Tag: Simulation

This is where you will find the best simulation games. From city builders to managing businesses, and living alternate lives, we cover it all! Perfect for strategy lovers, creative thinkers, and immersive gameplay fans.

Goblins of Elderstone – PC Preview
Previews & Early Access

Goblins of Elderstone – PC Preview

Built using Unreal Engine 4 by Lost Goblin and Outerdawn Limited, Goblins of Elderstone is a city-building strategy game with a chaotic twist. Though it was released all the way back in January 2018, the game is still in early access. Shape The Future Of Your Goblins As the game is still in early access, this means the game still contains bugs, unbalanced mechanics and occasionally strange behaviour. With a modest 6/10 average score review on Steam, let's take a look and see what the devs have been up to for the last few years. Getting Started At it's core, Goblins of Elderstone is a city-building strategy game where you shape the future of your Goblins. Using your cunning, wits and smarts you must decide what your goals, morals and limitations are. We begin our journey with a backstor...
Startup Company: Console Edition – PS5 Review
PlayStation Reviews

Startup Company: Console Edition – PS5 Review

Be the ethically questionable CEO that you've always dreamt of being in Startup Company: Console Edition. From Danish developer Hovgaard Games and Spanish Publisher 2Awesome Studio who handled the console port, today we'll be looking at the PS5 version. Startup Company was released on 26th Jan and will cost £9.99/$12.99 on the PlayStation store. Prove you have what it takes to be a CEO, without the risk of losing your life savings! Startup Company is a solid and honestly pretty addictive business management simulator that will have you hooked for hours. You are the CEO of a tech startup. You will need to manage everything from the development and maintenance of your website to marketing and monetisation. The game's concept is simple but well-executed. But don't be fooled by its see...
Thumb Culture’s Most Anticipated Games of 2023
Features

Thumb Culture’s Most Anticipated Games of 2023

2022 offered up a healthy serving of amazing games from Elden Ring, God of War Ragnarok and Horizon Forbidden West. We now look to 2023 and what games have got us excited. Already it's looking like it will be better than 2022 with the sheer variety and quality of games to be released. 2023 is Going to be an Exciting Time for Gaming! What game are you excited about in 2023?  This a hard question, for me at least, with so many games announced to be released this year. Let us know in the comments below your choice. We put this question to Thumb Culture's writers, check out their choices below: Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name Developer: Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio Release: TBC 2023 Vinno Squires - Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, from Sega developer R...
PC Building Simulator 2 – PC Review
PC Reviews

PC Building Simulator 2 – PC Review

Today we’ll be looking at PC Building Simulator 2, which comes to us from Spiral House and is published by Epic Games. It was released Oct 2022 and is the follow-up to 2017’s PC Building Simulator. It is available on PC via the Epic Game Store for £19.99/$24.99 and will require ~26GB storage. It’s like LEGO, but for grown-ups! Okay, let’s ignore the fact that plenty of adults (myself included) enjoy LEGO for a second. PC building is something of a hobby of mine, and “LEGO for grown-ups” is my go-to descriptor when people ask me if it’s complicated. I’ve advised many people on how to build a PC, and PC Building Simulator was one thing I recommended a lot to people who wanted to grasp the basics of PC building. It was a useful tool to help people grasp the basics as it was a pretty a...
Forest Ranger Simulator – PC Preview
Previews & Early Access

Forest Ranger Simulator – PC Preview

Forest Ranger Simulator is a brand new Kickstarter game all about saving nature. Currently under development by FreeMind Games - a Polish development team, release is planned for Q2 2023. So far the title has raised £2,582 of it's £7,550 goal, with 179 backers and 20 days to go. Check it out here; Forest Ranger Simulator Kickstarter. Stats as of 22nd Jan 2023, subject to change Gameplay Forest Ranger Simulator is a first person, exploration sim game about managing a forest. Play as a ranger, manage resources, pick up trash and tend to the environment in this relaxing and thought provoking experience. Played from the first person perspective, players control a pretty basic camera setup. A lack of character body animations means interacting with objects works similar to the old Oblivion...
Ikonei Island: An Earthlock Adventure – PC Early Access Preview
PC Reviews, Previews & Early Access

Ikonei Island: An Earthlock Adventure – PC Early Access Preview

Ikonei Island: An Earthlock Adventure is a relaxing, top-down casual game full of exploration and adventure. It hit PC Early Access on Steam in mid-August. Snowcastle Games (Earthlock) is responsible for both development and publishing. Though currently only available on PC, Snowcastle is planning to release Ikonei Island for Nintendo Switch, Playstation 4/5, and Xbox One/Series X/S at a later date. It will also eventually be multiplayer. Explore, Adventure, Farm, and Decorate to make Ikonei Island your own! There are plenty of farm/life sim games out there. Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing are two of my favorites. Though Ikonei Island isn't necessarily a farm sim game, it definitely scratches the same itch as those others seem to. There seem like so many things you can do that there i...
Need For Speed Unbound PS5 Review
PlayStation Reviews

Need For Speed Unbound PS5 Review

Need for Speed Unbound is the latest in the NFS franchise and is available on PS5, Xbox Series X/S as well as PC. Developed by Criterion Software, famed for their Burnout games, and published by EA, will Unbound be a winner or one to drive by? NFS Unbound - The World is your Canvas With a bit of a twist when it comes to graphics, I know that many have been a bit wary of how this iteration of NFS looks. The ultimate question is a simple one; Does it work and play well? Gameplay While Criterion has made some of my all-time favourite arcade racing games such as Need for Speed: Most Wanted and Burnout Paradise (A title I have somehow managed to buy since its launch in 2008 on almost every platform along the way!) NFS Unbound has seemingly ventured into a very vibrant and graffiti-cultu...
Sweet Transit – PC Review
PC Reviews

Sweet Transit – PC Review

Developed by Ernestas Norvaišas on the MonoGame engine and published by Team17 we have Sweet Transit. Initially released in Q2 2022 and is available on PC Do Not Forget To Signal Join me as I check out just what Sweet Transit has to offer with its multifaceted city-building transport simulator elements. Gameplay At first glance, the game looks like any other sim title of its type. However, it goes a lot deeper and has quite complex mechanics. There are basic sim elements, such as resource collection and goals. Sweet Transit however completely throws you off by not allowing certain buildings to be built anywhere near each other. Now, this is clever in certain ways as it does force you to create trail tracks everywhere. After all, the game is all about the railroads. There is a tutori...
Cities: Skylines World Tour – PC Review
PC Reviews

Cities: Skylines World Tour – PC Review

Ever wanted to add a bit more character to your Cities: Skylines world? Well thanks to the Cities Skylines World Tour DLC you can do just that. With 4 themed DLC packs now dropped across all platforms, what do they entail and how will they enhance your experience? Around the World in 80 Days! I'm excited to bring a bit of culture and pizazz into my ageing cities. It's time to play my Willy Fogg theme tune and go around the world! Gameplay Cities: Skylines is incredible, let's face it. While I grew up with Sim City back in the day, Skylines is to me the ultimate evolution, showing off how graphics, sound and gameplay have now expanded into futuristic realms thanks to technological advancements. The latest Cities Skylines World Tour DLC features a number of content packs that draw...
Surviving the Aftermath: Shattered Hope – PC Review
PC Reviews

Surviving the Aftermath: Shattered Hope – PC Review

Shattered Hope is the latest expansion for Surviving the Aftermath - the first being 'New Alliances'. The Shattered Hope DLC went live on Steam November 3rd 2022, building on the base game which launched October 19th 2019. Since quite a length of time has passed between the base game and the expansion, it makes you wonder what Iceflake Studios have been up to. Well, Shattered Hope brings a ton of new content, modifications and tweaks to the original game. Some of these are based on player feedback - it's refreshing to see a studio that listens to the players. Gameplay Surviving the Aftermath is a colony-sim survival game set in a post-apocalyptic future. Resources are scarce, colonists are valuable and danger is everywhere. The main goal is to create a sustainable settlement, bringing ba...