Park Beyond was our little Bandai Namco surprise at Gamescom 2022. We were able to test the title and even bring you a few videos. And it’s fair to say that we waited a good year before getting our hands on the title again, with its look and feel somewhere between Theme Park and RollerCoaster Tycoon. Let’s see if the title can overshadow the Planet Coaster title.
Learn to manage your park!
Well, all park management games offer the same thing, namely a campaign that you absolutely must complete in order to understand the mechanics involved. And it’s fair to say that you won’t want to miss out, because both the basics and the interface are going to take some learning, especially with a controller in hand (on Xbox in our case)
Let’s face it, the first few hours with the controller in hand are pretty chaotic. Then, little by little, you get the hang of it, and forget about those first few hours. The most complicated thing to get used to… The camera. At a certain distance, it makes you want to play solo and get completely lost in the map. Once you’ve overcome this problem, it’s up to you to learn how to move the camera. The title quickly shows its limitations. At least on console. You always want more, and to be able to import new creations. But consoles don’t let you do that, and that’s a shame.
Especially since, once you understand that your fun gauge is your priority, you’ll be able to unlock a lot of new things. The most vague aspect of the game is the management of fun and money. When it comes to increasing the gauge, adding a new attraction doesn’t guarantee that it will increase, and at times it will do so without much reason. It’s a shame the title doesn’t explain more. The same goes for the money quote. Our first games ended in bankruptcy. And this despite the fact that the attractions are profitable and our employees don’t cost us an arm and a leg. It’s still unclear why and how…
We waited a while before releasing this review, as numerous bugs were preventing us from completing various missions. But this has recently been corrected. And thankfully so.
A 360° turn with no car and no feet…
The great strength of Park Beyond, like all games of this genre, is that we can let our imaginations run wild in giant sandboxes. And there’s nothing to say about that. The downside is the themes. There are a total of 6 themes, but these are merely park decorations. And they don’t change the attractions in any way. We’d have liked the theme to adapt the attractions accordingly, and not end up with a pink contraption all over the place in a western world… It’s a bit of a total turn-off for the themes, making them just there to look pretty.
While the title offers quite a few fast-food choices. That’s not the case with the attractions. For example, we have three types of visitor. And only 6 attractions per type. Which greatly reduces diversity when you consider that we have more fast food… But the aim is to make a theme park, not a food park. We don’t know if the title will offer free updates with new content, but in the meantime, we’re still very much on our guard.Finally, what can we say about Park Beyond apart from the fact that it’s still fun and a change from what’s being offered in the past?If certain bugs are frustrating and the lack of diversity quickly becomes apparent. Hopefully, future additions will change all that.
