What compounds the issue is how slow the game is, in terms of actual tangible movement-based progression. In that respect, Hunting Simulator 2 nails the experience on the head. Once an hour had passed and I had only seen a glimpse of the darn sheep I was tracking, I truly understood what hunting felt like – frustrating, yawn-inducing, and ultimately pointless in this day and age. This easily carries the experience for a good 30 minutes or so, and then the boredom kicks in. Plodding along through the Colorado wilds, gun grasped firmly in your hands, dog by your side, tracking various breeds of sheep – it’s calming to the soul, almost ASMR inducing, if you are subject to such tingling reactions. This is actually a good thing, initially, as Hunting Simulator 2 takes on this surreal, relaxing but also interestingly tense atmosphere. That’s right, this thing, whilst maybe not an entirely accurate representation of a gun-toting hunter, is much slower paced than what you were led to believe. Once you take away the gruff vocals, the scripted deer, and even the scoped rifle, you are left with something altogether different – an actual Hunting Simulator, believe it or not. Unfortunately, the tutorial is an elaborate lie, artificially designed to make you believe hunting in this game would be that satisfyingly compact. The whole affair takes around twenty minutes or so, and is surprisingly satisfying and gets you hyped for all the tracking and hunting you are will be doing from here on out. You take aim, shoot it through the chest, nab its carcass and haul it back to camp. Before long you will stumble upon a classic hunters mark – a deer of some description. In no time you will have been introduced to your pet dog (Humphrey in my case), your gun, and even your feet as you go out tracking. You are guided by a gruff old voice who shows you the ropes. The game starts with a brief creation kit allowing you to pick your gender and whatnot before being thrust into the big wide world of hunting. Hunting Simulator 2 is here to give you the most accurate representation of this pastime, all from the comfort of your own home. The rush of the hunt, the thrill of the kill and the satisfaction of eating, displaying, or selling your gruesome handiwork has attracted many a man, or woman, to the now sporty profession. Since the dawn of mankind, hunting has been a staple part of our survival.

Hunting simulator 2 xbox one