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0 Have you ever wanted to design your dream house? Then, Shine Research’s latest game, Architect Life: A House Design Simulator, is for you! This is Shine Research’s first delve into the simulator genre, and with the help of publisher Nacon, they have produced a smashing game. Luckily for you guys, Architect Life is available to buy now on Steam.
Time To Design
Before we begin the review, please share your thoughts in the comments section below!
Gameplay
As the game name suggests, the plot has you learn the trials and tribulations of becoming an architect. Whether that be through building your own dream home, or one for your clients. I immediately thrusted myself into career mode, learning on the go. Within career mode, you create an architectural firm, whereby clients come to you to capture their dream home.
This is a good opportunity to learn what the game has to offer, as it is not just the design you need to be worried about. Architect Life shows you the process from start to finish. Including selecting the subcontractors and supervising the site. There may even be a chance event thrown in where your decision may affect the development of your clients’ homes. Making sure you meet the client’s needs is essential in growing your firm. It also allows you to progressively build your skills, to allow you to take on innovative projects. However, if you don’t want to be bound to the needs of others or money, then free mode is perfect for you.
How much does a house cost?
Overall, the foundations of the game are stellar. I enjoy the immersion of seeing a project from start to finish. The controls can be difficult to start with, but once you are in the flow of building, you soon forget. However, I think there can be some small changes that can elevate the game to the next level.
Firstly, I would like to see some items added to the interior design catalogue. Because the catalogue isn’t that extensive, after a few builds, it can feel repetitive. Further to this, I am not sure the idea of ‘open concept’ has hit the game. Each room has to have 4 walls, while I like the idea of having an open concept. It would be great if this could be added, giving more creativity to the player.
However, I would like to raise that this is Shine Research’s first game in the simulation genre. And when we consider this, I think that there is a hell of a lot of potential to make this game great.
Graphics
One of the first things I loved about this game was the background. As shown in the image below, the background is made to help you envisage that you are on a drawing board. It helps create the atmosphere of that planning stage. However, there were a couple of things that I struggled with in regards to the mechanics of the game, as well as the cameras. Firstly, the cameras came across as quite janky. It took me some time to understand how to control them. After some time, I did understand better; however, I still ultimately struggled.
Other than issues with the camera work, it is relatively smooth. I didn’t run into any graphical issues or bugs during my playthrough.
Longevity
Architect Life is certainly a game in which you can sink a lot of hours into. The first day I played the game, I sat there playing it for 5 hours straight before realising what the time was. It creates a relaxing mood in which you almost forget everything that is going on around you. However, I do think that it can quickly become repetitive due to the lack of interior design items. Hopefully, going forward, Shine Research will continuously add more items to the game to allow more replayability.
Final Thoughts
Overall, Architect Life: A House Design Simulator has a good foundation. If they listen to their audience and implement some small changes, I honestly think this will be a fantastic game.
It is with this in mind, I will be rewarding Architect Life: A House Design Simulator with the Thumb Culture Gold Award.
Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this review.
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