Buckaroo is an open-world creature collector. You catch wild critters, breed them into things that should not exist, and take what's born to the rodeo and the racetrack to see what it can do. You are the breeder, not the rider.

Load up the truck and drive. Five biomes, from the grassy Open Range to the swamps of the Big Muddy, the Badlands desert, the snow up on Widowmaker Peaks and the volcanic Devil's Mesa, where something is off about the wildlife. Thirty-four kinds of critter are out there. Rope the ones you want. Watch out for the ones that want you.

The heart of the game. Breed any two critters you own. A horse with a croc, if you like. The newly bred creature takes body parts and traits from both parents, and has a chance at one of over 40 mutations. Pair the right two and your critter puts on a little show at the event. Every family tree shows where the third eye came from. Over 60 million possible critters. We counted.

A fresh catch starts out soft. Take it to Mad Dog's training pen and work on it until it bucks mean.

Purdy's Critter Spa swaps any body part for any other. Looks change, stats don't. Build the ugliest champion in the county.

Haul home the purse. Bet on the events, sell what you don't need, and pick up side hustles and mini-games along the way. Not all of them legal.

Two simulated events: riding at the rodeo and racing at the racetrack. You lean on the fence and watch what you bred go to work. Win and you climb the ranks. Lose and you go home and breed something meaner. Six ranks up to Boss Hog, and the circuit keeps going after that.

THE SMALL STUFF

A Field Guide, a pasture filter, how-to guides and a glossary keep it all straight.

Grandpaw lost the family rodeo to the Tucker brothers. Beat them at the top rank and buy it back.