, be prepared for quite a steep learning curve, but with patience, you will reap the rewards of this very immersive simulator.

Written by: Ashley Barnett-Cosgrove