Parking Tycoon: Business Simulator Review

If you’re anything like me, you’re strangely interested in the “simulation” games that have been coming out, ones that run the whole gamut of regular day-to-day jobs like running a gas station, human trafficking, or mowing lawns. In between my life of being the most irresistible man in the world, constantly surrounded by and fighting off the fairer sex, I like to dip into simulation games. One I’ve tried recently is Parking Tycoon: Business Simulator, and let me tell you right now, that cancerous itch to run a parking lot has well and truly been scratched.

Okay, maybe I’m slightly facetious in saying I had an itch to scratch. I’ve never woke up thinking, “You know what, I want to run a parking garage”. I have, I must admit, looked at a plot of land and thought that a parking garage could go there, but I am also involved in local planning decisions, so it’s just how my deviant brain works. But this review isn’t of my brain, so what is Parking Tycoon: Business Simulator like, and is it worth the £11 you could spend on it?

I’m going to have to say no, but a caveated no. I enjoyed what little time I spent with the game. The problem this game has, and it’s arguably a problem any game with a narrow focus would have, is how long it lasts. I’ve completed everything Parking Tycoon: Business Simulator has to offer, and my playtime shown by Steam is six hours. It is worth noting that three of those hours were me not at the PC, watching TV, because it was easier to let the game grind money for me once I got to the automation. Getting there, I did enjoy it.

There won’t be much to explain regarding Parking Tycoon: Business Simulator. You start with a small amount of cash, enough to buy the bare bones, and you do just that. Do all the work yourself for however long it takes to upgrade. In this case, you’ll buy one lot, buy the paint, and then let cars start coming in. You can decorate to add value, meaning people will pay more. You can also increase your rank by purchasing shelters, car stops, and other upgrades like upgrading to tarmac for the cars and upgrading the footpaths for people.

Eventually, you’ll get to the stage where you can upgrade to a second level, allowing for a little over one hundred cars on your lot. There is a space for a “basement”, but I’m honestly already at the stage where the game has blown its load. There’s nothing else really to pull me back in. Sure, it would be nice to get the basement when it’s patched in, but unless there’s a new mechanic introduced, my time as a car park owner is complete.

That essentially summarises what I feel about Parking Tycoon: Business Simulator, but there’s still a little more to discuss. While the improvements are well timed, for a game with such a narrow scope, there are irritations which drag everything out too much. Everything you can buy naturally has a weight limit. One I want to highlight are the fences. You can place these around the perimeter of your lot. The top level of these weighs 7.5kg each. You have a max weight carry limit of 40kg. This means you will do far too much back-and-forward as you want to place items down; it’s a waste of time, but it seems this is all the game has to pad itself out for now.

It’s also odd that your storehouse has a small weight capacity for items you can buy. It just means a lot of needless repetition and time-wasting. Another culprit is the NPC that sprays graffiti on your core building and another that steals car parts; by that, I mean a door or something otherwise absurd. They are insanely persistent, and even when you have hired a security guard (of which you can only have one), they do nothing but patrol the perimeter for an NPC, which will smash the fence, and nothing else.

I’m likely expecting a little too much from games like this sometimes. The problem is that some other simulation games, such as Gas Station Simulator, Barn Finders, and the excellent Arcade Paradise, have spoiled me. I come to one such as this, which does feel like it’s using the same set of assets and following a similar template but on a considerably narrower scale, and I feel a little disappointed. Had this cost £6 or £7, I’d undoubtedly say to give it a go (if you like these games), but it’s debatable if to buy it at the full price. Of course, all this is based on you being strange, like me, and enjoying these simulation games.

Copy provided by the publisher.

Parking Tycoon: Business Simulator

Parking Tycoon: Business Simulator

Parking Tycoon: Business Simulator is exactly what you expect it to be. It’s a functional “quick” simulation game in the same vein as so many releasing now. It’s not bad, but with a very narrow focus, it loses steam incredibly quickly. With a reliance on time-wasting to pad the playtime, this is one that you could pick up cheaply and enjoy.