Goat Simulator

Platform: Steam - PC
Price: £6.99
Developer: Coffee Stain Studios
Genre: Simulation
Overall rating: 3/5

I've played some odd games before, but this game in particular caused me to have a moment where I questioned what it actually was I'm doing with my life. Goat Simulator does pretty much what it says on the tin - you are a goat, free to roam in your own little world. You can run, jump and lick things to your heart's content. 

You spawn in a small enclosure as said goat, and the aim is pretty simple - you get achievements for doing things such as licking fences, jumping on trampolines, headbutting cars, so on and so forth. You take no damage, however you can ragdoll both voluntarily and involuntarily, say when hit by a speeding lorry. This can be pretty amusing watching a flying goat bouncing and spinning wildly around the map. The more things you can combo together, the higher your score. Overview

Controlling your fuzzy character can take a bit of getting used but it becomes fairly easy. Movement range is quite free, and with a bit of technique you can get your goat scaling buildings and objects with relative ease. You do jib out every so often, but these have intentionally been left in the game for amusements sake - climbing a ladder renders the goat's neck seemingly elastic. In addition to the lick and ragdoll controls, you can also mess with time for epic slow motion goat back-flipping action, which is a nice touch. Control

The theme music that plays continuously throughout play is at the same time catchy and hideously irritating. I'd recommend turning it down fairly low in all honesty, it doesn't really add to the gameplay. Press 1 to get the goat to bleat, that is far more satisfying. Visually the game doesn't boast HD graphics, but it's rather muted quality isn't out of place and certainly isn't obviously lacking in any particular area. The environments are rich in detail which allows interesting and engaging free roam play. Audio and Visual

There has recently been a DLC update to Goat Simulator, adding a new map and several new features to the game. These were definitely needed - I played the first release and found that after a while the lack of variety really became apparent. This DLC hasn't exactly solved this problem, but at least there is a bit more do to now before you hit this point. There's even a multiplayer mode now for goat based group hijinks! Gameplay

As I said however, this only really delays the inevitable. Once you've kicked every civilian, licked all the amusement park rides and ridden the bicycle off the dam, there isn't a huge variety of things left to do. It's a great game for killing some time but there rapidly comes a point where you realise you've paid a fair amount for a game with a rather limited replayability. This may change as more DLC and steam workshop content appears, but as it stands I feel the cost is slightly steep for what you actually get for your money. 

 What an incredibly weird, unique game. It's a lot of fun, but not for long. Certain parts of it have a better replay-ability factor, such as getting as high as you can then ragdolling across trampolines, or licking people and throwing them in front of trucks, but overall it can be experienced and worn out a bit too quickly as it stands at the moment. Good for filling short periods of time though.

- Smokeys_13

Goat Simulator is something that has got to be experienced to believe. Its certainly one-of-a-kind and good for quite a laugh. That said it's content in the current sale version is on the limited side, which means that it may not be one of those games you come back to often. If you're after a game simply to kill 10 minutes waiting for your buddies to come online, this would certainly do the job.

- HolmesyLogic

Cover image borrowed from the Coffee Stain Studios website.