Ranch Simulator - Build, Farm, Hunt

This image shows our first plank purchase in the game. When we first started, there were plenty of trees on our farm, but they were quickly used up. After searching online for ways to make money fast, we discovered the treasure quest, which helped us earn enough to buy wood planks from the hardware store. The planks come in stacks of eight, and we had to load them onto the trailer one by one before heading back to the ranch. The trip home was incredibly rough. The trailer constantly fishtailed behind the go-kart we were using, and it quickly became clear that the vehicle isn’t great for hauling trailers due to its speed and tendency to flip. The trailer physics also acted strangely at times. At one point, I even saw my friend get launched out of the car mid-air while she was driving.

This image shows our first kitty and animal purchase in the game. One thing the game doesn’t explain is that you need an animal trailer if you plan to buy more than one animal at a time. You can only lead one animal at a time, which makes transporting multiple animals difficult. Chickens and cats are easy—you can simply pick them up and place them in the back of your go-kart or on a trailer. Larger farm animals and dogs are different, though. They can’t be picked up, so you have to lead them home one by one using a lead. With dogs, you don’t even use a lead. You have to whistle to get them to follow you instead.

This image shows our first baby chicken in the game. One thing the game doesn’t explain is that the mother hen will attack you if you pick up a fertilized egg. She keeps attacking until she’s satisfied, which can quickly drain your health. To avoid this, you need to use an egg light to check whether an egg is fertilized before picking it up. Once you confirm it’s safe, you can place the egg in a basket. Fertilized eggs won’t hatch unless you put them back on the ground or inside the coop. The large coop that holds 20 chickens is very useful, especially because of the storage drawers on the sides, but the chickens often get stuck on the front ramp. On top of that, it felt like it took forever for the eggs to hatch—almost 17 in-game years!

This game is enjoyable overall, but there are a lot of frustrating issues that hold it back. One problem is that it doesn’t clearly explain the rancher quests, which are important for earning extra money. After logging off for one night, all of our animals died even though we had fed them beforehand, which was really discouraging. Building mechanics are also limiting. Once you place something, you can’t move it, and destroying it only returns half of the materials. I also dislike that when you build your own home, it comes with no basic furniture like a stove, and you can’t use vegetables for cooking. The placement range for the water and granary systems feels too small, making it difficult to manage animals efficiently. Vehicles frequently get stuck, which makes traveling around the map frustrating. The driving itself is terrible...one small tap to the left or right sends everything out of control, and if you’re pulling a trailer it’s even worse. The trailer fishtails constantly and can flip your vehicle with almost no effort. The flashlight is another issue...it actually makes visibility worse instead of better. Finally, having multiple harvesting attachments feels unnecessary and makes crop harvesting more complicated than it needs to be. The game has a lot of potential, but these problems make the experience more frustrating than fun at times.