Ever dream of thriving off the land in wide open spaces, where the sweat on your brow and dirt under your fingernails reminds you that your hard work will be (slowly) rewarded? Then you may enjoy Ranch Simulator, a simulation game where you run your own ranch. Developed by Toxic Dog and published by Excalibur Games, the game was originally released in early access March 4, 2021. Since then, it has undergone further developments. On November 3, 2023 it moved it out of early access and the developers released v1.0 with a massive Unreal Engine 5 update.

Let’s talk about the basic experiences you’ll have going in so you can decide if Ranch Simulator is right for you. In this open-world simulator, you begin on your grandpa’s rundown ranch. There is an optional tutorial, so most of my experiences mentioned here are related to that. This mode helps players practice picking up, placing, and interacting with objects. You won't have any inventory aside from a few tools (more on these later). Access these by pressing Tab. A radial menu appears, and you can then select the tool/action combo you want (build, demolish, weapon, and open hand). Anything else, and you'll need to pick up the item and deal with it directly.

Just like in real life, running your own ranch in the game is a very atypical job.  You wear a lot of different hats to carry out a wide variety of responsibilities. For example, you can build, farm, raise animals, sell goods, and hunt. The online co-op option makes all of this a more enjoyable experience as you'll progress faster with the extra help. I played this with one of my regular gaming partners.

You start the game by customizing your character. You can get caught up doing this as there are several customization options. I enjoyed dressing up my character in a black denim outfit with boots, a cowgirl hat, and purple hair.

From there, you'll be dropped just outside the abandoned ranch inherited from your grandfather. The tutorial directs you to enter the dilapidated homestead, mainly to read a couple of grandpa’s letters which helps set the theme and give some instructions. Unfortunately the font isn't accessible, so some players may find it challenging to decipher. You'll then collect a small sum of money and a revolver (for hunting and accessed via the radial menu) from a chest in the attic. If you're playing co-op, players don't have individual accounts since the funds are shared between everyone.

Your main mode of transportation at the beginning is a simple utility vehicle (UTV), so you can travel to different businesses. In the tutorial mode, you must finish assembling it by attaching the seats, bumper guard, and tires.You’ll travel often to and from the ranch to buy wares or well goods, so once you can afford to, purchase another vehicle that is faster and has larger storage space. This will come in handy once you buy the larger animals.

Steering on the UTV is very responsive, and neither my co-op partner or I found it helpful to turn down the mouse sensitivity. So, like us, you might find yourself flipping the UTV on its side or rolling upside down more than a few times. When this happens, just exit the vehicle and press R to upright it. You'll need to go to the gas station early in the game to fill up the UTV and the jerrycan. To do this, lift the nozzle from the fuel pump and place it in the appropriate location. The pump doesn’t start automatically so you need to press E on the pump to extract the gasoline. After you fill up both items, the tutorial directs you to the various businesses you need to interact with to finish getting oriented and set up.

To determine where you need or want to travel, you can open the game’s map and place a waypoint. Then either follow the roads or enjoy some humorous off-roading while appreciating the beautiful mountains or roaming wildlife around you.

Once you arrive at the hardware for the first time, you'll need to buy the required items (an axe, a crowbar, and a table saw) to begin your ranching career. Locate and interact with a sales kiosk to make purchases. It's fun looking through the inventory and seeing what all you can buy. I found myself wanting to map out long-term plans for the ranch based on the stores’ offerings. Aside from items needed to raise animals, you can also grab up a variety of seeds for growing crops. 

After checking out, walk to the designated location to pick up your newly acquired items. The axe and crowbar will automatically be added to your personal inventory (accessed via the radial menu). Other things, like the table saw, will need to be manually picked up and placed in the storage part of whichever vehicle you have at the time. Make sure the object’s placement shows green and not red, or it will not go in. 

Thankfully, Ranch Simulator doesn't demand characters to busy themselves with eating or sleeping for survival. (Note: Sleeping does save your game's progress, so it's vital in that regard.) However, once nightfall hits, you'll want to sleep to move the time forward to the next day, as it gets far too dark to do anything. Yes, your character has a flashlight., and this invisible device can be activated by toggling L. The light will then magically beam from your forehead towards the immediate area in front of you, much like a headlamp. Neither my gaming partner nor I found our flashlights incredibly useful in the black black of night as the light’s radius is rather limited. Your mileage may vary.

You're allowed to build anywhere on your ranch, and there is more than enough space. Open the radial menu to access the blueprints notebook to decide what structures you need or want to build. You will cut trees - a lot of trees. Thankfully chopping down a tree only requires one hit. Once it's down, you'll need to cut it up into logs, and then take these logs to your table saw to make them into planks.

When you pick up a log, you'll see a green highlighted area for where you can place it on the table saw. I found dealing with this device a little frustrating at times because if you don't remember to power it on (make sure you add fuel first), the log will plop to the ground. You can also click the wrong mouse button and dismantle the table saw (and then you'll find yourself holding a box). When this happens, just place it at the desired location and keep going. It's not a big deal, but small things like this did get a bit frustrating from time to time.

The main reason you need to build is to have enclosed areas for livestock. If not fenced in, the animals will wander out, and you'll spend a lot of time herding and corralling them. Don't expect them to comply easily, as the game doesn't seem to be programmed for animals to be highly responsive.

Whether you go through the optional tutorial or not, your starting animals are two chickens. Tending to them is fairly easy, but my gaming partner and I couldn't convince ours to drink water from their trough. If your livestock is stubborn like ours was, they'll risk dying of thirst or starvation. After some time has passed you'll collect eggs - I recommend using the basket - and clean up dung (you read that right).

The more animals you purchase or hunt, the greater chance you have to earn profit. You can collect milk as well as make cheese and sausage, then sell these items at the appropriate businesses.

Aesthetics is the most significant weakness of the game. Animations are simplistic. The level of detail in the grass, wood, mountains, and other environmental elements will vary greatly depending on your computer’s specs. My gaming partner and I adjusted our settings to match each other, yet he noticed more issues with the visuals (mainly various textures jittering). Even with the best set up, you'll find yourself phasing through the doors when opening them or looking like you sank into the mattress while sleeping.

There are simple sound effects like the generic music on the vehicle radio. The table saw (which you will use - a lot) sounds mostly authentic. The weather doesn't create any hazards or challenges for players. Overall, it's a largely vacant and silent world, other than the very few people in the stores behind the counters waiting to interact with you (who don't speak out loud).

Steam achievements and pets (specifically cats and dogs) will soon be added to the game. In early 2024, the developers plan to share a post-release roadmap with even more details.

Ranch Simulator isn't for those who need to complete specific quests or follow a deep narrative. You just build and maintain your inherited ranch however you like. It can be a bit of a grind to get set up, so again, I highly suggest playing co-op if possible.

While it feels a bit basic, I can see a lot of potential if the developers continue to build out this game. In its current state, it is enjoyable if you're willing to overlook some pesky, and rather minor, elements. If you like sim games, especially ones that give you a taste for life in wide-open spaces, then I recommend you try Ranch Simulator.