A surprising announcement from the world of Farming Simulator came in the form of Giants developing their own VR version of the game, exclusively for Meta Quest. Now, yes, I’ve seen around that this isn’t what people asked for. They wanted it like with Euro Truck Simulator, offering up a new perspective in the full game with limited motion control. But what Giants have created is a lot more involved than that would ever be.

That is seen right from the tutorial. Out in the yard washing the harvester. It’s not 100% dirty, but just enough to give a taste of using the pressure washer. The same also holds true when it comes to maintenance, running through the steps in the workshop to change a wheel on the tractor. There’s a lot to be doing when it comes to the maintenance, which can be fun. Though I’d say my favourite place is the greenhouse.

Here in the greenhouse, I get to watch the growth of my fruit and vegetables. From first planting them, watering them, removing weeds, then selling what has grown. It’s a nice environment to be in, with all the areas I’m able to visit having some great minor details to them. Such as the Lizard gaming console in the workshop with a copy of Farming Simulator 15. Which unfortunately can’t be played. But the music records can.

Naturally, this wouldn’t be Farming Simulator without some farming on the fields. Which is possible. There’s three fields on the map, though only one can be visited at the start. The rest need to be bought. When it comes to the control of the vehicles, everything is done through motion control. Use a hand to flick switches, grab the lever and wheel, and drive around the field. Doing the actual driving that way can be problematic, so both acceleration and steering can also be done with the left controller’s analogue stick.

The reason I say it can be problematic comes down to one major thing. Though you can replicate the motion of steering a wheel, there’s nothing you really have a hold of. Meaning motions can get translated wrong, and suddenly you find your left hand stuck on the right not wanting to move, with the tractor or harvester now stuck doing a right turn until dropping off the throttle. Or letting go of the wheel, which reverts automatically to its default position. But you still also need to throttle down to reposition the vehicle.

This being a VR experience, moving between the areas is done through the map screen. Touch the area you want to go, select the vehicle and/or tool you want to move there with, and get to work. To start with, I only had the harvester and its header, plus the tractor. No cultivator and no seeder. So naturally, I thought I’d have to be spending a lot of time in the greenhouse to make money.

That turned out not to be true, as once I’d earnt enough from the greenhouse to get a cultivator, I moved to the field to see a field full of crop ready to be harvested. Which, once fully harvested and dumped into the selling point (a trailer in the corner of the field), I’d earnt enough from that harvest to get the cultivator I’d just bought, plus a seeder, plus quite a bit left over to buy some extra tools for the workshop.

Limitations of the experience also include the number of crops and vehicles available. There are only two of each vehicle and tool. Only two crops for the seeder. And eight crops for the greenhouse. Despite such limitations, there’s enough here for an enjoyable experience. It’s likely the closest many will ever get to being sat in a tractor working a field.

Despite limitations with controls and content, I’ve found myself enjoying the time I spend with Farming Simulator VR. As a nice, relaxed experience, it’s one of the best. But then, I’ve always found the core of Farming Simulator to offer that relaxed pace. And so, I feel it has earnt a recommendation. This immersive approach to everything farming has done everything right. Even if the mirrors of vehicles still don’t fully work.

As a testing bed for VR immersion, it has gone well. What the plans are for its future, I couldn’t really say. I’m sure many would like to see some of this stuff integrated into the main games. At the same time, I can’t help but feel this carefully curated hands-on experience is best to stay as its own thing. Even if, in the future, that certain subset of fans get what they want with official VR headset support in the same vein as Euro Truck Simulator.

Images Taken From:
Farming Simulator VR on Meta Quest | Meta Store