''Goat Simulator 3'' is an

action video game An action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes a large variety of sub-genres, such as fighting games, beat 'em ups, shooter games, and platform g ...

and the sequel to ''

Goat Simulator ''Goat Simulator'' is a third-person perspective action video game developed and published by Coffee Stain Studios. It was released for Microsoft Windows in April 2014, and ports for Linux and OS X were released in June 2014. Mobile versions fo ...

''. The game was announced during

Summer Game Fest Summer Game Fest is a live video game event organized and hosted by game journalist Geoff Keighley. The event takes place annually over multiple live streams during the American summer period. It was created in 2020 following the cancellation ...

and was released on November 17, 2022. The game features a four-player

cooperative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-contro ...

mode, and it is set on the fictional island of San Angora. The game does not feature cross-platform multiplayer upon release.

Gameplay

''Goat Simulator 3'', like its predecessor, is an action game played in a third-person perspective where the goal, controlling the

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of ...

player character, is to wreak havoc and perform stunts in the game's urban environment. A mechanic of the previous game where the playable goat can hitch themselves to items and objects found in the world by licking them is retained in this game. The developers claim that its open world is 18 times larger than that of the first game. Additionally, sections exist where different gameplay styles are explored, such as a parody of

Wolfenstein 3D ''Wolfenstein 3D'' is a first-person shooter video game developed by id Software and published by Apogee Software and FormGen. Originally released on May 5, 1992, for DOS, it was inspired by the 1981 Muse Software video game ''Castle Wolfen ...

with

first-person shooter First-person shooter (FPS) is a sub-genre of shooter video games centered on gun and other weapon-based combat in a first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action through the eyes of the protagonist and controlling the pl ...

mechanics. A story mode, new to the series, also appears in ''Goat Simulator 3''. Also new to the series is the introduction to the wardrobe, which allows the player to customize their character further than ever. Some of these clothing items are purely for looks, whereas others have special abilities. A four-player

online multiplayer mode was also added with the ability to play 7 competitive PvP minigames at any time and anywhere during gameplay in the online multiplayer mode and include games such as

the floor is lava The floor is lava is a game in which players pretend that the floor or ground is made of lava (or any other lethal substance, such as acid or quicksand), and thus must avoid touching the ground, as touching the ground would "kill" the player w ...

, Prop Hunt, and an

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is t ...

-like mini-game titled Hoofball. The game is well known for its hidden secrets that reference other games and pop culture, such as:

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has been expanded into various film ...

Fallout 3 ''Fallout 3'' is a 2008 action role-playing game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. The third major installment in the ''Fallout'' series, it is the first game to be developed by Bethesda after acquiring ...

, and

Skyrim ''The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim'' is an action role-playing video game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. It is the fifth main installment in '' The Elder Scrolls'' series, following 2006's '' The Elder Sc ...

. Players are also given their own customizable hub world known as the Goat Castle that is upgraded by completing goals and achievements in the other worlds.

Reception

According to

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, ''Goat Simulator 3'' received "mixed or average reviews" for the PC and PlayStation 5 versions, while the Xbox Series X version received "generally favorable reviews".

Notes

References

External links

* 2022 video games Action games Windows games Xbox Series X and Series S games Video game sequels Open-world video games PlayStation 5 games Video games about animals Parody video games Coffee Stain Studios games Fiction about goats Video games developed in Sweden Multiplayer and single-player video games {{simulation-videogame-stub