A Wasteland of Puns and Parody
Coffee Stain North can’t be accused of resting on their laurels with the release of Goat Simulator 3, can they? There has been one full-sized DLC already, Multiverse of Madness, and now there is another – Baadlands: Furry Road. And yes, this pun does kind of set the scene for the sense of humour running through the whole expansion.
Set in a massive desert and drawing inspiration from a variety of sources, the big question to answer in this review is this: has the silliness peaked, or can the developers kick things up to the next level with Goat Simulator 3 – Baadlands: Furry Road? I will attempt to answer that query as I go, so hang on tight!
Mad Max Meets Fallout Meets Goats
Starting with the sources that I have detected so far, they seem to be twofold. Looking at the title and the machinery on display, the most obvious factor influencing this DLC is the Mad Max franchise. Looking at cars, trucks, and buses with spikes all over them, and the overall setting of a vast desert after some unspecified apocalypse, this was a no-brainer. The name of the DLC was obviously another contributing factor!
The other big influence is the Fallout series (have you been watching the show on Amazon Prime? It’s brilliant). There are various nods, from a Vault that we have to open to a village of ghouls. All in all, the nods to the source material are well-aimed and land for the most part. However, as is usual, while there is a bit of a story, it isn’t one that you can follow in a traditional sense. The DLC breaks down into a series of discrete quests, so I won’t waste any more time analysing the narrative.
Presentation and Technical Tumbles
Presentation is where we head next. As a proposition, we all know that Goat Simulator games are usually flakier than a tray of croissants. Well, hold on as Goat Simulator 3 – Baadlands: Furry Road takes things to a whole new level.
What you don’t want to do, under any circumstances, is jump from any of the tempting cliffs dotted about the landscape. The reason for this? You will fall through the floor, and this gets very old, very quickly. Even jumping off the cliffs on your new motorcycle isn’t any protection; the bike will stay on the surface while the goat falls into the abyss. Other than this intrusive foible, the rest of the presentation is very good. The new area we explore is large and very well drawn – there is seemingly no end to the draw distance. The new items we can find for Pilgor are also interesting, ranging from a chef’s outfit to a radioactive horn that makes the people we headbutt grow extra limbs (don’t ask), and many more.
Sound is a mixed bag, ranging from the very good (the sound of Pilgor hitting the ground still makes me wince) to the ridiculous. You see, having a group of people all saying the exact same line, but spaced about one word apart, is so annoying that the controller nearly went out of the window! The vehicles sound good, but to be fair, that’s about all I can say about it. So, presentation is a bit of a mixed bag, to be generous.
Building Towns and Breaking Necks
Gameplay is, again being generous, somewhat open-ended. That is the beauty of the Goat Simulator games: you can pretty much do whatever you fancy, whenever you fancy. That is certainly true here and when we arrive in the world, we are guided to a Vault that we have to open by completing various tasks. We can also not only find but also grow and populate our own town. Yes, Ballistic Pilgor – our antihero and survivor in this DLC – can, if we so desire, build a town and then look after the inhabitants. Or, as is more likely, run around town being absolutely obnoxious and headbutting the population into the middle of next week. Which way do you suspect I went?
Scavenging in the Wasteland
There are a lot of areas to discover and explore in Goat Simulator 3 – Baadlands: Furry Road, and the main way we find out about these areas is by locating radio towers in the wasteland. Once you get them activated, they can be synchronised to reveal more of the map, showing the location of new quests and so on. Completing these quests, as well as headbutting people, will give us Scrap, the new currency for the DLC, which is then used to upgrade the town, buy new decorations, and even upgrade our motorcycle. Basically, spend it if you’ve got it! There is a lot to see and do in the DLC, so the content isn’t the problem.
A Janky Desert Journey for the Devoted
In conclusion, Goat Simulator 3 – Baadlands: Furry Road has a lot to offer, but even for a Goat Simulator game, it is somewhat janky. Too janky. The “falling through the map” issue is very intrusive and does spoil things somewhat. As a result, this is very much a story of two halves: there is lots to see and do, and lots of chaos to cause, but that is played off against worse-than-usual glitchiness.
If you like Goat Simulator, Goat Simulator 3 – Baadlands: Furry Road is good fun, but it feels like it could have done with a bit more love before being released into the wild.
Important Links
Mad Baaax: Goat Simulator 3 Descends into Chaos with Baadlands: Furry Road – https://www.thexboxhub.com/mad-baaax-goat-simulator-3-descends-into-chaos-with-baadlands-furry-road/
Buy from the Xbox Store – https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/goat-simulator-3-baadlands-furry-road/9MX185VBDV0F/0010
