Consoles get popular mining simulator

Fans of farming, trucking, or aviation simulators may find some therapeutic gameplay in "Gold Rush: The Game" – or not, as the mining simulator also pits players from around the world in a competition to become Alaska's wealthiest gold miner.

Developer Code Horizon, which released a PC version of the Alaska gold mining game in 2017, partnered with the Discovery Channel to bring to life for fans of the famous Gold Rush series a game allowing a whole new level of immersion, and now gamers can experience modern-day mining on the Xbox series X and S systems.

Based on the wildly popular show, this placer gold mining simulator is set in Alaska and includes four gold claim areas based around unique Alaska stories. The game features realistic-looking heavy equipment such as excavators, loaders, dozers, and trommel plants to recover the gold that is hopefully lying beneath the surface of these claims.

The co-founders of Code Horizon, which developed detailed and comprehensive simulators for the Polish military and went on to create a heavy equipment game called "Giant Machines," know how to make realistic heavy equipment simulators, and this one is no less complex.

While mining is nothing new to video games, this is perhaps the first to provide players a virtual glimpse into exactly what modern gold mining is like. There are no pickaxes or large clumps of ore for quick smelting and smithing; you start off as many beginning miners do with a loan.

Available for Xbox console players starting May 28, players looking to start their mining simulation journey can explore Haines, Alaska, an actual town located at the top of the Southeast Alaska panhandle.

From there, you can explore the scenic mining town and gather quests or stories that take you along with characters from the hit television show.

Initially following the tale of the Hoffman Crew and their quest to find gold, the realistic mining game has you on your own right from the get-go.

Players immediately get an idea of the level of detail when they load in by hopping in their old pickup truck and realizing it is not going anywhere until you shift gears, operating it much like a truck in real life. Extend this to the complexity of heavy machinery and, if players make it that far, can experience what heavy equipment operators do on a daily basis, mining or otherwise.

With nothing much to go on, players can open their journal to see a guide that explains things in a very straightforward fashion.

Go to the bank, rent a claim, go to the warehouse, purchase your equipment, load everything onto your truck, set everything up, and start mining.

While it sounds simple, each step is a near copy to actions taken in real life, with some players even complaining about having to open the fuel cap to refuel, but not before shutting off your vehicles, among other minute details that the fast-paced world of gaming might find tedious or boring.

Although the game has been available for several years, the developers have continued to support it by introducing many new downloadable contents and features, even going so far as to add machine failures and repairs.

Gold Rush also features all four seasons, pressure and power systems and – you can't have mining without a blacksmith – the ability to smelt your gold into ingots, all immersive details Code Horizon has added to this hyper-realistic mining simulator.

For fans of a slow, controlled game – true simulator fans – Gold Rush offers gamers the chance to get their virtual hands dirty and experience what many miners experience today. And, with a little luck and a lot of skill, become Alaska's wealthiest "Gold Rush: The Game" miner.