Pure Farming 2018 Review (Xbox One)

STAFF REVIEW of Pure Farming 2018 (Xbox One)

Thursday, April 26, 2018.
by Adam Dileva

I reviewed my first farming simulator last year, fully expecting for it to be a waste of time and skeptical that it could be fun, initially scoffing at the idea, and the genre, but I came away kind of surprised with how in-depth it really was, and more importantly, how much work farmers put in. I was really surprised with how popular the farm sim genre is after being exposed to it, as I didn’t expect it to be with how niche it is. Previously, there really has only been one main game in the genre that releases every few years, on console anyway, but developer Ice Flame is looking to break into the market with their inaugural offering, Pure Farming 2018.

Sure, farming sims may only appeal to a small market, but the fans who play them are very passionate about what they do, and don’t, like from their farming games. Pure Farming 2018 seems to have done their research, adding some very interesting features not found elsewhere, yet somehow also missing some big ones, like multiplayer and mods.

If you’re not a farmer, or a farming game enthusiast, it’s hard to find the appeal of any farming titles, as you need to work hard for any pay off, just like real farming. If ploughing a field for 45 minutes before sowing and watering for another 45 doesn’t sound appealing to you, then there’s not much these games will do to make it exciting, but if cultivating your own crops and selling them in other markets for huge profits sounds fun, you’ll most likely enjoy Pure Farming 2018 for what they’ve added to the genre, hopefully resulting in the competition stepping up their game as well.

Surprisingly enough, there is actually a campaign with a story attached to Pure Farming 2018. It won’t win any awards, as it’s simply a tale of your grandfather passing and leaving the farm to you, along with the debt that comes with said land. So, it’s up to you to save the family farm and turn it around into a profit. I appreciated that at least there was some type of narrative involved aside from the simple objective of making money, as there’s a reason behind doing what you need to do. So, you strap on your boots, put on your hat and overalls and start your journey to becoming a farmer that would make your grandfather proud.

To turn a profit, you’ll need to plant seeds, cultivate crops, raise livestock, run errands and drive heavy farming machinery. One thing I found very challenging about the other farm sims was just how in-depth they were, as you needed to turn the engine on, hit the lights, rotate your equipment, turn it on and more, and doing so with a controller only was quite challenging and unintuitive. Pure Farming 2018 doesn’t go as in-depth per se, but that doesn’t mean it’s not just as good of a simulator either, it simply does things differently, allowing you to focus on other aspects and separating itself from the competition.

My First Farm mode is actually the campaign/tutorial, guiding you step by step on how to move around, how to drive and how to use equipment, and of course, harvesting your crops properly. Even though you’re generally given step by step instructions of how to perform your task at hand, it’s not done well enough, periodically keeping you confused and frustrated as to why what you’re supposed to do isn’t working. Some instructions are vague, eventually not giving you every single step in the process, leaving you to search the old tutorial tips or struggling to remember what you needed to do hours ago the first time.

Luckily, as a modern farmer you have your trusty tablet on hand at all times. This is where you’ll get your emails (tips and tutorial), statistics, view marketplace to buy new equipment for delivery and resources, taking another loan from the bank (if needed), hiring extra help and even launch your drone should you want to fly around the farm to get an aerial point of view. What I really enjoyed was how beginner friendly many of the options (and tablet menus) were, so newcomers shouldn’t be too intimidated once you’ve learned the ropes and general controls.

You have the choice of three different modes to play: My First Farm, which is the starting tutorial and campaign as described above, Free Farming, where you can choose the continent you want to farm on and even your starting cash flow (up to $5 million), or Farming Challenges that have you focusing on specific objectives to be successful. Free Farming is suggested for more experienced players, as there’s no hand-holding in any way, allowing you to freely farm however you choose. The nearly unlimited budget (should you chose) is a great way to test out new equipment and farm types. Farming Challenges will surely put your farming skills to the test, as they are objective based with very specific gear and goals.

As I mentioned above, you can choose a mode that allows you to pick where you will farm. That’s right, Pure Farming 2018 allows you the option to choose which continent to play on. You’re able to choose from areas such as Italy, Japan, Colombia, and of course the biggest map of all by a large margin, Montana, USA (and Germany if you buy the DLC). I didn’t think that having different areas would be a big deal aside from aesthetics and a varied backdrop, but I was surprised to see that each area has their own specific crop types that you can only farm there. For example, in Japan you can have rice farms and in others, hemp and olives. It was really interesting to see the different types of agriculture based on the various countries. You can even then farm crops in one country and sell to another for massive profits.

Farming isn’t possible without the proper equipment, and there’s plenty available for you to choose from, each with their own costs and stats. There are actual manufacturers included, such as Gregoire, Zetor, Mitsubishi and more. Granted, the selection is nowhere near the amount that other titles in the genre offer, but for someone like me, it was more than enough to offer varied options of how to cultivate my crops.

While you can obviously harvest wheat and potatoes, Pure Farming 2018 includes many more options based on what kind of crops you want to grow. Chickens, cows, rabbits, apples, help, rice, olives, greenhouses, cabbage, peppers and even green energy such as solar and wind, among others. There’s quite a large selection, some of which are only accessible on certain continents, so there’s plenty of gameplay should you desire it. Factor in that a large plot of land can take well over an hour to properly plow, seed and water, and you’ll start to get an idea of how much work farmers actually go through.

There’s really only two glaring omissions from Pure Farming 2018: no mods and no multiplayer. Mods allow for much more gameplay to be released by the community, and multiplayer would sure make the grind much more bearable with a friend or two. I’ve put in some hours into my crops, but it does grow tiresome after a while when doing it alone. Having a friend that could help me, or at least keep me company, would be much more preferable.

What I really enjoyed about Pure Farming 2018 is that it’s much more accessible than some of the others in the genre. Granted, the tutorial doesn’t do a good enough job, but I did eventually figure out what I had to do and how through trial and error. It’s still a simulator, but it feels much easier to do minor things overall, allowing you to focus on more farming aspects. It may not be the prettiest game out there, and it has its technical issues, but fans of the genre will most likely overlook these and enjoy their time cultivating their hard work.

Farming is hard work and takes time, and it’s no different here. You’re going to have to put in the hours to have a large, successful and profitable farm, but if you’re willing to do so, you’ll enjoy all that there is to do in Pure Farming 2018 that the competition simply doesn’t offer. If mod support and multiplayer are included in the hopeful sequel, there will be some serious farm sim competition in the genre.

Overall: 7.5 / 10
Gameplay: 8.0 / 10
Visuals: 7.0 / 10
Sound: 7.0 / 10

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STAFF REVIEW of Pure Farming 2018 (Xbox One)

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