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0 Park Beyond is the latest title from German developer Limbic Entertainment and was published by Bandai Namco. It is out now on PC, Xbox Series S/X and PlayStation 5.
No Minimum Height Requirement
When reflecting on Park Beyond, it’s important to recognize the lasting influence of Theme Park – a game that enchanted audiences three decades ago and continues to hold a special place in the hearts of many. The game’s premise remains the same after all these years – construct and run a top-notch park to ensure visitors’ satisfaction. Park Beyond piqued my interest upon its announcement due to its vibrant visuals, charming characters, and thrilling rides. I eagerly anticipated the opportunity to try it out and discover its full potential.
Park Beyond is a simulation game that caters to players of all ages, as it can be as intricate or straightforward as you prefer. Its campaign mode is particularly noteworthy, as it allows you to progress through different scenarios while acquiring knowledge on park management. As you construct parks in diverse environments, fresh concepts are gradually introduced, which adds to the excitement of creating increasingly imaginative designs. It’s truly gratifying to observe your creations come to life over time.
Gameplay
The opening tutorial was a great surprise! It required building a rollercoaster from my apartment and weaving it through the city, stopping at key areas. The tutorial effectively tested the cart’s ability to reach each point and introduced powered sections that could pull the cart up and create drops to help me reach my destinations. Unleash your creativity as the park’s creative lead and design thrilling rides for all ages. Elevate your park with unique modules and captivate thrill-seekers with loops and hoops.
You have the freedom to either launch riders into the air and guide them to land precisely on a new section of track and continue their ride or simply enjoy a ride on the teacups. A useful tool available is a heat map that helps identify areas of need in the park, such as hunger. With this feature, navigating the park is much simpler and less cluttered. I found it to be quite helpful.
When designing the park, it is crucial to consider the target audience. You can choose to focus on families, adults, or teenagers. Visitor satisfaction can be impacted if, for instance, teenagers who consume energy drinks don’t find attractions such as the Ferris wheel enjoyable. Therefore, it is important to keep this in mind.
To ensure the safety and cleanliness of the park, the staff plays an essential role. By accessing the staff screen, you can hire mechanics, cleaners, entertainers, and paramedics, each with varying levels of experience, efficiency, and energy. Additionally, they are assigned a specific salary.
The Team
A unique feature that contributes to the overall enjoyment of Park Beyond is its charming cast of characters. There’s an eccentric old man and a down-to-earth old lady who represent opposite management styles, providing a balance to your decisions. Will you create a highly profitable park or push the limits to the extreme? Why not do both? In addition, a supportive friend cheers you on throughout the game, and you’ll encounter an engineer who introduces new features with a witty sense of humour. This diverse cast creates a memorable experience, setting Park Beyond apart from other games in its genre.
Adaptable
Park Beyond is a versatile experience that allows you to customise it to your liking, whether you prefer a more challenging or relaxed approach. I was pleasantly surprised by the extensive options available on the menus, which allowed me to fine-tune the parkgoers’ experience. Alternatively, you could simply place attractions and amenities as you please and still enjoy the game, while keeping an eye on the heat map for any issues. Personally, I enjoyed creating parks with a cohesive theme and ensuring they were well-decorated. The enhancements to the scenery are just the beginning. Adding smoke emitters, water cannons, and even confetti cannons can give any park that extra special touch.
Pick Your Theme
Park Beyond‘s selection of themes is diverse, but each theme must improve its range of available rides. While the Western, Candy Land, and Da Vinci styles offer exceptional rides, structures, and landscapes, there are currently insufficient options to commence with. Opting for the Visioneer Edition also grants access to a Zombie set, but this is not enough. It’s essential for Park Beyond to listen to its customers and provide a wider range of rides for each theme.
The camera angles were initially effective in accurately positioning sections of the rollercoaster track. However, the camera can encounter difficulties when the park becomes crowded with paths and rides. These issues can include the camera becoming immobile, getting stuck on the ground, or suddenly shifting to an unrelated area. This can make it challenging to place scenery, rides, and shops, often resulting in them floating in the air or being positioned underground.
Dive Into The Sandbox
You have the freedom to fully customize your experience in Sandbox mode, with the option to include as many or as few objectives as you’d like. The park is a stunning expanse of grassy fields, complete with flowing rivers and pre-built rides and paths that can be tailored to your preferences. With Terraforming, you have the ability to manipulate the terrain, shaping it to your liking by pushing, pulling, or flattening it as you see fit. What’s truly remarkable is how quickly you can modify large areas by adjusting the radius size, intensity, and fall-off of the terraformer. With the water tools, you can create rivers, ponds, and moats, opening up endless possibilities for customization.
Graphics & Audio
The available locations are some of the best-quality environments that I have seen in any construction and management game. If you’re exploring a dry canyon or a verdant forest around a lake, there are numerous ways to maximize the use of the space without feeling limited. The camera problem detracts from the immersive atmosphere that Park Beyond aims to create for its visitors. The park stays open round the clock, providing visitors with an exceptional day and night experience. However, managing such a schedule comes with numerous obstacles, which Park Beyond effectively overcomes. It boasts exceptional lighting, surpassing my expectations for a game of its kind.
The screams of thrill-seekers on rides, combined with the overall excitement of the theme park, make for a truly unforgettable experience. Additionally, the option to view a ride camera allows you to fully enjoy and appreciate your own creations. You have the choice to assign specific music to each ride from a variety of options. This feature pairs perfectly with the sounds of visitors enjoying themselves, hopefully with screams of joy.
Longevity
If you want to fully complete the standard campaign, it will take you more than 15 hours. However, if you decide to explore the extras, it can take up to 20 hours or more. If you’re a fan of the game, you can spend the most time in the Sandbox mode. This mode allows you to make the game as challenging as you want or give yourself unlimited funds to build your dream park.
Final Thoughts
Park Beyond goes beyond just a fresh coat of paint in the genre and sets a new standard for future games with innovative ideas and challenges. It invokes fun and nostalgia reminiscent of Theme Park, which must have been its inspiration. Nevertheless, there are issues with bugs, particularly with camera movement and glitches, which can be frustrating and detract from the game’s humor. Though these issues should be easy to fix, they persist in the game as of now. Whether you’re a novice to park-building games or remember the classic Theme Park era, you’ll find much to enjoy in this game. Hopefully, any bugs will be resolved shortly. It is for this reason that Park Beyond is awarded the Thumb Culture Silver Award.
Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this review.
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