Over the past several years, I’ve been gone from confusingly amused at Farming Simulator to quietly respecting it. Sure, games like Stardew Valley and Core Keeper snatched several hours from me for their farming excesses, but Giants Software’s franchise is on a whole other level. The utter dedication and attention to detail to real-world farming methods, machines and processes; the ability to build up and manage production supply chains, going from a one-man operation to a full-fledged tycoon. Even if the idea of an esports league baffles me, there’s no denying the franchise’s success.

Yet, in recent years, Giants Software has been somewhat floundering. Farming Simulator 23 initially launched last year for iOS, Android, and Nintendo Switch, and to say it was a disaster on the console would be an understatement. We’re now at Farming Simulator 25, skipping a year in its naming and previous-gen platforms while embracing a console (and PC) first release. With so much hype and anticipation, the results could have been better.

"The actual farming experience can be a pretty laid-back and relaxing experience. The processes of cultivating, sowing, harvesting and transporting are pretty straightforward, yet each has its nuances and dedicated mechanics."

Career Mode is where you’ll cut your teeth, with starting options that range from inheriting a pre-established farm to building your own from scratch. You can also adjust the starting and loan money, the difficulty, and the type of farmstead, specifically North American, Central European, or East Asian. They feel more scenic than anything else, though the differing available stores and properties help mix things up (depending on your settings).

Unfortunately, whether you start from scratch or inherit a farm, you’ll be brought face to face with Walter, the grandfather of the “protagonist.” There isn’t a plot to speak of in Farming Simulator 25, but there are NPCs to interact with, and each has their own share of horrid dialogue. Walter’s main schtick is that his son (aka your father) wouldn’t inherit the farm, but he’s happy you’re around. Get used to hearing “kiddo”, though, and more than a few passive-aggressive digs. The unnatural and stilted voice acting makes it all the worse.

It’s not just Walter either – even the likes of Tom have their own lame “jokes” to insert here and there. Does it completely break the experience? No, and you can limit your interactions with them as much as necessary, but it’s still annoying. Also, the tutorials past the initial farm tour aren’t helpful. Those wanting to learn anything beyond planting canola and harvesting wheat will have to remember each step of Tom’s guidance, that too, without potentially knowing what some of the required vehicles are. Walter saying I should check out Farming Simulator Academy, a series of official YouTube tutorials, instead of offering useful advice beyond ye olde farmer’s wisdom, doesn’t help.

The actual farming experience can be a pretty laid-back and relaxing experience. The processes of cultivating, sowing, harvesting and transporting are pretty straightforward, yet each has its nuances and dedicated mechanics, including attaching and detaching tools, lifting the harvester, and so on. Credit where it’s due to Giants, as each machine feels great to control.

"It’s a lot to initially handle, though AI workers are available to lighten the load and take care of tasks while you’re busy with something else. That is, when they work and don’t leave jobs half-finished, an issue which thankfully has happened only once."

The Challenger MT635 is fast and highly maneuverable, making it great for transporting grains while the Massey Fergusson MF8570 is powerful and weighty, further reinforcing the task of methodically harvesting. Their movement each feels realistic and not too awkward, even if the physics can feel odd at times (don’t get your 980 stuck on a barn door, lest the immersion comes tumbling down).

Each crop also has different planting and harvesting seasons, which you need to account for lest a decent chunk of canola withers mid-harvest as it did for me. Their characteristics also present some intriguing options for your business – sugarcane, for example, grows back after a harvest and only requires harvesting every now and again but is otherwise low in demand. There are also new crops like rice, which require flooded fields and different methods to harvest them. Some crops may not fetch as high of a price during some seasons as others and thus require storing in silos until the time is right.

You’ll also have to deal with other facets like animal husbandry, forestry, liming (which helps increase the yield), and contracts. Contracts offer different farming jobs to complete for cash. You can use your equipment and or lease out some, which reduces the overall payout from the job. The problem is that the latter scales oddly with the total reward and work required. You could receive a flat loss of 519 Euros, never mind if the contract pays 1800 Euros contract or 4500. A contract which differs only slightly in field size could charge more for the lease despite only offering a bit higher. There is a wider variety of contracts than previous titles, but they need serious rebalancing.

The map is fairly sizable, offering properties to purchase and different types of farms to further your business (though it also feels strangely devoid of human life at times, outside of the occasional cars and buses). It’s a lot to initially handle, though AI workers are available to lighten the load and take care of tasks while you’re busy with something else. That is, when they work and don’t leave jobs half-finished, an issue which thankfully has happened only once.

"Nevertheless, the technical issues, performance, annoying UI, AI workers, and other odd design decisions make it difficult to recommend in its current state to all but the hardest of the hardcore fans."

The other major hurdle is the user interface, which doesn’t feel very intuitive. Going through multiple tabs to check vehicles or other important information gets tiring, and it’s hindered even more by how the information is laid out (and that’s only a handful of issues). It’s not a complete deal-breaker, but it feels cumbersome and only adds to the list of problems.

Farming Simulator 25’s big claim to fame, at least over previous entries, is its visuals. Ignoring the facial animations of NPCs, which remain stilted and placid regardless of emotions, this is a great-looking game. Each of the machines is immaculately rendered and animates great. The terrain, surrounding foliage, fog, and other effects also add to the atmosphere. However, the sound design is equally amazing, and not just when it comes to the different equipment. Even the ambient noise, like the birds chirping, accentuates the experience. If there was ever any title that really captured that feeling of farm life – waking up at the break of dawn, breathing in the clean (and likely manure-stained) air – it’s this.

However, taking it all in is a challenge right now, thanks to the horrendous optimization. Going with Very High settings, increased FOV, and DLAA on PC resulted in constant stuttering, so I dialled things back to High and went with regular TAA. The stuttering reduced over time, but there were still frame drops, especially when shifting to a third-person perspective for the first time.

Other annoyances like object pop-in and incessant flickering also brought the experience down. Then you have gameplay-affecting issues with textures not rendering properly making it hard to judge if a spot of land has been cultivated or sowed. I haven’t experienced crashes like some other players, but suffice it to say that the game’s technical state leaves much to be desired (that too several days post-launch).

It’s a shame because even if Farming Simulator 25 isn’t reinventing the wheel or adding tons of new systems, it’s a solid experience for those who want to delve into farming. Nevertheless, the technical issues, performance, annoying UI, AI workers, and other odd design decisions make it difficult to recommend in its current state to all but the hardest of the hardcore fans.

This game was reviewed on PC.