Goat Simulator 3is a zany simulator sandbox for players both familiar and new to the series, but only the former can tell you why it’s such a great addition to the legacy of the 2014 indie classic. It’s difficult for a game with Goat Simulator’s history to please its older fans, but Goat Simulator 3 manages to do Pilgor the goat justice.
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Within every nook and cranny of the game, a returning player will see improvements to old systems, new content that expands on the first game’s charm, and aspects you couldn’t have imagined in the first Goat Simulator. From a game that already offers so much, a lot of care has been put into making sure that these players will be satisfied.
10This Isn’t The Third Goat Simulator Game
If you’ve played Goat Simulator, the name Goat Simulator 3 might be a surprise to hear since there is no Goat Simulator 2. The team took the route of Postal 4: No Regerts, choosing to ironically skip an installment of the series to point out its own surreal nature.
New players will likely go into this game thinking it’s the newest installment in a trilogy, but older players could just be confused about whether they blinked and missed Goat Simulator 2, which compliments the game’s chaotic and tongue-in-cheek nature.Humorously, JackSepticEye seems to remember Goat Simulator 2…
9There Are Even More Non-Goats
If you’ve played Goat Simulator, then you will remember the collection of mutators you could apply to your goat to gain abilities and a new appearance. Among those mutators, there were a few that would turn you into animals or things that weren’t goats, jokingly calling these forms a different breed of goat (giraffe becomes tall goat, for example).
In Goat Simulator 3, you can change into even more interesting forms; become a flopping fish, a pig, or even a scarecrow! At two points, you even have the option to become a human if you can find certain secret events.
8The Physics Are More Consistent
Half of the fun of the first game was its wobbly and exaggerated physics. Goat Simulator 3 still has the silly physics of the first, but they are much more consistent. In the previous title, models could be stretched and deformed in ways that stopped being silly and became visually unappealing, and would additionally clip into geometry unexpectedly.
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In Goat Simulator 3, models are able to be rag-dolled, beaten, and bruised without losing their shape or getting stuck nearly as easily. This change also greatly improves the control you have over your character, since less time is spent waiting for the physics to stop bugging out. A returning player will appreciate the way they kept the fun but dropped the inconsistency.
7Quests Have Been Categorized
In Goat Simulator, your quests list appeared on the right-hand side of your pause screen and contained every single available challenge (minus those secret ones) to mark all the wacky hijinks you might get up to inside the sandbox.
With Goat Simulator 3, the quest list has been broken into two parts: events and instincts. Events refer more to actual occurrences in the world, like helping make a pot of food, whereas instincts are more physical challenges, like doing a backflip. This split helps you better focus on your sandbox experience, as you get to choose exactly what type of content you are participating in.
6The UI Is Much Better
Goat Simulator’s user interface isn’t bad by any means, but a returning player will notice the breadth of information available on Goat Simulator 3’s pause menu alone. From quests to minigames, all the information that the game gives you is visually appealing, useful, and condensed. Looking back to Goat Simulator’s menu, all it displays are your current quests.
Additionally, you’re able to pin a whopping three instincts to your HUD, allowing you to actively keep track of two goals more than in the original game. Completionists and casual players alike will have a much easier time hunting down collectibles and secrets than they did in the first game.
5An Array Of Movement Options Old And New
Goat Simulator originally gave you a variety of movement-based mutations and low-power vehicles (bikes and longboards) to explore its various sandbox maps, and now Goat Simulator 3 has expanded on those options. You now have motorized vehicles like tractors or cars, and a useable paraglider that calls back to the first game’s hand glider set piece.
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Further, Goat Simulator 3 brings back classics from the first game like the jetpack and the feather goat mutator. There are even context-specific options like the cannon that makes traveling anywhere and everywhere feel unique and interesting.
4There’s Structure When You Need It
If you remember much about Goat Simulator, you know that it is as close to a pure sandbox as you can get. That’s why it may surprise you to hear that this game has so many options to structure your romp through its sequel. Goat Simulator 3 is still a sandbox game, and it does not go as far as holding your hand, but it does give regular tutorials and context that give you goals to shoot for.
One of these goals is to “synchronize” with every goat tower, a direct reference toAssassin’s Creed, which gradually introduces you to different parts of the map rather than spilling everything the game has to offer on the table. The map itself is another part of this, gently allowing the player to get a grasp on the world, contrary to the first game’s complete freedom.
3You Can Actually Progress
Unlike its predecessor, Goat Simulator 3 actually has an ending. Without spoiling it, after completing a certain amount of content in the game you get the chance to see an ending and fight a final boss. The original goat simulator didn’t even have an intro, let alone an ending; you are unceremoniously dropped into the sandbox and expected to romp as you will.
For Goat Simulator 3, your progress is saved and the events you complete actually contribute to the development of your Goat Castle. It’s still mostly free sandbox action, but you actually can reach a satisfying conclusion with dialogue and action, rather than getting bored and stopping. The inclusion of an ending also prods the player toask questions about the game and what else it could be hiding.
2There Are Even More References
Goat Simulator is filled to the brim with references to popular media of its time, like theSkyrimreference in the goatborn mutator and the Deadmau5 reference in the deadgoa7 mutator. Naturally, returning players will be happy to see that Goat Simulator 3 cranks the references up to 11.
The introduction of the game heads right back to its roots and references Skyrim’s iconic but overlong introduction,adding it to the long list of “you’re finally awake” memes. Beyond that, there are references to current politicians,The Lord of The Rings, and evenDragon Ball Z. There are so many references that it’s pretty easy to miss some!
1Events Are More Cinematic And Spectacular
Goat Simulator 3 brings a level of polish that the first game just didn’t have. Where events in Goat Simulator had very little fanfare, Goat Simulator 3 breaks out cutscenes, overlays, and even dialogue for some of its set pieces. Giving different events different levels of importance is one of the things that will make them stand out as the very best (and funniest) of the games sandbox offerings.
The weirdness level gets turned up,introducing a number of entertaining and hard-to-forget quests. Pilgor drops nuclear bombs, captures Bigfoot, and even runs for president. Returning players will enjoy that Goat Simulator 3 leans so hard into what made the first game memorable and zany without forgetting that the next entry in a series should be bigger and better.
