As the playable demo for Goat Simulator 3 began, we had to ask: what original Why did Coffee Stan North label this as the third game in the series, when it’s actually the second? Stuart Docherty, sound designer and composer, gave a simple, honest answer. It turns out that the team thought it would be really funny. This will set the tone for the rest of the performance.
For those who may not be familiar, Goat Simulator, released in 2015, parodies straight-ahead simulation games and video games in general. Set within a small sandbox with deliberately wonky physics and understated visuals, it quickly became a huge hit. The ability to headbutt NPCs into oblivion and drag objects around with a sticky tongue provided plenty of room for hilarious shenanigans, and the Daft Indie title became a viral sensation. After so much DLC, Coffee Stan North was charged with making the sequel, and it’s shaping up to deliver even more gratuitous chaos.
The title change is the addition of local and online co-op multiplayer for Four Goats. We played alongside 3D artist Philip Bretschneider, who allowed us to be kind in the game’s massively expansive open world. Returning players will feel right at home, as the controls are largely the same, but multiplayer greatly increases the game’s potential for madness. You can of course headbutt and lick each other, which is enough on its own to get some laughs, but the developer has packed the game with so much stuff to see and do that it’s too silly to enjoy. never away from
It can reach the world as a random encounter. Apparently, there are hundreds of these gags to discover all over the map. We approached a barn with a large food bowl outside. Bretschneider drags an unknown human into the bowl, rings a bell, and a giant chicken pops its head out and eats the NPC. After a while, an egg rolled down a pinch and came out into the yard. Bretschneider then stood on the egg to hatch. After it grew several times larger, the egg exploded to reveal a clone, as well as the consumed human, alive and well. We asked how many times you can clone an NPC this way. The answer was that there is no limit.
Another big new feature is that each goat is fully customizable, but some of these options will give you some ridiculous extra abilities. For example, we were equipped with a belt that allowed us to shoot firecrackers. We also messed around with a visor that let us fire laser beams, and some horn shoes that just made horn sounds as we walked around. You can also change the species entirely; We briefly played as a pig – or as the game calls it, a “delicious goat” – who had his own ability to slide on his belly. You can equip these different items in different slots at the same time, so there’s a lot of potential to become a seriously overpowered Billy once you’ve unlocked everything.
Minigames are also new to Goat Simulator 3. These are initially found in “ideal” locations in the open world, such as King of the Hill, The Floor is Lava, etc. They’re fun, rapid-fire rounds that give you a touch more focus if you’re after an objective. Best of all, once you find these minigames, you can play them anywhere on the map, even if it’s practically impossible to do so. You can make the multiplayer modes as easy or as hard to play as you want.
We were also shown how the game will introduce some story missions, which will give players some more structure to enjoy. These are also scattered about the map, letting you choose whenever you want. There’s no set order to the quests, and they won’t be forced upon you – they’re there if you want them, but otherwise you can wreak havoc on your own terms.
There’s a lot more to talk about, like how you can now drive cars and other vehicles, get basic abilities like fireballs and spitting lightning, and how, yes, physics is still fun in ways. is bug out with After talking to the developers and playing for the best part of an hour, we have a feeling that Goat Simulator 3 will be a blast. If it can really keep up the chaos and surprise players like it did in our demo, it could easily be one of the most shamelessly fun games of the year.
Goat Simulator 3 is scheduled to release on 17 November 2022 on PS5. Are you excited to play this bonkers game? Butt heads together in the comments section below.
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