Goat Simulator: The GOATY

Genre: Misc. Game / Sandbox Game

Players: 1-2 Co-Op (Local Split-Screen)

.

Review:

Goat Simulator is an odd sandbox game designed with the intention of running largely on “rule of funny”. At least on the surface, the concept is similar to Untitled Goose Game: you are a terrible animal out to wreak havoc and chaos on the world. However, for this game, the game’s designers notoriously intentionally left in any bugs that weren’t game-breaking with the idea that it would result in hilarity, and players are generally let loose to do as they please in the game’s levels.

The graphics in Goat Simulator are pretty mediocre, and I suppose its developers might argue that this was partly the point. Same goes for the terrible voice acting and forgettable music. This game was originally released in 2014 and it looked ugly then, and age has not improved it. Add to this the “intentional” bugs that make for all sorts of clipping and wonky physics, and this definitely is not a game that will impress anyone visually.

As for the gameplay… it is largely what you make of it. You run around, headbutt and kick things and people, lick things with your strangely stretchy and prehensile tongue, and generally make a nuisance out of yourself, complete with a Tony Hawk-style score meter and “achievements”. You can explore and find secrets (and to the game’s credit, they put a lot of effort into hiding all sorts of stuff around the game’s levels), or you can try to get a big score combo… but mainly the game is structured so you can just play around and do what you want.

This version of the game includes previous expansion content, including maps in a zombie genre, one based on the Payday series, and one in a sci-fi setting. These add a good amount of variety, with additional nuances to the gameplay that add much-needed structure, though the core gameplay doesn’t deviate too much.

Is Goat Simulator amusing? Eh, mildly. There are enough sandboxy things to do to keep you occupied. Is it funny? Not really. There’s a certain overly self-aware vibe running through this game that undercuts the potential for humor to emerge from the gameplay, especially with all sorts of groan-inducing memes and dated references.

In the end, I can at least say Goat Simulator is interesting. It’s fairly unique, and it represents a very… er, different approach to game design. I found myself quickly getting bored with the game despite the effort put into giving the game’s levels a lot of variety, thanks largely to how little anything in the game seemed to really mean or accomplish any noteworthy goal. However, others might find this game charming, amusing, or even funny. I dunno, that’s up to your own personal sensibilities. As for me… eh, it just doesn’t do much for me.

tl;dr – Goat Simulator is a Sandbox game where players run around wreaking havoc as a goat. It can be amusing for a short while, but I grew bored with this before long due to a lack of structure or any sort of purpose to what I was doing. This is very much a “Your Mileage May Vary” sorta’ game.

Grade: C

^{You can support eShopperReviews on Patreon! Please click HERE to become a Sponsor!}