Ranger’s Path: National Park Simulator

For what it is, in early access, this is a fun game with enough stress to keep you moving. It isn't overly complicated and has a decent amount of gameplay to offer that I believe will only get better as the game develops. Sure it gets a bit repetitive and I learned quick to accept the "take pictures" radio calls to ignore all day without reprecussions so I could do other things I wanted to do, but it really is worth the money. The bugs were minimal for me. The graphics were beautiful. Could use a little better "how to" or explanations of things because you are a bit left to your own devices after the short intro mission.

The game is still in Early Access, so bear (pun intended) that in mind. There's definitely some room for improvement on optimization and performance, but the core game here is a winner. You play as a rookie Ranger starting off at a new post. Your job is to repair and maintain the park, and enforce the laws. Astragon games always have good attention to detail and fun gameplay loops. This one is really interesting since it has some elements of Police Simulator but in the wilderness. There's an absolute ton of stuff to do and the game lets you handle your shift however you'd like. You can spend the day repairing trails or picking up litter, or respond to calls and emergencies. Once the performance is ironed out, this game will be a real gem. If you're willing to accept that caveat right now, it's already worth it to me.

TLDR: A very pretty and chilled out walking simulator with mini games. I love a good walking simulator. I've happily wandered around games like Way of the Hunter without hunting anything, Sons of the Forest with the cannibals turned off, and I've 100%'d Lushfoil Photography Sim three times. Yet Ranger's Path is scratching that itch more than any of them. For an Early Access game, I'm genuinely impressed by the scale and quality of the world. The landscapes feel almost overwhelmingly huge, lovingly handcrafted and believable. They feel designed first and foremost to be explored on foot, and they're genuinely a joy to wander around. The 'job' is pretty relaxed and never really feels like you're being rushed even when several tasks are listed at once - it's basically 'yeah, yeah. I'll get to it.'. Which is just as well, because getting anywhere is NOT fast! You do have a car, but sometimes your objective can be like 10's of kilometers of walking up trails away from the roads. Another honorable mention is the soundscape - it's really very good indeed. It surpasses the likes of Way of the Hunter for believable forest, animal and weather sounds and the soundscape in general is very pl…

This game would be beautiful if it ran smoother and if you had the ability to fast travel.

it is a really good game

So far a really fun game! I haven't run into any bugs so far and am enjoying getting to explore the park and complete ranger duties. I was a bit worried at first about getting motion sick when I first started, bc I get motion sick easily, but even with the loose character movements and fast running I was okay. The scenery is beautiful, and I love that there's like a small bit of different national parks all put together (like one area resembles more prairie land with lots of open space and another is closely crowded large redwoods). The music is also really lovely and I enjoy hearing El on the walkie. Being able to take pictures and read about the animals and plants I capture it a nice way to highlight some of what park rangers do. For things I would love to see: - The ability to fast travel to trailcaps instead of just ranger stations - Smaller vehicles to traverse trails or at least the bigger pathways - More character customization, like the addition of weather-specific clothing (rain jackets, ponchos, shorts, etc.; would also like to see backpacks or satchels) - more variety in visitor interactions (even just the idle interactions when I move past them) - a radio that m…