Nintendo Switch, Android smartphones and tablets and Apple today receive the latest version of the mobile version of Farming Simulator. Evolution ? Revolution? Or disappointment?
Farming Simulator mobile version is a long story that began in 2012. The principle remains unchanged: to offer players a simplified version less focused on simulation than on PC or home consoles. The game is intended to be accessible to all players, especially the youngest, but also to - almost - all mobile devices. He evolves like his big brother over a cycle of 2 years. Better graphics, new vehicles and environment, improved gameplay, each opus retains the key features of the previous one. The franchise improves over time while keeping a strong guideline: accessibility.
Development without tail or head
And this FS 20 version completely breaks the previously mentioned codes. Farming Simulator 19, released just 1 year ago on PC / PS4 / Xbox One, marked a major breakthrough in development with significantly improved graphics (whatever we may say) and gameplay contributions (the arrival of horses, large maps, new cultures…). This is the strength of the game: every 2 years, we know we are moving forward. Not this time.
Farming Simulator 20 was unveiled in France this year at Paris Games Week. The opportunity to take in hand a preview on iPad and Switch. This version highlighted the graphics of the game, close to version 19. We presented it in video, she had made a good impression on us. Then we received the final version on the Nintendo console, and the first questions arrived. Where is the forester? Why can we no longer send a worker to sell products to different merchants in a completely autonomous way? Where are all the vehicles specific to Farming Simulator 19? Worse, where has local multiplayer gone? You are telling yourself that this is a simplified version. And I will remind you that the Switch has FS 17 in full version, with the 2 maps, all the gameplay, and all the machine park. In short, a Nintendo Switch player who goes from 17 to 20 may wonder if this is not a demo version.
Farming Simulator 20 key points:
• More than 100 vehicles and tools.
• Varied crops: wheat, barley, oats, rapeseed, sunflower, soybeans, corn, potatoes, sugar beets and cotton.
• Raise your cows, sheep, pigs, and now horses.
• Ride horses regularly for resale.
• New 3D graphics for more detailed machines and North American environment.
• A cockpit view for driving your vehicles, but still no pedestrian view.
Accessibility left behind
For smartphone versions, the problem is elsewhere. We were able to test Farming Simulator 20 on 3 devices: A Samsung Galaxy S6 edge +, an S8 + and an S9. The first was a real warship when it came out, admittedly 4 years ago. But it still runs benchmark games such as Real Racing 3 in QHD. What about the other 2? The Galaxy S8 + is right behind the Nintendo Switch and its chip derived from the nVidia Tegra X1 in raw power on an Antutu bench. Why talk about power when it's a mobile game? Quite simply because none of these 3 platforms is able to run Farming Simulator 20 smoothly with an aspect comparable to the Nintendo platform, which benefits from a stable game and a constant graphic quality. . On mobile, FS 20 decides for itself which graphics quality to apply: in our case low for the S6 and average for the S8 and S9. Lags and other freezes are reminiscent of an optimization concern, the very one encountered by Mac users.
A map without originality
Farming Simulator 20 takes place in an environment very close to Ravenport, the American map of 19. Major change compared to 18: the terrain is hilly. But what is just as surprising about this map is its lack of scenery: earth, trees, points of sale and a few enclosures. Where did the bridge, cliff, village, waterfall and all those little things that gave the Farming Simulator 18 map life go? The relief brought to this "pseudo-ravenport" also has another - heavy - consequence: the workers no longer know how to go from point A to point B as was possible. Again this is a thorn in the side of accessibility. Fortunately, the few square kilometers are covered quite quickly. Finally, last detail, the PDA lacks information. It is currently not possible to zoom in on the map, and only points of sale and animal enclosures are shown. It took me a few - long - minutes to find a water point to water my pigs.
Check in
Let's talk a bit about the core of the game. The changes are similar to those of the PC version, namely the arrival of horses, oats to feed them, cotton cultivation and specific harvesting equipment. Note, despite the arrival of John Deere, that only the Case IH harvester is available. From an ergonomic point of view, the store is more pleasant to use with a classification by category like a PC version. For the moment - we will see as updates - the dealer's catalog is a bit thin. With the exception of the 14 tractors, there will be only one forage harvester (the Krone BigX 1180), or even 3 harvesters (the 3 new ones, NH TX 32, Agco Ideal and John Deere T560). We also notice in the store that there is only a square baler! So no more round bales. Worse, the only way to transport them is to use Arcusin's autoloader tray. One therefore does not go without the other and the purchase of this “pack” amounts to 175.000 euros (105000 + 70000) for the player.
And finding that tidy sum is not easy. On Nintendo Switch, you'll have to work hard to get the bank account filled. On iOS and Android, it is possible to go through the “Blue card” box with real money: € 3,19 for 1 Million coins. Knowing that a forage harvester will already cost you half of it… Giants Software seems to have found a good economic model.
Farming Simulator 20, for whom?
In the end, the results are mixed. On the one hand, the mobile version contrasts radically with the previous one - like it or not - but you will need a powerful and recent smartphone to take full advantage of it, provided that an update corrects this youthful defect. On the other hand, the Nintendo Switch version which is more aimed at new players in the franchise, FS 17 being much more evolved in terms of simulation. The question therefore remains open on the legitimacy of this new mobile version compared to its big sister. To be continued.