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About halfway through my hands-on demo with Ranger’s Path: National Park Simulator, I find myself cautiously stalking an American Black Bear. Using a sixth sense-like ability that’d make one of Assassin’s Creed’s cloaked killers proud, I prepare to shoot the intimidating beast…with a camera, of course.
If it isn’t evident by the game’s title, Ranger’s Path isn’t another open-world stealth and stabbing affair, but rather a cozy outdoor simulator that’d sooner have you protect a wild animal with your life than slaughter it for crafting resources.
But we’re getting a bit ahead of ourselves.
In the spirit of the increasingly sought-after genre that’s made everything from house-flipping to power-washing popular gaming pastimes, Ranger’s Path is the latest sim to let players live out their real-life job fantasies. But before you can join the respected ranks of the U.S. National Park Service – and earn that iconic, broad-brimmed dimpled hat – you need to customize your rookie ranger in the game’s modest character creator.
With my selected female ranger eager to get started at the fictional, Pacific Northwest-inspired Faremont National Park, I’m introduced to Effy Morales, a friendly supervisor-type who gives me the lay of the land via radio. Morales directs me to head to the ranger’s headquarters – where I’m to grab my walkie talkie and uniform – but I’m immediately drawn from the critical path by National Park Simulator’s postcard-perfect visuals and lush forest vibes. Sunlight realistically filters through trees, casting equally convincing shadows on dirt paths, while chirping birds, buzzing insects, and hovering butterflies do their part to further ratchet the immersion.
Upon pausing at a landscaper dutifully tending to some of the park’s beautiful flora, I eventually make it to the headquarters, where a fellow employee’s complaints of a jammed printer snaps me back to reality; I’m not a hiker or camper leisurely enjoying the great outdoors, after all, but a park employee with plenty of work to do. That workload includes fixing up the park in preparation for the day’s visitors. A broken trailhead sign soon leads to me learning about Ranger’s Path’s radial wheel. A quick shoulder-bumper press on my controller brings up a variety of useful tools and supplies, including an axe, saw, litter picker, paint sprayer, and hammer.
Given the dilapidated look of the trailmarker, I go with the latter, and am introduced to one of Ranger’s Path’s mini-games. The simple but satisfying challenge has me attempting to match an on-screen prompt, triggering my ranger to successfully hammer away and repair the damaged sign.
That only covers half the task, however, as another straightforward challenge has me wielding the paint sprayer and coloring in an arrow that appears on-screen. With my first true ranger duty successfully completed, Morales suggests I follow my mini-map to the marker in need of repair. But while I’m not looking to tick off the boss on my first day, I am again tempted to stray off the beaten path and take in more of Faremont’s natural beauty. Also, I spot an overturned trash can and its discarded contents scattered nearby, a scenario I can’t imagine any good park ranger ignoring.
After absorbing a bit more eye candy, including some adorable bunnies crossing my path and a small pond sporting impressive reflections, I equip that litter picker I spotted earlier in the radial wheel. I use the tool to snatch up some plastic bags and empty cans off an otherwise pretty cobblestone walkway.
This task too, while simple enough, also has some extra layers to it. A small recycling icon in the bottom right of the screen must be monitored to track how much space is available in your current trash bag, while the overturned barrel has to be righted before you can empty any of the litter.
Having completed that optional good deed, I continue checking tasks off my supervisor’s list. Fixing another sign restores the trail completely, which apparently not only makes the park safer for visitors, but also opens up more of the map, allowing access to previously locked locations. I also tidy up a campsite by repairing its busted-up picnic table and collecting more trash, and later clear a path that’s been obstructed by a fallen tree. The latter job requires the saw and axe, but the accompanying mini-games are a bit of a downgrade from the hammering and painting interactions.
Sawing, for example, just calls for mimicking some incredibly simple up-and-down motions with the left stick. Still, while the action isn’t particularly compelling, the sound of the tool’s teeth aggressively working – and the resulting dust flying off the freshly cut wood – is an immersive touch that adds to the illusion of getting your hands dirty.
My more menial, albeit satisfying, duties are interrupted by an urgent call from Morales – a bear’s been spotted nearby, and she’d like me to snap a photo of the beast. As referenced earlier, this objective includes using an eagle vision-like mechanic that highlights objects of interest. Aptly dubbed “Ranger Sense,” the ability grays out the world, save for critical items and interactions – like the food chain-dominating animal roaming dangerously close to me – which it turns bright yellow.
Leveraging an intuitive camera interface, I’m able to easily photograph the furry friend from a safe distance. More than just taking a frame-worthy picture, the action adds an entry – “American Black Bear” – to my Lexicon. This also introduces one of Ranger’s Path’s more interesting, and possibly addictive, meta-games. The Lexicon is filled with a variety of animals, as well as Flora and Landmarks, that you can access additional intel on by taking more pictures of them.
For the wildlife specifically, you earn badges by carefully observing animals and catching them performing different behaviors and actions, such as eating, drinking, and resting. Once all badges are unlocked, the animal is added to the Visitor’s Center’s museum – in taxidermy form – allowing you to work toward filling out a sort of gallery you can visit.
My encounter with the bear represents one of the demo’s highlights, but my first interaction with Faremont’s human visitors is a bit of a let down. While it’s rewarding to witness the camp site I’d cleaned up earlier now bustling with, well, happy campers, policing their permits is less satisfying. On paper, the potentially compelling system sees you approaching hikers and campers, asking to see their permits, then taking action – like booting them out or letting them go about their business – based on the info, such as allowed access, hours, and activities, on their document.
But based on my interactions, there seemed to be little rhyme or reason to the information on the permits, especially in relation to the resulting decisions I made. At one point, I arbitrarily fined a man because I didn’t like the fact he was ignoring his majestic surroundings in favor of staring at his smartphone (honestly, I didn’t much like his orange turtleneck either) even though he had a seemingly valid permit. Ultimately, the dude didn’t seem to care all that much, and I didn’t face any sort of consequences. The permit system definitely packs plenty of promise that’ll hopefully surface with more polish.
My permit-policing is soon interrupted by another urgent call from Morales – not more wildlife photography, but a lost park patron. Upon locating a panicked man deep in the woods, I used my ranger sense to assess his condition. Based on him suffering from hypothermia and a bruised knee, I chose to administer an emergency blanket and a first aid kit from a selection of options that also includes water. This was enough to ensure the visitor’s safety and conclude my first day as a park ranger.
While my workday was done, my Ranger’s Path demo still had a bit more to show me. After a good night’s sleep – you are required to return to your hut for rest once the sun begins to set – I rose bright-eyed, bushy-tailed, and owning a brand new hat. That’s right, with my training complete, I’m officially made a Faremont Park Ranger, an honor that’s literally capped with that iconic hat worn by rangers. I’m also granted the keys to a U.S. Park Ranger pickup truck, which I eagerly use to take me to my demo-closing destination. It seems the park’s Lake Kiku needs some updated documentation, leading me to drive to the beautiful, mountain-bordered body of water and snap some pics, which adds my first “Landmark” to the growing Lexicon.
This final objective doesn’t introduce anything new in terms of gameplay, but that’s probably not the point. My leisurely drive, through an especially scenic stretch of the park, punctuated by my equally eye-pleasing destination, ensures I’ll happily don the hat again, if only to appreciate Ranger’s Path’s ability to capture the majestic awe of the great outdoors.
