A vibrant and saccharine sweet world of possibilities awaits where you can manage every minute detail of your theme park to your liking without being burdened by everyday problems like gravity and public safety. Limbic Entertainment and Bandai Namco presents a world where you can create the theme park of your dreams—or nightmares—via the power of impossification.
Valendis is a beautifully pixelated world with a rich history in this story-driven RPG. The initial introductions drag on a bit long, but once the story picks up it pays off in the end. Chained Echoes manages to introduce useful mechanics to its combat with the Overdrive system that work with the player while challenging them to change up their gameplay and strategy at the same time while still affording plenty of room for customization and accessibility.
Dressed up as an unassuming blue-collar employment simulator, Hardspace: Shipbreaker actually clamps down on the injustice of a capitalist system where the health and safety of employees is overlooked in favor of just getting the job done. Gameplay can be a little slow, but the narrative payoff is worth the wait.
Two Point Studios has managed to take a management scenario that would otherwise seem incredibly boring and turn it into a simulator that is both fun and funny to play.
While I expected Stray to be a cyberpunk-themed walking simulator about a day in the life of a cat, I was unprepared for the deeply emotional adventure that this little cat was going to take me on. This stunningly beautiful world left me with a mountain of questions and has undoubtedly earned a place in my mind for some time.
Regardless of whether you're just dipping your toes into management simulators for the first time, or you're a hardcore experienced management tycoon, this game has something to offer you. Let’s Build a Zoo: Dinosaur Island is the sort of simulator you load up for half an hour only to look at a clock when you’re done and realize you’ve lost half a day.
Tunic's world is as mysterious as it is beautiful. The world is a treasure trove of puzzles to solve coupled with a myriad of bosses determined to test your fortitude.
The Gunk is a satisfying puzzle-adventure game where two down-on-their-luck space scrappers must help save an alien planet from a destructive black goo. The combat in The Gunk does feel frustratingly underbaked, but solid story pacing and excellent puzzle challenges help overshadow the struggle.
Nobody Saves the World is a humorous romp through a 2D world where the hero is little more than a pale, pantsless shell that players can magically transform into a colorful cast of characters. RPG elements let players customize the experience even further as they rack up a body count of baddies.