A rock in the forest, a grandmother and a pressure washer. All these are main characters of the craziest simulators we have dug up for you.
Simulators are a beastly affair. Complicated machines, manuals weighing kilos, realistic equipment for 50,000 euros … and the feeling of being a pigeon pooping on the heads of unsuspecting passers-by. The spectrum of simulations ranges from highly professional to delightfully silly. In this article, we take a look at the most curious and funniest simulators we’ve unearthed on Steam.
Table of Contents
Mythbusters
(Release: TBA – Developer: Byte Barrel – Steam Reviews: – – (Go to Steam page)
Blow up objects to your heart’s content – all in the service of science, of course! That’s what the upcoming simulation MythBusters: The Game allows you to do by recording your own episodes of the famous TV show. But beware, failure can be quite dangerous.
Your tasks range from budget management to video editing – and, of course, whether a myth turns out to be true or is bust. After all, you want to entertain your audience with spectacular experiments.
Ecosystem
(Release: Mar 16, 2021 – Developer: Tom Johnson – Steam Reviews: Very Positive – (Go to Steam Page)
Have you ever looked at a coral reef while snorkelling (or on TV) and thought to yourself: “Wow, that would look completely different if I had designed the evolution”. Wonderful, then Ecosystem offers you the perfect framework to live out your unfulfilled Darwinian dreams. You create creatures out of genetic raw material, which for lack of a better term we’ll just generously declare to be fish. You then watch them move through a physically correct simulated ocean.
The only thing missing is that someone persuades David Attenborough to record a documentary from these game scenes. Even the famous naturalist would probably have trouble explaining the distorted life forms we have recklessly created like a rabid god.
Granny Simulator
(Release: Aug 17, 2019 – Developer: Nick Kestle – Steam Reviews: Very Positive – (Go to Steam Page)
We all get older. Sometimes our backs crack a little, our hearing isn’t what it used to be either, and after the third cocktail we’re no good the next morning. With the Granny Simulator, we can already try out where all this will lead to in a few years’ time.
The great thing: Granny Simulator is a co-op game. One takes the role of the frail grandmother going about her daily chores. The other plays her grandson, who is the spawn of hell trying to stop her in the most brutal way possible. Why not just throw a grenade at the grandmother so that she doesn’t find her rheumatism pills? Well, maybe because that would be morally highly reprehensible. Not so in Granny Simulator, here everything is allowed.
One Dollar Simulator
(Release: Feb 16, 2020 – Developer: Funny Twins – Steam Reviews: Positive – (Go to Steam Page)
So we’ve all wondered: what’s it like to be a buck in the woods? Don’t try to deny it. Thank goodness for the One Dollar Simulator, which costs – you guessed it – how much? That’s right, 79 cents.
Strictly speaking, One Dollar Simulator is actually one of the most realistic simulations around, covering all aspects of what it feels like to be a dollar lying around. The Steam reviews, at any rate, consider the game a masterpiece and overflow with art-scientific and philosophical analyses.
Pope Simuator
(Release: tbd – Developer: Golden Eggs Studio – (Go to Steam page)
What is the logical conclusion to the success of Thief Simulator? A Pope simulation, of course! That’s because it’s coming from the same publisher Ultimate Games. The Pope Simulator has not yet seen the light of day, but caused quite a stir when it was announced.
The curious thing is that you play your pope like a classic role-playing mage – with a skill tree and mana or faith supply that you replenish through prayers.
Bum Simulator
(Release: Aug 26, 2021 – Developer: Ragged Games – Steam Reviews: Very Positive – (Go to Steam Page)
The contrasting game might be Bum Simulator, in which you take on the role of a homeless man who builds his own cardboard house, talks to his shopping trolley friend and solves the mystery of the sewer rat people. You can tell this isn’t a serious simulation either.
Instead, Bum Simulator functions like a wacky GTA-like sandbox with crude humour, armed pigeons and clowns with hooked hands … oh, it’s altogether hard to explain. The best way to see it all in action is to watch the trailer.
PowerWash Simulator
(Release: May 19, 2021 – Developer: FuturLab – Steam Reviews: Extremely Positive – (Go to Steam Page)
The fascination behind simulations of heavy machinery is usually absolutely understandable. Noble racing cars, expensive agricultural machinery, trains weighing tons. But has anyone ever explored the fascination behind a high-pressure cleaner?
Cleaning front gardens, fire engines and carousels with high-pressure water has an unexpectedly strong addictive effect. But it’s also just immensely satisfying to make stained and dirty surfaces shiny again and to examine your work afterwards. Also helps when you’re avoiding cleaning in real life.
Weed Shop 3
(Release: April 3, 2021 – Developer: Weed Games – Steam Reviews: Very Positive – (Go to Steam Page)
What’s even better than a weed shop simulator? The Weed Shop Simulator Part 3! In it you take on the role of a bankrupt good-for-nothing who senses big money in the sale of marijuana. You set up your shop, grow the ingredients, advertise it attractively and then sell the stuff to a bunch of crazy characters you’d rather not meet in the dark.
At best, you’ll become the baron of a cannabis empire, at worst, you’ll get a little high in-game and think about life.
