TheRetroArcade
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Posts: 2,005
Joined: Feb 2026
Joined: Feb 2026
Ranger's Path: National Park Simulator lets me protect nature by sending hikers packing.
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AI is coming to take my job, so I'd better start looking for a new one. Luckily, there are a ton of job simulators on Steam, and I'm going to play as many as I can until I find my next career. This week's job: Ranger's Path: National Park Simulator, an early access open world game about being a park ranger.
The moment I step inside Faremont National Park to begin my first day as a park ranger, I realize I may have made a mistake. I pick up a radio, I put on a uniform, but then I notice the items in my inventory and stare at them, perplexed, for a few long moments.
A saw. A hammer. A screwdriver. A wrench. Um. Am I a park ranger, or a handyman?
The answer is yes. My first day on the job is spent fixing broken benches, rebuilding fallen signs, and picking up trash along numerous park trails. The immediate impression I get is that visitors walk through this park punching signs and kicking park benches into splinters, then celebrate at the end of the trail by emptying bags full of trash everywhere. Within an hour of cleaning up messes I am not so much celebrating nature but despising mankind.
Not everything is the fault of humans, though: Trees fall across trails and need to be chopped up, racoons knock trash cans over that need to be righted, storms damage bridges that then need to be inspected for structural damage. Most of my job is to fix everything that's broken using a series of minigames: click when the dot is in the circle, move the mouse up and down or round and round to simulate hammering, sawing, or tightening screws.
Also, I have magic powers. Even though it's only my first day on the job I'm already imbued with a mystical "Ranger Sense": when holding the right mouse button I can scan the wilderness for problems, like the footprints of poachers, or detect nearby wildlife and flora. Was I born with this sense, like the weakest yet most ecologically friendly member of the X-Men? Or is my brand new enormous ranger hat just enchanted?
After my first couple days of rangering I'm a little discouraged that so much of my job seems to be slowly screwing back together benches and painstakingly collecting discarded bottles—but then my boss radios me with a request that changes everything.
Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals,...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
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Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
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Every Friday
GamesRadar+
Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them.
Every Thursday
GTA 6 O'clock
Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts.
Every Friday
Knowledge
From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon.
Every Thursday
The Setup
Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more.
Every Wednesday
Switch 2 Spotlight
Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo's new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play.
Every Saturday
The Watchlist
Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we've got you covered.
Once a month
SFX
Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month!
AI is coming to take my job, so I'd better start looking for a new one. Luckily, there are a ton of job simulators on Steam, and I'm going to play as many as I can until I find my next career. This week's job: Ranger's Path: National Park Simulator, an early access open world game about being a park ranger.
The moment I step inside Faremont National Park to begin my first day as a park ranger, I realize I may have made a mistake. I pick up a radio, I put on a uniform, but then I notice the items in my inventory and stare at them, perplexed, for a few long moments.
A saw. A hammer. A screwdriver. A wrench. Um. Am I a park ranger, or a handyman?
The answer is yes. My first day on the job is spent fixing broken benches, rebuilding fallen signs, and picking up trash along numerous park trails. The immediate impression I get is that visitors walk through this park punching signs and kicking park benches into splinters, then celebrate at the end of the trail by emptying bags full of trash everywhere. Within an hour of cleaning up messes I am not so much celebrating nature but despising mankind.
Not everything is the fault of humans, though: Trees fall across trails and need to be chopped up, racoons knock trash cans over that need to be righted, storms damage bridges that then need to be inspected for structural damage. Most of my job is to fix everything that's broken using a series of minigames: click when the dot is in the circle, move the mouse up and down or round and round to simulate hammering, sawing, or tightening screws.
Also, I have magic powers. Even though it's only my first day on the job I'm already imbued with a mystical "Ranger Sense": when holding the right mouse button I can scan the wilderness for problems, like the footprints of poachers, or detect nearby wildlife and flora. Was I born with this sense, like the weakest yet most ecologically friendly member of the X-Men? Or is my brand new enormous ranger hat just enchanted?
After my first couple days of rangering I'm a little discouraged that so much of my job seems to be slowly screwing back together benches and painstakingly collecting discarded bottles—but then my boss radios me with a request that changes everything.
Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals,...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?