Summary
When it comes to our favourite series, it can often be difficult to return to the older titles. More specifically, it can be difficult to enjoy them if you do happen to take a trip down memory lane. They don’t look as good, they have fewer features than the latest versions, and generally, they just feel a little clunky. As much as I was ready to dive back into some adventures with Pilgor from the original game withGoat Simulator: Remastered, I was all too aware that I might not enjoy it as much because of the time I’ve since spent with the far superior sequelGoat Simulator 3. Thankfully, I was wrong.
The fresh coat of remaster paint certainly makes a difference, and between that and all of the DLC being packaged into one single title, this makes Remastered the best way to relive Pilgor’s youth. Most importantly, Remastered finally frees up the Buck to School DLC from its mobile exclusivity—which meant it was the only DLC my family hadn’t played before—and now everyone can experience taking a goat to high school.
It’s beenyearssince I last played the original Goat Simulator. If I fancy ragdolling around and headbutting things as a goat, I pop on GS3. But I’ve also rinsed GS3 to death, on more than one platform even. I’m all goated out for the time being, or so I thought.
It turns out that the things you did years ago can seem new and exciting all over again if enough time has passed. And to be fair, my memory is terrible enough that I don’t even remember a lot of it. There’s a good chance my son and I weren’t as obsessed with fully completing the game back when we played Goat Simulator on Xbox One, as there are certainly achievements we never unlocked. We’re getting a do-over with Remastered though, and we’re keen to unlock as many achievements as possible.
Interestingly, Remastered doesn’t just copy across the achievements from the original and the DLC, so even if my memorywassuperb, achievement hunting would be a fresh experience again.
Certain features take a step back when you return to the original. Going back to mutators (one whole outfit, though you can mash multiple mutators on one goat) instead of being able to customise each aspect such as feet, horns, fur, back, head, body, and goat as you can in GSM3 was something to get used to. We particularly missed Mjolnir from GS3’s Multiverse of Nonsense DLC, as that lets you fly around the map.
Despite those few bits we miss, it’s been surprisingly more enjoyable than I thought it would be to rehoof some old ground together with my son. There are only a few games we play together, and in all fairness, they all originated from his love for a specific series or title, so having another classic to switch to at times is a godsend. I certainly haven’t been able to tempt him into Final Fantasy, Yakuza, or anything else I like, not that we’d have many multiplayer options even if I had been successful.
He’s also way too young to play Yakuza. I’ll make him play through them all one day though.
Goat Simulator: Remastered has me wondering what other golden oldies I’ve left in the past that still have some life and charm left in them. Maybe they don’t even need to be remastered versions, though I’m sure that certainly helps. There could be other games that my son and I could partner up for that I’ve wrongly presumed were past their prime. For now, we’re pleased to be back with Pilgor and I’m sure this will keep us occupied well into the Christmas season. Don’t write it off just because you’ve got Goat Simulator 3 in your life, there’s always room for more goats.
