Have you ever wanted to heal a leper, feed five thousand people, and then get stuck in an olive tree texture because the game's physics decided that gravity doesn't apply to the Messiah today? Welcome to Jesus Simulator. Get your controllers and mice ready, because the salvation of believers has never had this many bugs. But joking aside..
In the pre-holiday season, a suitable video game arrived at our address. It is a Jesus Simulator simulation. In a sea of simulators, this video game doesn't stand out for its graphics or gameplay, but for its controversial subject matter and the storm of comments it caused on Steam and the indie scene.
Jeus Simulator is the work of VRCFORGE STUDIOS. Some major studios strive for historical accuracy, but these developers approached the topic in a completely different way. This is not an exact reconstruction of the Bible, but a narrative RPG with simulation elements. This is a game that dances on the border between serious religious content and absurd humor.
VRCFORGE STUDIOS (Police Chase Simulator, Supermarket CEO Simulator) is a small team that deals exclusively with simulators. For the video game Jesus Simulator, they decided to use the optimized Unity Engine, which made it possible to play the game even on weaker PC configurations.
The game is based on missions that we carry out in the first person. Through simple arcade mechanics, we perform miracles - turn water into wine or exorcise demons. We communicate with the citizens of ancient Jerusalem, but the dialogues are modern, which divided the audience about the authenticity of the feeling of the game. What many consider this video game to be a satire is that there is a combat system - in the role of Jesus, we fight against dark forces physically or spiritually. First, we are in the role of Mary and solve simple tasks - pour water into a jug, clean the table, cook. Later, we are in the role of Joseph, and in the end they take on the role of the main character - Jesus. This not only sounds absurd, but the performance itself is absurd.
Jesus Simulator uses generic models of characters and environments, which looks ridiculous to say the least. Characters are often stuck in textures, which brings us the well-known glitches. There is a sequence in the game where an NPC is standing at the entrance and we can't enter the house, so we have to get to the roof and enter the house through a hole in the roof. Bugs and glitches are comical, and very common.
The game is available on Steam and Play Station Store. We played the Steam version. The price is not too high, 5-10 euros on both platforms. Of course this video game is not for everyone. Christian bloggers denounced the game as offensive for its simplification and trivialization of Christian themes, and it was positively received by younger audiences for its absurdity. You need about 3 hours to complete all the missions, and no special gaming skills are required.
TECHNICAL DETAILS FOR PC:
OS: Windows 10/11
Processor: Intel Core i3 or equivalent
Memory: 4GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 or higher
Space: 2GB
Jesus Simulator is not a game that will win any awards. It is a mixture of meme culture and indie experiment. In one way, it is also a provocation of general religious beliefs. Anyone looking for enlightenment or accurate Catholic content in this game will be disappointed. But for fans of bizarre games that are not in the same mold as other video games - this is a real treat. You will play this video game and you will not understand what just happened. Jesus Simulator is a strange experience that you will play in one afternoon and laugh at the absurdity of the situations in which the main character Jesus finds himself.
A copy of the game for review purposes provided by the development studio VRCFORGE STUDIOS.
