Farm Manager 2022 review for Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PS4

While I wouldn?t say I was incredibly hyped to play Farm Manager 2022 going into it, I?d be lying if I said I didn?t have any interest in it at all. It?s been a few years since I last played a farming simulator, and I have vaguely pleasant memories of those, so the thought of getting back on the virtual tractor was kind of appealing.

What I didn?t count on was how intensive ? and intense ? Farm Manager 2022 would be. This is no zen experience where you can get lulled by the daily rhythms of your farm life. It?s a full-on, super demanding management sim that really puts you in charge of every aspect of your farm.

Or, to compare it to the old Farming Simulator games I played years ago: Farm Manager 2022 is way more than planting crops, ploughing fields and feeding your animals. Rather, you?re in charge of the minutiae of the logistics of managing your farm. You hire your staff, you buy all the equipment, you build the buildings, you make sure you have enough parking spots for all your machinery, you connect your buildings to the grid, you even call the fire department when something catches in fire ? there?s not a minor task to be found here that you don?t have to manage.

While there?s nothing wrong with that level of detail, Farm Manager 2022 on the Switch suffers from the same problems you get with most other management sims on this system (or any console, for that matter): it?s very menu-heavy, which means you?d better be ready to spend lots of time scrolling through lists in ways that aren?t necessarily intuitive.

Having said that, if you?re patient enough to sit through the very dull tutorial, you?re rewarded with a game that?s rich in content. There?s a campaign mode, where you gradually build up your farm; a scenario mode, where you have to accomplish specific tasks; and a free mode, where you?re able to grow your farm to your heart?s content. As these kinds of games go, there?s quite a bit to do.

But again, to do all that Farm Manager 2022 has to offer, you need to be willing to put up with some atrocious controls, and you need to be interested in putting in a lot of very detailed work. It?s certainly not to my tastes ? give me the zen pleasures of the Farming Simulator series any day ? but if it?s a management sim you?re after, you?ll find plenty to sink your teeth into here.

Ultimate Games provided us with a Farm Manager 2022 Switch code for review purposes.