When you see the name Treasure Hunter Simulator it’s possible to envision yourself out on an adventure ala Lara Croft, braving exotic remote locations in search of ancient relics and fabled ruins. Or perhaps hitting the high seas to go diving through shipwrecks while hunting for sunken treasures. Unfortunately, unless you were envisioning walking around with a metal detector and unceremoniously digging into the dirt to, more often than not, find what may as well be junk… this game may be a serious disappointment.

Running with the concept that treasure can often be in the eyes of the beholder, THS is generally the most bare bones experience you can imagine for this sort of game. There isn’t all that much to know, or nuance to concern yourself with. You’ll simply walk around, waving your detector back and forth, in hope of hearing the beeps that will then tell you how close you are to something metallic. Once you zero in on the right spot, you’ll then pull out your shovel to dig, grab your typically sad little booty, wash it off, identify it, and then trudge along to your next one.

Granted, in each of the areas you’ll explore there’s at least one thing worth finding, which you can consult your map to at least try to get some help finding, but overall the focus of the experience is really just strolling around in the hopes of finding something worth more than a few paltry bucks. I suppose this is a pretty accurate depiction of what your typical person with a metal detector does, and there can be joy in the mundane, if you find simple tasks to be meditative and relaxing in some way. But even among its simulation brethren, this is a pretty dull slog overall with little in the way of variety or anything that sparks interest whatsoever.