Edited by: Tiffany Lillie

DRAGO Entertainment has created one of the most unique simulators I’ve ever come across — and it’s a treasure hunter simulator, of all things. The premise is as simple as they come: You go and explore (semi-)remote locations with your trusty metal detector and hope that it’s an antique watch and not another bottle cap.

Gold digger

There’s a lot of trash in the world, and on your search for priceless artifacts, you’re going to find most of it in one way or another. Walk around, use your metal detector to inch your way to the right place, and then take your shovel and dig. That’s really all there is to it, and despite that, Treasure Hunter Simulator is surprisingly fun. The actual treasure hunting is wrapped up in a story mode, a progression system, and even some side missions. It’s all nicely presented using a virtual office, phone, and computer, giving it a well-thought-out feel.

Look at it shine

Visually speaking, Treasure Hunter Simulator is particularly great when it comes to the environments you explore. The individual maps aren’t gigantic but they are big and fun to walk in. You’ll find yourself looking at the sun shining through the leaves of the trees while searching for treasure, making for a very nice experience.

Despite that, it’s somewhat obvious that the game doesn’t have the largest production budget; animations are more than a little choppy when using the metal detector, for example. The lovely light effects and the attention to detail in the open maps does a good job of making up for that though.

Not all that glitters is gold

As mentioned, there are an awful lot of things that aren’t worth anything at all. In between the worthless pieces of scrap metal, you have to scare up enough money to afford not only levelling up your equipment, but also to afford traveling to new locations. In total, there are eleven unique locations and over a hundred different artifacts to find… in between the trash, of course.

This is all very simple and yet fun. As this game is essentially a walking simulator, that is exactly what you should expect from it. Will it be a relaxing walk around a German lake while you curse whatever tourist left behind bottle cap #3923? Absolutely. Will it be action-packed survival? No.

Ka-ching!

An unexpectedly fun element is the identifying of the treasures. It’s as simple as clicking a button but everything you find (even the trash) has a category, value, condition, and description. These descriptions in particular can be fun and informative to read — as a matter of fact, Treasure Hunter Simulator manages to convey a certain seriousness that ought to give it appeal to history buffs.

The side-missions and new locations offer a good amount of replay value. Sometimes it’s necessary to go back to a location to look for specific items, etc., and that makes the treasure hunting feel a little less random than it otherwise would. You probably won’t sink hundreds of hours into this game, but if you are looking for a relaxing way to spend a couple of hours, this is definitely something to try.