Farming Simulator 19 Alpine Expansion (PS4) Review
Release Date: November 12, 2020
Publisher/Developer: Focus Home Interactive/Giants Software
Platform: PC, PlayStation 4 (reviewed), Xbox One
Price: $19.99 standalone or part of a Premium Edition
Early this year, with the Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5 looming on the horizon, Giants Software decided to skip the annual release of Farming Simulator. Usually the even year games are mobile events (though the last one bridged the gap with the Switch), whilst the odd years get the full-fat console experience. The developers decided to work on expansion content for the last full game, which is why we are seeing a new, hefty expansion for a game I reviewed two years ago.
The Alpine Expansion adds a new Swiss town and countryside to the play options and offers many unique new pieces of equipment, such as four wheel drive tractors, an electric tractor, and even a fancy walk-behind lawn mower. Fans of the series will enjoy these new additions to their farming arsenal. The four-wheel drive and such are good for maneuvering the hilly landscape but the low horsepower involved means you may end up vying for some old favorites to navigate larger fields.
Pro farmers may see a new map as a chance to jump in and instantly maximize their gains, but they will be hard-pressed to do so as starting in default mode will strongly encourage you to work with livestock at first, giving you a herd of cows (I suppose this is what the mower is for, clipping the tall grass to feed them with). You’ll have to work hard to get your pocketbook up high enough to purchase multiple fields. Even then, as I said before, if you want to work the fields efficiently you’ll have plenty of equipment to buy first.
It’s honestly been a while since I stepped out into the fields on Farming Simulator 19. The Alpine town of Erlengrat and surrounding area is more populated than before, at least in towns. I felt like there are more, as well as more varied cars, and actual pedestrians! One of my complaints about the original release was the apocalyptic feel, as if you were the sole survivor of some terrible fate and were simply farming to keep some normalcy in your life. I’ve found a few walkers around town, though I can drive my vehicles through them with no physical interactions. They may be window dressing, but it’s good to see them there.
Whilst farming, the tractors are serviceable enough and control well. When running to town in the pickup, I feel the speed and control are a little too loose for the twisty Alpine roads. I frequently find myself off roading, with little to no consequences for the most part. This turned the idyllic twisty roads into a bit more of an annoyance than anything else. A river runs through the map, and handing my controller to my son for a few minutes with the loose controls led to my truck careening into the river. We got a warning to not drive in deep water, and were ejected from the vehicle. This led to some silly time as we pulled a tractor over to see if we could help, and found we could drive underwater just fine with the warning on-screen. So, we shoved the truck back out of the water to find we couldn’t get back in it. In the midst of this we also managed to flip the mower over, and an errant corner led to a tractor being on its side, with no way to right them other than run over them in other vehicles (with no damage to either) until they got back right side up. In other words, the game is great as long as you are doing what you are supposed to, but get off that track a little bit and holes start to form.
This Alpine Expansion isn’t the full game most Farming Simulator fans would have been expecting at this time of year, but it is a nice addition as we wait to see what Giants Software has in store for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S consoles next year. It’s a great slice of life for small farming in an idyllic European countryside.
Pros:
-Beautiful landscape
-Unique new vehicles and equipment
-A few other residents make the town a little more lived-in
-Train is a fun little addition
-Forced startup focus on livestock makes you try some of the newer modes
Cons:
-Beautiful town, but not a lot to do in it.
-No “reset” button on overturned vehicles
-Same sparse interaction issues as before
-I still want the smarter AI who will drive your vehicles home!
Special thanks to Focus Home Interactive and Giants Software for providing a copy for review!