There’s a very handy means of precisely and succinctly summing up the diploma of absurdity to which Goat Simulator 3 aspires: There isn’t a such factor as Goat Simulator 2.

These accustomed to Espresso Stain’s caprine and chaotic antics will doubtless acknowledge Goat Simulator because the wildly common sandbox game from means again when. For these unacquainted with it, the premise is straightforward: You’re a goat with a penchant for misbehaving, tasked with inflicting as a lot of a ruckus as doable. From headbutting civilians to sticking your tongue to all the pieces in sight, it’s a game that largely revolves round full and utter bedlam.

The sequel — once more, Goat Simulator 3, as a result of three comes after one in goatspeak — is based upon comparable rules of chaos. What could strike folks as stunning, nonetheless, is that it’s a sort of chaos that has been filtered by way of a layer of sophistication. It’s clearly not an Arkane game (think about if Goat Simulator occurred in Dunwall…), however it’s a marked enchancment when thought-about subsequent to the unique. So whereas it’s not essentially my jam, I can admit that it is aware of what it needs to be, and places all the pieces it has into turning into exactly that.

Satirically, Goat Simulator’s biggest power was at all times how roughly hewn its mechanical make-up was. The game, which originated as a joke challenge designed for a game jam, was riddled with the sorts of bugs that ought to have made it near-impossible to play — however by advantage of its nature as a literal goat simulator, they only made it even funnier. From Pilgor the goat’s raucous ragdolling to the wild emergent shenanigans that would come up from invisible gaps within the sandbox’s stitching, Goat Simulator shortly established itself as a superb game to play with mates.

Picture: Espresso Stain

That is one among many particulars that the builders at Espresso Stain have evidently been conscious of whereas engaged on Goat Simulator 3. Whereas the unique game supported sofa co-op, the sequel options a devoted on-line multiplayer part that permits as much as 4 gamers to compete in varied minigames, which embrace proprietary variations of golf, treasure hunts, and The Flooring Is Lava. If the unique game was a jagged rock, Goat Simulator 3 is the product of what occurs if you mine that rock for gems and embed them in one thing nicer to take a look at. It’s not a diamond necklace, however it’s, like… a easy panel of granite with a couple of rocks that seem like diamonds interspersed all through. As I mentioned earlier: It is aware of what it’s aiming for and is superb at staying true to that.

Nevertheless it’s additionally bold in different methods. Reasonably than being a pure sandbox that’s solely designed to facilitate mayhem, Goat Simulator 3 has a story mode. It’s not precisely aiming for status storytelling (I’m not joking once I say it’s actually about the Goat Illuminati), however it’s there to function a kind of common information to weave the entire particular person cases of absurdity collectively. To progress the story, you basically go to Ubisoft open world-style towers which are sporadically dotted throughout the map, every of which is able to assist you in unlocking an imposing and mysterious door that leads the way in which to Goat Fortress. What lies behind it’s anybody’s guess — however odds are it’s in all probability fairly wild.

The primary story clearly isn’t overly demanding — an unlimited a part of Goat Simulator 3’s enchantment is the very fact it usually asks little or no of you, leaving you to your personal gadgets as a rule. However the scale of this model of play has additionally been expanded and iterated upon.

For instance, there’s a home someplace on the map owned by an outdated girl with a rocket launcher. Once you strategy her, she’ll begin capturing at you, however when you hit her along with your firework launcher or headbutt her, you’ll unlock a secret passage to her cellar that results in… a retro Doom-style hall shooter populated by a dozen different bazooka grannies. When you defeat all of them, you possibly can really unlock this character as an attachment — and on condition that in addition to a goat, you possibly can play as a shark, a giraffe, and extra, the problem of “How weird can we make this game?” was clearly a common subject of dialogue throughout improvement.

You possibly can fairly actually play Goat Simulator 3 as a shark on a skateboard being ridden by an outdated girl with a rocket launcher.

Picture: Espresso Stain

Finally, Goat Simulator 3 might be precisely what you assume it’s. It’s a extra polished model of the primary game with tons of recent options, most of which have clearly come from rigorously observing the weather of the unique that resonated with folks. The mobility is a little tighter, the sandbox is a little extra responsive, and the random achievements have a little extra rhyme and purpose to them. However finally, it’s nonetheless a silly game about being a really annoying goat — there’s a fairly low ceiling for a way severe that may be.

Extra so than anything, Goat Simulator 3 looks like a nice celebration game to play with mates. Everybody at my demo session at Gamescom, together with the folks I wasn’t in a foyer with, was laughing for just about 100% of the time I used to be there. It’s not deserving of particular reverence for its work in innovation, programs design, or simply about anything. Nevertheless it’s troublesome to criticize one thing that has a very clear design ethos and manages to stick to it with nearly good accuracy.

If you happen to reckon you could be concerned with Goat Simulator 3, you can be — and that’s essentially the most truthful factor anybody can say about it.

Goat Simulator 3 heads to PlayStation 5, Home windows PC, and Xbox Sequence X on Nov. 17.