Review: Goat Simulator

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be a goat? Well, with Goat Simulator, you can find out for yourself. Goat Simulator, developed by Coffee Stain Studios, is a computer game that puts you behind the controls of a goat that is ravaging a small suburban town.

At its heart, Goat Simulator is a sandbox game, leaving the player to freely goat up the landscape. There are objectives set in place for completion and a scoring system that racks up points for jumping over fences or running up walls, giving it a classic skateboard game feel. Despite being a goat, the player can do everything from climbing ladders and jumping on trampolines to blowing up gas stations.

What may be obvious is the zaniness Goat Simulator has to offer. The suburban landscape contains a fighting ring where you challenge other goats to a sumo style wrestling match. Completing all of the rounds earns you the honor of bulging muscles fit for Arnold Schwarzengoat. The goat has the ability to lick objects, including people, and drag them around with its tongue. There’s even a demonic ritual that can be performed in game which grants you the ability to drop goats from the sky at the press of a key. The silly mood it has makes Goat Simulator fun to play and inspires exploration of the world to see what other crazy things are out there.

In addition to the suburban map, there’s also the option to play the Goat Simulator MMO, which was included with my purchase of the game on Steam. The Goat Simulator MMO is a spoof of the massively multiplayer fantasy genre, giving you different goat classes to choose from. You can be a tank, a rogue, a magician, a hunter, you can be classless and even a microwave. Each class has different abilities that are specific to that class. The objectives present in the suburbs now take the form of quests given by people dotting the knight and castle themed map.

Goat Simulator is a little shaky when it comes to the controls. In my experience the controls were not as smooth as I would have liked them to be, especially with the camera movements. However, I believe the zany nature of the game makes up for this tiny flaw.

At a price of ten bucks, I would say that Goat Simulator is worth the buy if you are looking for a ridiculous game that is good for letting go of some pent up, goaty aggression at society.