Developer: Piece of Cake Fabulous
Publisher: NACON
Platform: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Tested on: PS5
My Fantastic Ranch – Review
We have played through our fair share of kids’ games over the years, and some were a lot better than others. Games for a younger audience remain rather tricky, as they tend to be very shallow and sometimes a bit too simple. Recently we took a closer look at Legends of the Nine Realms and Paw Patrol: Grand Prix, and these titles suffered the same fate, as they were either too simple or just very unpolished. While racing games and platformers are often the standards for child-friendly games, we now are taking a closer look at My Fantastic Ranch, which is a simulation game all about making your own dragon and unicorn-filled ranch.
Story
The game will put you in charge of your own fantastic ranch. You’ll be helped by Feritella, a fairy, who seems eager to show you the ropes. In-between certain checkpoints, she will pop up to give you further instructions. Other than the few short dialogues in the game there isn’t any real story to uncover.
Graphics
Graphically, for a kids’ game, My Fantastic Ranch isn’t a bad-looking game. It’s basic, but as a whole, it’s cute to look at. The creature designs are fun, even though the same models get repeated over and over, albeit with a variety of different colors. The character designs, however, are extremely ugly. It’s been a long time since we encountered such ugly models. The buildings look okay, and it’s nice to see them evolve as you upgrade them. That being said, the game lacks variety, and there are hardly any different models of buildings, creatures, staff members, and even decorations. It feels as if the game could have used a bit of extra polish.
Sound
The overall sound design isn’t too shabby. The game has relaxing music playing in the background, and the sound effects give proper feedback for the on-screen actions. The soundscape is very simple, but it suffices for a simple simulation title such as this. We did very much appreciate that Feritella was fully voiced, as this added a lot of charm to the overall experience.
Gameplay
My Fantastic Ranch is a very basic simulation game for younger gamers in which they can build their own ranch with fantastical creatures. The game will have you place different buildings and recreational areas in which your creatures can roam freely, undergo lessons with visitors, and so on. The management aspect of the game is also very simplistic, but it’s nice that the game shows you a small chart of your earnings (and spendings) at the end of the week. Even though this is almost as far as the actual management aspect of the game goes, it does give the impression that you’re actually doing something important.
Another item you’ll need to manage is filling your stables with dragons or unicorns, and hiring the appropriate staff to handle them. The staff aspect is once again very simplistic, and it often doesn’t really matter that much who you hire. Staff members who are great at managing the food of the ranch can still give nearly perfect lessons to visitors who wish to train with your creatures. The creatures you can adopt also have a few different stats, but once again, it doesn’t matter that much in the end. You can even give lessons to visitors and creatures who are not a good pairing, and there will be no real consequences except for the fact that you’ll earn fewer gems when doing so.
Even though the simple mechanics aren’t necessarily a bad thing, it sometimes feels as if the game isn’t finished. Not only does your map look extremely empty, but you’ll also have seen all the game’s content in about an hour. If you play the Wonder (sandbox) mode, you can see all content in fifteen minutes. The game only had a handful of buildings you can build, and almost all creatures look the same, albeit with a different color pattern. We understand that this game is intended for younger gamers, but even so, there is hardly any content in the game to justify its current price tag. Add to this the fairly awkward controls, and you’ll have yourself a game that feels like a beta version of something bigger.
Conclusion
My Fantastic Ranch is a cute little simulation game for children, and it does have a few fun aspects that will entertain your kids. Sadly, the game has hardly any content, and it feels very rough around the edges. Even children who have little experience with video games will have seen all the content the game has to offer in an hour or two. After building everything, you just wait to see gems come in, and there’s hardly any fun to be found in decorating your park with only a handful of decoration options. All in all, this title felt more suitable for a mobile environment with touchscreen controls.
My Fantastic Ranch - Review,
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