Farming Simulator 22

There still isn't any game on the market quite like Farming Simulator, but the series is overdue for a gameplay makeover.

Farming Simulator 22 massively expands upon the management aspect of past games, giving greater importance to your crops once you've harvested them. Building supply chains is immensely rewarding, even if it can take what feels like an eternity to get your business up and running the way you want to. Interesting new crops, like grapes and olives, add gameplay variety to the tried and tested loop, while an abundance of licensed machinery gives you a wealth of vehicles and tools to work with. It's the best entry in Giants Software's series yet, but like a popular British yeast extract, you'll either love it or hate it.

Farming Simulator 22 shines the most when it is enjoyed with friends and expanded via mods. Giants Software has made this process easy by implementing add-ons directly into the game, allowing everyone regardless of platform to extend and prolong their farming enjoyment. If you're able to find a way to make a profit, or at least enjoy the struggle to get there, then Farming Simulator 22 should easily find a spot at the top of your game library.

We waited three years for Farming Simulator 22, only to be greeted by a winter season that was promising but underdeveloped, along with a host of outdated systems that the developers haven’t touched in years. The game’s saving graces are its more attractive machine models and animations, a vast array of options, and—most importantly—endgame content in the form of production chains, which are the main reason fans of the genre should pick up this new installment. Despite its shortcomings, players can easily spend hundreds of blissful hours playing it. Simply put, there’s still plenty to tweak, and the developers should take into account what players actually want.

With the so called Premium Edition of Farming Simulator 22 players gain the complete package with any DLC that has been released since the launch of the main game in November 2021. There is a lot of stuff in it you can easily expand with quiet a lot mods even on consoles. But the weak points stay the same especially concerning the partly bad player guidance or the poor physics engine. A good farming simulation, but still not a perfect one.

If you've been chomping at the proverbial bit, in preparation for Farming Simulator 22, most likely you are going to be extremely pleased with this outing. It takes the more surface-level mechanics found in prior installments and then builds upon them immensely. While it certainly has its fair share of issues such as terrible AIs and tutorials, which hopefully can be improved through post-release patches, this new level of depth helps drive the franchise well into the PlayStation 5 era. Using this year as a foundation, I can't wait to see where the series goes in the future.

Designed with the hardcore simmer in mind, Farming Simulator 22 continues to build upon the foundation of previous games in the franchise to provide a realistic open world where players can put their green thumbs to the test in a variety of agricultural industries.

A really remarkable title that offers a fun and at the same time a relaxing experience.

Farming Simulator 22 is an experience I can only describe as highly demanding, but almost as equally rewarding. Thanks to the bolstered business management elements of the game, you have several new opportunities to expand your business and truly feel like you're dominating the agriculture market.

So at the end of the day, it's hard to call Farming Simulator 22 a perfect game. It could be, and I'm pretty sure the mods will once again improve this great franchise in a way that Giants Software should study closely and keep in mind before the next version is launched. Yes, it's just a matter of time until modders end up delivering this must-have polishing, but of course, this isn't the right way to go for such a popular franchise.