RPG Tycoon Review

RPG Tycoon, as the title would imply, is a tycoon game. Players must build a kingdom from the ground up, whilst sending heroes out to perform quests and spread word of your kingdom. Doing this increases the fame and wealth of your kingdom allowing players to upgrade and expand. RPG Tycoon released recently having been in development for a few years now although the game has been available via Steam’s Early Access during most of this time.

Right from the off, the game’s customization options are abundantly clear. Players have the option to build a kingdom from the ground up through quests and objectives; or they can just jump into the sandbox mode, which gives players complete freedom to build the perfect-looking city if that’s what floats their boat. The sandbox mode is a brilliant addition, especially for those that find tycoon games quite difficult. In the traditional tycoon mode players are also able to scale and adjust the game’s parameters including difficulty, length, population of terrain and even the weather and seasons.

The gameplay is fairly basic, players build a house for a yet-to-be employed hero, employ the hero, send them out on quests and repeat. The gold earned from these quests can then be spent on building and improving your kingdom, anything from new houses to shops and theatres can be built. As players improve their cities, people visit and spend money. The more quests players perform, the more their kingdom levels up and more access there is to different shops. The RPG questing system works hand in hand with the tycoon city building mechanic, resulting in an enjoyable and rewarding system.

There are two kinds of quests, standard and epic. The standard quests are fairly simple and just involve picking a number of item variables that will either increase your score for the quest or impact it negatively. The epic quests involve sending multiple heroes and following a preset narrative, if you have ever played Dungeon and Dragons or any similar RNG board game then you will be right at home here. Players must make choices during their quests that results in more gold or fame for your kingdom, depending on the difficulty players will have to take part in a dice roll. Roll a high enough number and you get a positive outcome.This element of random can be frustrating at times but it also makes the quest system unpredictable.

I should probably mention the relationship system, which plays a pretty integral part in the progression of your kingdom. There are various towns dotted around the outside of your kingdom that you are able to build relationships with. This is partially done through the quest system but most of it is done through the heroes at the player’s disposal. Towns can be upgraded by sending heroes to build things, building your relationships with towns will increase the number of visitors to your kingdom, therefore increasing all that cash money you so desperately want to earn.

The game plays from a static angle allowing players to zoom in and out of at will, I would have enjoyed more freedom when it comes to the camera angles, but I feel this was likely a design limitation due to the game being developed by one person. Taking this into consideration the art style is fantastic, it’s not going to blow you away but it compliments the game’s aesthetics well. There’s a real element of design to be had when creating a kingdom, placing buildings and decorations symmetrically throughout your land is an absolute must and definitely plays into the perfectionist side of me.

RPG Tycoon is pretty hard at times. Even on normal difficulty, some may find themselves getting frustrated at times. As you get deeper into your campaign, there are modifiers that will change the amount of money earned and visitors to your kingdom, along with a few other changes. These are more often negative than positive and can be annoying when they end up stacking. The game will tell you when you are messing up though, notifying you if your kingdoms attractiveness level is too low or if a town is going to join another kingdom, which helps alleviate some pressure.

The game’s customisation is probably its strongest asset, as players are really able to carve out their own experience using the games tools. Organising the layout of your kingdom to your own specifications sure is a lot of fun, especially when you start to really decorate the space between building with various statues and fountains. This is only going to improve over time as the game is open to modding by the Steam Community. There is also a tool which enables players to edit and create the epic quests. This open-ended system means that there is the potential for an endless amount of content if the community catches on to it.

RPG Tycoon is akin to a set of tools rather than a set game experience, players find their own fun within its mechanics. Some players might love the questing system and wish to dive into the lore surrounding your kingdom. Others may just want to create the most dominant kingdom by micromanaging the heck out of everything. Lastly people like me may just want to create the prettiest and most asymmetrical kingdom in the entire land, creating jaw-dropping architecture within its walls. Whichever one of those play styles you prefer, RPG Tycoon is sure to keep you occupied well into the year; with community content only a click away, there’s always something new to conquer, build and perfect.