Kingdom's Deck
Kingdom's Deck
Game
Game2017
Gold Mining Simulator
Developer Code Horizon
Become a gold miner. Work hard, dig deep, explore the world, and you’ll become the wealthiest person in Alaska. Use a variety of specialist machines to find as much gold as you can. From the Steam store page
223 reactions from 2 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky) · newest Nov 3, 2026 · last updated Nov 5, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
57
Mixed
126 positive · 94 negative
95% range 51–64%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 126 | 94 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 0 | 1 | 2 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Mixed
5,495 of 7,899 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
58% recommend · 123 yes, 89 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 212 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Mostly Positive (11,915 of 16,433 positive).
Players find the game addictive and fun, especially for fans of the Gold Rush TV show. [1][2][3] Many reviewers criticize the game for being buggy, with issues like crashes and memory leaks. [4][5][6][7] Some players are upset about the Definitive Edition DLC, calling it a cash grab. [8][9][10]
Liked
Representative posts
- [8]
If I could, I would give a mixed reaction. The game itself is good and slightly addicting, but it got abandoned. Now, after announcing GMS2, devs came back to this and decided to release a new dlc "Definitive edition". Basically a cash grab, hiding new content and QoL updates behind a paywall on a dead game, using excuses such as "some players might have older computers, therefore it needs to be a separate, paid …
- [11]
The Good : * If you're looking for a realistic take on modern prospecting. This might be your only realistic option. * The open-world mining village is a really nice. * The graphics are nice and draw at a solid FPS. (Although see below.) The Bad : * Everywhere you turn there's paid DLC. Be ready to open your wallet or be constantly reminded that you've only got half the game. If that. Some of it is late-game stuff, …
- [4]
I bought this game 6 years ago, played it for a couple hours. HATED it. Was a buggy hard to play mess, gave me motion sickness too. Gave it another try yesterday and what a difference! Im only 8 hours in but loving it so far. and no motion sickness! Thanks for putting time into making this game so much better! Definitely a THUMBS UP from me!
- [3]
This is one of those simulator games where you start playing “just to try it” and then somehow you’re emotionally invested in dirt. Not gold. Dirt. Moving dirt, washing dirt, checking dirt, buying bigger machines so you can disrespect even larger piles of dirt. And honestly, that’s the fun part. The game has a really satisfying progression from small, hands-on work to running a proper mining setup with equipment, …
- [1]
Great Game got interested in the game through the Gold Rush tv show and Graysillplays and Drae playing it back in the day
Summarised from 29 of the 215 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 11, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
58% of the 212 Steam reviewers we collected recommend Gold Mining Simulator. The complaint that keeps coming up: game is buggy with crashes and performance issues. Deal-breaker or nitpick?
Reactions
60 of 223 · most liked firstIf I could, I would give a mixed reaction. The game itself is good and slightly addicting, but it got abandoned. Now, after announcing GMS2, devs came back to this and decided to release a new dlc "Definitive edition". Basically a cash grab, hiding new content and QoL updates behind a paywall on a dead game, using excuses such as "some players might have older computers, therefore it needs to be a separate, paid thing".
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I've tried to come to back this game a few times, its just meh. The concept is cool. in 2017 this game would have been a beast however in 2025 its just a chore.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Fun game when you want to just do something to disconnect and chill. Not so fun if you decide to go on the leaderboard because it's disgusting the disparity between a casual and a sweaty player (or cheater). Could be better if it was Co-op so I could play with my friends and have some fun.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Wow, I bought the game 8 years ago. I was waiting for a fix, because it still has unsolved bugs. Now they want to force us to buy all! dlcs so we can have a 90% discount for a fix, that should come with the base game for free. If you dont buy those dlc your left in the rain. Please dont buy this game or the fixed version of this game nor buy the GMS2! I only wish I had the money to sue the devs into the homeless shelter.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The Good : * If you're looking for a realistic take on modern prospecting. This might be your only realistic option. * The open-world mining village is a really nice. * The graphics are nice and draw at a solid FPS. (Although see below.) The Bad : * Everywhere you turn there's paid DLC. Be ready to open your wallet or be constantly reminded that you've only got half the game. If that. Some of it is late-game stuff, but some of it (like the mini machines) is early game stuff that…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →devs claim that modding is not possible, are borderline narcissistic about it despite the engine being dumped now for years BY UNITY, the game is in poor condition and was not in a good working state before the dlc was released, they are using a collision system that is so outdated that unity depricated it well before the game even came out, etc. the game did not deserve the dlc or the treatment its getting. the game itself has engine level issues that are only fixable by an engine swap and the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →After just shy of 200 hours in this game, and even buying all the DLC, I can't recommend it. Like most places today, they keep putting out DLC without fixing existing issues. Not QoL or just irritating issues...game-breaking issues. 1. When you dig with the excavator, if you don't stop exactly when the bucket is full, prepare to be upside down, because your excavator will fly through the air before your bucket will accept anymore dirt, or even just stop when it's full. 2. When you have…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →broken game and the game devs rather make another verson then fix what they have
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Stay away from this. It is not playable. Despite having high FPS i experienced constant freezes when objects were loaded. Sometimes for several seconds. It is very frustrating when you are on the move for example. It is very broken. I can't even make through tutorial in the shop, because it somehow did not recognized me adding needed items to the shopping cart. Equipment work is very basic. Vehicles don't feel like real. You can start moving while listening to engine starting sounds!!!
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Great Game got interested in the game through the Gold Rush tv show and Graysillplays and Drae playing it back in the day
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Not much to say but devs if you need money just say it stop hiding behind updates that require us to buy a new game big no no. Did you really think you were gonna pull one over on us?
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Im not someone who usually writes reviews but reading some of the reasons why some people left a negative review, I felt like I have to write one. First of all, I like the game and have a good a mount of fun. I bought it and all DLCs in a Sale and definitely cant complain. I havent explored everything in the game yet (havent even fully mined my first claim yet) so my opinion might change in the future. However there must be some serious bad thing happening to turn this review from a positiv…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Due to this game being replaced by a $40 "Definitive Edition" which is the same game combined with all of the existing DLCs and with supposed fixes and minor additions, you can expect it's being sunset and will NOT be fixed. If you want the fixes or leaderboards, you'll have to pay the $40 for the new version (unless you gamble within 14 days and get the discount). You can also expect this game and it's DLCs to be delisted from the store to force new people to make the switch. This is a very…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Got it on sale for $7 bucks, its the only game close to gold mining/ panning so theres no other choice. I saw some youtubers play it years ago and thought by now it would be ok but it is so negleted. So much potential, so many good ideas but executed so poorly. its a shame. Nugget option is in by default but it makes it so you make more money just shoveling the dirt than actually panning it so defeats the purpose entirely. But turn the nuggets off and its stupid anounts of grind to get…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →buggy, unpolished, unfinished, unoptimized, looks like this was abandoned as soon as the money dried up.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →---{ Graphics }--- ☐ You forget what reality is ☐ Beautiful ☐ Good ☑ Decent ☐ Bad ☐ Don‘t look too long at it ☐ MS-DOS ---{ Gameplay }--- ☐ Very good ☐ Good ☑ It's just gameplay ☐ Mehh ☐ Watch paint dry instead ☐ Just don't ---{ Audio }--- ☐ Eargasm ☐ Very good ☐ Good ☑ Not too bad ☐ Bad ☐ I'm now deaf ---{ Audience }--- ☐ Kids ☑ Teens ☑ Adults ☐ Grandma ---{ PC Requirements }--- ☐ Check if you can run paint ☐ Potato ☑ Decent ☐ Fast ☐ Rich boi ☐ Ask NASA…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I bought this game 6 years ago, played it for a couple hours. HATED it. Was a buggy hard to play mess, gave me motion sickness too. Gave it another try yesterday and what a difference! Im only 8 hours in but loving it so far. and no motion sickness! Thanks for putting time into making this game so much better! Definitely a THUMBS UP from me!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Lost me as a customer permanently due to the cash grab practices. pay for bug fixes are you joking?
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Years of waiting for bug fixes. Years of waiting for New free content and I'm not talking bout "We added a single machine that makes it easier to clean your mats." I'm talking bout new machines, possibly new parcels even. We got the Big bulldozer which was probably a incentive to buy the "Orange beast" dlc. Now the final show "You have to buy a VERSION of the game because we ""Fixed"" the bugs that have been in the game for years." BUT WAIT if you BUY these half done looking cash grab dlcs…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The only updates this game gets is new DLC's. Idea is good but the game is done horribly
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I found this game back when it was called Gold Rush, on YT and I watched every episode Drae put out. I loved it, I just love these types of games I guess. After those years went by I remembered the videos and tried finding "Gold Rush" but the game had apparently lost the rights to the name Gold Rush. never the less, when I finally got the game I was so excited to play and get rish AF! But as you can see, my laptop couldn't run it without it being a slideshow. Even on the lowest graphics I…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I would recommend this game but even on a 10th gen i7 my game freezes and shutters everytime i load a new chunk of the town even have it installed to a 1500mbps ssd so speed is not the issue the code ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ sucks if i stay on my claim it rarely happens Other then that if you play through the performance issues its a decent game for 3$ or even free if developers do this after 2 launches to promote buying for multiplayer Honestly if youre second game has this bad of performance scrap the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →For these graphics, the amount of bugs and lag is just embarrassing. Not worth it.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →dont buy it. Bought it on sale for £2 something. Awful performance, loading freezes every 20 seconds. unplayable.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I don't know how anyone can play this game without getting motion sickness from the choppy camera motion. I didn't make it 5 minutes into the game.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I like janky games and I don't mind grinding. But this is a level of jank on top of merciless grind combined with developers releasing DLC instead of fixing years-old core game issues that culminates in a pretty unappealing experience. Unless things change and the developers care about improving the core gameplay instead of tacking on yet more features that aren't appealing or work properly, I'd recommend looking elsewhere or wait to see what happens with GMS2.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The ammount of DLC block most of the fun. If you want something with 75% of content blocked with DLC, sure buy it. Gold mining simulator 2 might have same stuff in there so take care what you buy.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →WTF is wrong with this game. Everytime i get something going it freezes and then corrupts my d\save and its screwed. I do not like starting over every effin time this happens. DEVS FIX THIS BS FROM HAPPENING. Increase items around maps, Decrease object hit boxes. i know your effin with a new game but that game is going to suck royally if you cant get this one right. This is BS for you to have such a great game only to loose everything once you get half way through mining a pile or bringing…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →it is very realistik but one of the bad things is the loading,it always stops your game but over all it is a cool game for begginers Thanks for the best experens of my life.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →the game is absolute garbage, it has so much potential, but its impossible to drive around, cus its laggin like crazy when loading terrain, i have real beefy computer and ANY game should run smoothly on it, expecially a game of this "quality" (low quality graphics). ive given it 6 hours now, but im simply tired of crashing into walls and stuff due to the insane lag spikes. the vehiecles are terrible hancling with no grip, so you get stuck on any little bump too. its sad cus it looks really…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I get it's a PlayWay game... I'm playing it in light of the news of GMS2 and to clear up my backlog. I'm not gonna lie, it's jank. Autosaving causes stutters, i have to load areas 2-3 times to get to my claim or town which are stutters, driving the UTV or Truck is terrible.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →great game first 2 tiers is very fun and the rest is just for people who are unemployed and want to feel like they have job
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →honestly this game has great bones good idea horible excution like i understand devolpers on a budget etc etc but this game is supposed to be a simulator and id barley call it that mainly cause the lack of power in the equipement and lack of good physics the controls are nice and easy without a joystick but its impossible to strip mine ow make a quarry like you would in real life or other games like out of ore instead of dlc thats just extra filler make the game operable…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →got the game many years ago. had 100 hours on it a month or so ago. and got back in it and im hooked, there is some bugs that i hope codehorizon fixes with the new DLC coming out. other then that. an amazing game overall.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I've recently came back to this game [I got it when it was still "Gold Rush Simulator"] and overall I find the gameplay in the early stage where I replayed alright, but I would like to see more ways to navigate the map as I find it annoying to swap between the map view and driving unless I'm missing something. I also find the gameplay loop at least for the start slightly repetitive but fun nevertheless. If anyone's reading this review to know if they should get the game, I personally have no…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →QA Playtest Report - Gold Mining Simulator (Tutorial Phase) Tester: Andrés Environment: Tutorial / Early Game Status: Failing (Critical Path Blocked) 1. [P0 - Blocker] Soft-lock: Insufficient funds for mandatory refueling Description: The tutorial instructs the player to refuel the vehicle, but starting funds are insufficient to complete the transaction. Expected Result: The tutorial should provide enough initial credit or the first refuel should be scripted as free to prevent a soft-lock.…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I would've given the game a chance but I have massive issues with motion sickness and whenever you walk in this game it just burls and jiggles the camera in a super weird way and I cannot bear it. Refunded.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Core gameplay loop is annoying - either slave away or slave away and randomly gold nuggets worth 4x what you just spent an hour working to get. Guarenteed 2-3 lag spikes every time going into town. Constantly going in and out of town. ♥♥♥♥♥♥ excavators that get stuck in dirt all the time. if the sequel was just this but with everything annoying fixed then id look forward to it
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm around 9-10 hours. i keep coming back to this game hoping it will improve but i just can't recommend it. gameplay needs a lot more polish. driving and running equipment is anything but smooth.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →i first found out about this game from Drae on you tube back when it was called gold rush the game. it's very addicting and fun to play, the performance for me Imo is fine, there's a well known memory leak that causes the fps to gradually drop the longer you play, it's recommended to save and restart the game about every 2 hours to fix it. people need to remember this was made using an old version of unity and the game was handed over to a new dev team that's had to try and fix the game, but…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I WOULD ONLY CHANGE THIS IF THE BUGS ARE FIXED AS THERE AS TOO MANY I DIG LIGHT DIRT WITH A REINFORCED TOOTH AND STRUGGLE THEN IT THROWS THE MACHINE ALL OVER THE MAP ITS IMPOSSIBLE I BOUGHT THIS GAME AND ALL dlc'S
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I gave this game a go but during the tutorial, despite following the tool tips, it rarely worked, encountering a few more bugs with tutorial, so I just gave up, I'll wait for the next game.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →You need DLC to buy the beginner Excavator lol Loading screens every 10-15 secs driving around etc.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →the biggest down side to this game beside sliding on dirt like it's ice is that it has "NO JOYSTICK" controls
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is not a fun or interesting game. The inability of certain developers to make a concise game is just sad. Seriously, the INTRO takes over 2 hours to finish, then you make your first couple gold bars, buy better equipment when you can, and then you can't even move the equipment unless you buy it one piece at a time because it populates on your land in such a way that each piece blocks the next!? What the actual ♥♥♥♥ Devs? I regret purchasing this game wholeheartedly.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →over 300 hours why why is game still buggy and now crashes most of the time
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Feels like i have 30FPS instead of 300. Autosaves few times in a minute with stuters even on low settings. Quite buggy - within my whoping 20min of playing i managed to softlock myself by bugging my tool inventory
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Has major bugs like Trailers Not Connecting despite perfect alignment and previous connection. Unplayable. And don't even get me started on the physics, Moving Slowly into a hitching position DOES NOT cause your truck to take off like a rocket propelled grenade in real life. Reply to the Developer's Comment below: Please do not ask me to join discord again after deleting my account or provide logs/videos/etc for YOUR game. I am not your employee and I WILL NOT HELP YOU!
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Thoroughly clunky, it has some salient points that are overshadowed by the poor gameplay. more an exercise in frustration than entertaining.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →do not buy 40 mins driving to get stuck on half a pixel of rock and get stuck
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →glitchy stick controls cause gold that falls out of pan into clean basin to be deleted?!?! not fun waste of time...
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Excavators dont even work anymore, cant even dig a normal patch of dirt like it use to in the past. That or my own game is bugged across multiple saves.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →form the start the game couldn't be ran on max but even on mid settings it still ran at around 47 fps, and the often lag spikes, and no one showing you how to play or assemble or use the things that it tell you to buy. after it shows you how to start your car and buy land and how to buy stuff it stops and doesn' t tell you what to do from there.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I would like to preface this review with me stating that I love this game. Its so good, I like it a lot but it has a lot, a LOT of issues. This game is unpolished, very very grindy, and at times, rage inducing. I'm hooked, as I was someone who had played since before the name change. This game needs some TLC which the Devs might fix in GMS2.(I hope) Overall if you're willing for the challenge, it can be fun, but I would not recommend for the faint of heart because of the avalanche of…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I Built a MILLION-DOLLAR Gold Mine in This New Game!⛏️👀 Strap in for Gold Mining Simulator 2! ⛏️ Go from zero to gold tycoon in the stunning Alaskan wilderness. #indiegame #gaming #goldmining
neutral · AI labelView post →Be me - playing Gold Mining Simulator - Decides to move something with excavator and cables - lifts it up - glitches, hits excavator, sends it flying at 8000+ kph, crashes game, fucks up the autosave - didn’t manually save since i started play session. We gamin, Laggy style.
negative · AI labelView post →this game has game breaking bugs and in order to get a fix or patch you have to buy DLC, i understand using DLC to add new gameplay or locations but DLC for a bug fix that is SCUMMY and a SCAM, DO NOT SUPPORT THIS DEV,
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →broken and buggy all they did was change the name from gold mining the game to gold mining simulator they didnt patch any of the bugs from the old game from console flying cars unable to buy upgrades dirt disappearing leaderboard is obv hacked and they are making a gold mining simulator 2 when this garbage is still broken i feel sorry for the fools who actually buy that second game
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I got Gold Rus- I mean Gold mining simulator back in 2018, it was my first game I ever got on steam. And honestly I would say not much has change with improving the game, they added content over time, but were definitely lazy when it came to solving bugs and fixes. Although the game was still somewhat fun. However there seemed to of been some sort of rebrand or maybe an aquisition by Playway a few years ago and since then the dlcs added although cheep where absolute crap. And now they are…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →First they updated things for the better. Now they're charging for a glorified patch. Disgusting yet typical playway behaviour. Knew this ♥♥♥♥ was going to happen the second you got your greedy mits on Gold Rush: The Game. Lmao damage control has begun, you get deleted for being “disrespectful” if you disagree with charging for a patch. Pot calling the kettle black there boys. Oh and to make matters worse this “new” version won’t be compatible with existing saves, yeah ♥♥♥♥ right off
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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