The latest isPark Beyond, and for the most part it’s exactly what you’d expect.
Park Beyond doesn’t go in for plate spinning.
Its random events are all positive, and even damaged rides automatically close until a mechanic arrives.
It’s not, bluntly, my preference.
I am one of the saddos who likes the management side more than the prettifying side.
It’s more limited in that regard than I’d like.
But I recognise that it’s simply not prioritising that.
It’s not utterly toothless, either.
There’s a good chance this is a me problem, though.
The coaster design system is flexible and reasonably intuitive.
And even I can appreciate the appeal of looping a track under my bridges and between the gift shops.
That’s the real reason for expanding, not money; you want more fun stuff.
More technically, “fun” is an actively tracked resource.
Rides and entertainers increase the Fun level, which is how you (sigh) level up your park.
Rather than traditional R&D, new rides, shops, and modules are unlocked in bumper packs.
I didn’t like this system at first, but it grew on me.
I did find myself waiting around for fun levels to spike, however.
Then there’s “impossification”.
Being a dull spoilsport, I’ll describe this as glorified upgrades.
It’s cute, though.
I don’t, however, recommend creating an elaborateTimberbornwarren.
The parks are meant to be big, not dense.
Another bug saw rides lock up until I happened to notice, and had to save and reload.
But again, this was a pre-release version, and occasional bugs are inevitable.
Judging it as a business sim would leave it wanting, but would also be unfair.
It’s a creative, low-stress game first and foremost.
It’s not aimed precisely at me, but I still got caught in the blast.
This review is based on a review build of the game provided by the publisher Bandai Namco.
