Developer: Washbear Studio
Publisher: Washbear Studio
Platforms: PC
Tested on: PC
Parkasaurus – Review
There is a high chance that almost every gamer came into contact with a Rollercoaster Tycoon or any other similar type of this genre at least once in their life. The possibilities to create a theme park of your own, for the good or worse of the attendees, always appealed to a lot of people. Now, what if you had the opportunity to create a whole park with dinosaurs? Parkasaurus will take you on this journey between these extinct creatures.
Story
At the beginning of the tutorial, you’ll get some details about what happened. You can see a spacecraft make its way to Earth, which is followed by an image of the crashed shuttle. Three creatures emerge and it becomes clear rather fast that they’re dinosaurs. They’re stuck on this planet and you have to create several dinosaur theme parks to collect parts for their spaceship so they can continue their journey. Each campaign mode has a short intro but afterwards, you can decide how you are going to proceed (most of the time at least). This title has just the right amount of story value, seeing that you get some details at the start of the game and at the beginning of each level.
Graphics
A word that certainly pops into mind when seeing the graphics is that they’re cute in their own way. The whole park area is in a 3D setting with some low poly art influences, where you can see the most amazing dinosaurs grow up. Yes, the details might not be profound, but the possibility to let the creatures wear several kinds of hats or other accessories just makes you melt. Bright colors will light up your screen even more, seeing that there is a wide variety of buildings, vegetation, and decorations.
The management parts are mostly done in 2D, like your office or the digging excavation. Even though this is a different kind of vibe, it does mix well together with the whole flow and feel of the game.
Sound
Just like the graphics, the sounds will make you feel at ease and happy, rather than pumped up and energetic. The track in the menu and while playing a level are soothing and tranquil, just the right tune to hear when trying to create some epic new parks where both dinosaurs as well as guests can be happy. When zooming in on your animals or the attendees, you can hear some of the sound effects, which get repetitive quite fast. It would have been nice if there was a bigger variety of ambiance sounds, but this is just a small remark.
Gameplay
Parkasaurus is a dinosaur tycoon management game where you need to build a whole dino park where both animals and guests are happy. This game offers a campaign mode where you can take up the challenge of creating parks under certain circumstances or you can opt for a different experience by going for the customization mode. Here, you can choose some of the settings yourself to have that custom feeling and you can let your imagination go wild.
With the campaign comes a tutorial level first, where you can get to know the game and the several mechanics. In the beginning, you have a certain amount of money, eggs, and items you receive to have at least a headstart. Then, it’s up to you. Mostly you’re guided by some kind of objectives you need to achieve, but for the rest, you can do whatever you want.
First of all, you need to have exhibits for your dinosaurs so they’re happy and healthy. After getting a plot of land, by adding a fence, you can start altering that area. There are different kinds of biomes, which can be achieved by changing the rock structure, type of grass, and water availability. When you have the perfect environment, you can then start to add plants and rocks to create a solid and balanced living area for your dino. Afterwards, you still need to add a door, feeder, and other necessities for the wellbeing of your animals. Then it’s time to place an egg or let loose a grown dinosaur and you can enjoy the fruits of your labor.
After preparing one or more exhibits, you can start thinking about the customers. Of course, you need paths so they can walk to the dinosaurs. Even more, if you think of any amusement park, you know that there are a lot of food and drink possibilities, merchandise and other fun extras. This isn’t any different in this case, as you can start adding several kinds of establishments. Don’t forget to add other necessities like toilets, garbage cans, or other decorations to liven up the park and make people feel at home. Yes, even here there is a balance you need to keep in mind.
You got your dinosaurs and your crowd, now you need to have employees to top it all. Veterinarians are needed to feed your animals, clean up the exhibits, and take care of them when they’re sick. Janitors keep the park clean, repair fences, and will take care of the bathrooms, while the security will tranquilize rampant dinos (yes, it happens) and keep an eye out for people who are there for other things than the dinosaurs. Last but not least there are scientists, that will gather science credits. These credits are needed to upgrade your park and get access to new kinds of buildings or perks. Next to these ones, you also get hearts from happy dinos, which can also be traded for several improvements.
Your employees aren’t only useful in the park, but also to gather fossils in unknown lands thanks to the handy portal. You can go and fetch the remains of a certain kind of dinosaur that then can be used to create new eggs. Each employee has a certain dig pattern they can use for a certain amount of time. Creating eggs cost money and gems, just like the food that’s needed for your dinosaurs. This kind of completes the circle, as you need a steady and balanced income while maintaining the happiness of your dinosaurs, crowd, and employees. After every day, you get an overview of the total income, the heat map to see what’s the most visited, and the reviews of people. Next to buying food every day, there are also other shops for you to discover. The bank might also be important as you can switch hearts, science credits, or money for something of these currencies.
There is more to the game than this, but one thing worth mentioning is that you can give accessories to your dinosaurs to increase certain stats, which certainly isn’t only entertaining for the crowd, but also for you. No worries, no animals are being harmed in the process. Also, whenever you complete a campaign, you get rewarded with a certain amount of spaceship parts. These can then be used to get passive perks, like an extra egg when you start a game or that people spend more during nighttime.
Conclusion
Parkasaurus certainly is a fun game if you’re into tycoon management games. Instead of building rollercoasters, you’re busy trying to get the perfect exhibit for your dinosaurs while keeping them happy and healthy. The graphics might lack some detail here and there but they’re certainly cute and appealing, just like the sound will give you a soothing feeling. Gameplay-wise there is certainly a lot to do, the campaign levels always take you to a new challenge, and if you had enough of the objectives you can just go nuts in the custom mode.
Parkasaurus - Review,
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[…] few years ago we had a lot of fun with Parkasaurus, the dinosaur tycoon management simulation from Washbear Studio. Today, the game is finally making […]