Farming Simulator 15 Review (Xbox One)

Have you ever wanted to be a farmer? Whether through aspiration or curiosity, did you felt an interest in knowing how to cultivate fields, plant crops, cut down trees, and more? GIANTS Software has you covered with the latest simulation game in its farming series, Farming Simulator 15.

With this being my first time playing a Farming game, I wasn’t sure what to expect. After playing through the game and working towards making my farm profitable, I can tell you that this is the best way to learn about farming without having to do any physical work, except exercise your thumbs. The options are robust and the realism of the gameplay is overwhelming.

First thing’s first: This isn’t Farmville or Animal Crossing. And people who enjoy the high-paced, frantic gameplay of shooters and action titles will find little here to enjoy. Farming Simulator 15 requires patience above all else. When you begin the game you’re thrown right into the action, with a short tutorial how to harvest grain and cultivate your field. (Note: Instead of starting the main game right away, scroll down in the main menu to the tutorial option. This will give you a greater range of help in how to manage your field, not only with crops, but also with handling your cattle and woodcutting).

What really blew me away about the game is its authenticity when it comes to equipment and vehicles. There is no shortage of the options you can purchase to help you along in your quest to own the best and most profitable farm. Need a baler for all the excess hay you acquired? No problem, but wait – did you want to create square bales of hay or round ones? Did you want to sell it or keep it to feed your animals? The options are endless.

There’s never enough to do in Farming Simulator 15. And you’re in control of every aspect from cutting down trees to delivering the wood. 

And with those endless options comes a steep learning curve, which may or may not turn off the casual gamer. When you’re running these machines, it’s not as simple as just getting in the vehicle, starting it up, and then moving it down the fields to harvest or cultivate. You have to move your vehicle in front of the plowing attachment, hook it up to your tractor, and then before you start harvesting, unfold it and lower it to the ground. Sometimes you will spend a few minutes just trying to figure out how to get your vehicle prepped before you can do any real work. The controls aren’t terribly complex, but the manner in which you select your options can be a little overwhelming. By holding down L1 you open the options of what you can do with your machine, but you have to navigate within that L1 menu during different moments in the game to make new options available. Confused? So was I.

Still, the controls never frustrated me to the point of stopping the game. And once you have your rig set up correctly, you have the option to hire workers to work your fields for you. They don’t work any faster than you, and they’ll need paid, but it’s a good option if there’s a task you find too difficult or time-consuming to handle on your own.

With time and patience, the gameplay becomes more fluid and easier to manage. Like I said before, this game requires patience. There’s no end to it or story mode that you have to beat. The point of this game is to go in, farm, and manage your crops, animals, and machines. Nothing more. Nothing less. You can go at it alone and hire AI workers, or you can go online and play with up to eight people, all working toward making your farm bigger, better, and profitable.

Take these vehicles online and have friends help make your farm profitable or hire workers to do it for you.

Farming Simulator 15 doesn’t have a story or any action packed scenario’s. It’s exactly what it’s meant to be – a simulator showing you the work and authenticity of running your own farm. The controls take time to get used to, but there’s something fun about having the chance at running your own farm, not only down to the crops and animals you raise, but also to the plethora of machines, attachments, and brands you have access to.

About Giants Software

Giants Software GmbH is a Swiss video game development studio
based in Zurich. Since 2004, Software Giants has produced many
innovative games and technologic products. In addition to the
development of their successful games Farming Simulator and
Demolition Company, Giants Studios offers its own game engine.

https://www.giants-software.com

About Focus Home Interactive

Focus Home Interactive is a French publisher based in Paris,
France. Known for the quality, diversity and originality of its
catalogue, Focus has published and distributed original titles
that have become benchmark titles worldwide, available both in
store and for download across the world. Focus publishes games
on all major platforms, consoles and PC.

https://www.focus-home.com

Thomas Manning

Editor and writer. I’ve been a gamer from the time of the Atari to the present and I own a PS4, Xbox One, and 3DS. I squee over all things science fiction and fantasy in the worlds of gaming, movies, and books. Follow me @Gamer_TRMann