Parkasaurus – Preview
Did you ever dream about having your own dinosaur park that probably wouldn’t be as messed up as the ones in Jurassic Park? Well now is your chance! The developers of WashBear have made Parkasaurus available for Early Access on Steam with the goal to make an even better game with the support of, as they call it, Parkasaurus Warriors. Do you have what it takes to build the best park and should you jump on it now it is in Early Access or should you start running now it’s not too late yet? Read our review and you will find out!
At this point there is no actual story in the game. It is mentioned that dinosaurs arrived with a space rocket on Earth and saw our shiny currency. Now they want a lot of that, so you have to build a park. But that’s all there is for now. There is a button in the main menu that says scenarios but that’s currently unavailable.
It’s good that they are going to add the scenarios because games like this (Rollercoaster Tycoon etc.) need them to put a challenge in the game.
Parkasaurus uses 3D-graphics in a cartoon style. The simple designed buildings and dinosaurs are well worked out, and look good. In addition, the bright colours they give everything draws your attention to the screen when looking at it. The change in light when it is shifting into night or day is to also a good add-on and really gives you the vibe that every day in the game is important.
The in-game sound radiates a relaxing vibe while playing at first. That being said, it’s not more than that. While playing you probably want to turn on your own music because it can get quiet annoying due to that it’s constantly the same. No, it isn’t like the attraction sounds in Rollercoaster, but it isn’t executed the best either.
On the other hand, the sound fits in with the game just fine. It is imaginable that if kids would play this game they will like it. So the developers did a good job taking that into account.
Parkasaurus is a simulation game where the goal is to build a park for dinosaurs, discover new ones and earn money. You can compare this game to games from the Rollercoaster Tycoon series, where you will have to build and manage an entertainment park.
When you first start playing the game you can choose to follow the tutorial to get familiar with the game. They really did the right thing with this as everything is explained and shown perfectly and you probably will pick it up fast, thus so will the younger ones amongst us!
While playing you will have to build different kinds of buildings or enclosures to grow even further. You can build different kinds of enclosures for different kinds of dinosaurs. From a plain sandy area to one that is just right for a dinosaur that lives in a rainforest climate. But that’s not all, you will also have to add a food bin so the dinosaurs won’t eat the visitors and avoid getting Jurassic Park scenes.
In the park you can also build garbage bins, benches and other stuff like that. But a great addition is the donation box. Here, visitors can donate their money so you can grow even bigger, or research and learn more about the different kinds of species that there are.
Just like other park building games you have the opportunity to build different kind of stalls where people can buy different kinds of food, drinks, balloons etc. Or you can create a small attraction for the little visitors to enjoy. And of course it is all focussed to make that little bit extra of the shiny currency we have on our planet.
Just like mentioned before, at this moment there is only a sandbox mode available and the scenarios aren’t playable. When the game gets a bit further in development it will really provide a great benefit towards the game. It isn’t boring at the moment but like every game, you will need a challenge and in this Early Access stage. There isn’t one yet.
So since the game is only available in Early Access you would assume that there are bugs in it, but surprisingly that’s not the case. Everything that got released so far works perfectly and it gives a safe feeling to know that it is not even the full game yet.
Conclusion
Parkasaurus is available in Early Access at the moment, but by what they have released so far it doesn’t show. The game runs flawlessly and the likeliness that you will encounter a bug in this stage is almost zero. The simplistic graphics that it uses are making it enjoyable to play for adults and children. The game lacks a bit in a fine sound, but the sound that it has right now fits in fine with the theme of the game. The gameplay can feel, and at first look seem, a bit similar to other park building games but the fact that it is totally focussed on dinosaurs puts it in a category of its own all thanks to the good work of the developers.
Parkasaurus - Preview,
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