Review: RollerCoaster Tycoon Adventures Deluxe

RollerCoaster Tycoon Adventures Deluxe was received for free for review purposes

RollerCoaster Tycoon Adventures Deluxe is the latest instalment of the RollerCoaster Tycoon series, which has been going strong since 1999. Despite being aware of the series pretty much my whole life, somehow I’ve never played a RollerCoaster Tycoon game before, and I think Deluxe was a great entry point to the series.

I really enjoyed the flexibility of RollerCoaster Tycoon Adventures Deluxe’s gameplay options

I really enjoyed the flexibility of RollerCoaster Tycoon Adventures Deluxe’s gameplay options. While the basic premise of whichever mode you choose to play is the same (build a theme park), the game offers different play modes including adventure and sandbox. Having these options mean that players can engage with the game in whatever way they prefer, so while one person might be focused on making a dream park they would love to visit, another might want to maximise profit or complete different tasks and challenges. By having the different modes there’s something everyone will enjoy in some capacity.

My personal favourite mode, and the one I’ve spent most of my time with the game playing was scenario, where you complete challenges, such as build 35 food stands, in a certain timeframe. For me, making things look nice is never really my priority (my Animal Crossing character spends more time fishing than crafting; my sims spend more time woohooing the neighbours than building) so I’m glad that there was an option for me to complete different tasks rather than just focusing on making an attractive park. I do wish there was an option to play the challenges without the time limit, since I kept accidentally leaving the game open without pausing and automatically failing the challenge as four years passed while I was at a lecture, but that’s mostly a me issue.

I do wish there was an option to play the challenges without the time limit

I do wish there was a little more explanation and tips on how to do well in the game, since it sometimes felt like the developers assumed everyone playing Deluxe will have played another RollerCoaster Adventures Tycoon title before. One example of this is in the hygiene rating; the tutorial for the game told me to build janitors in order to keep the hygiene rating up, yet no matter how many janitors I built, my hygiene satisfaction just wouldn’t increase. I told a few friends who had played previous RollerCoaster Tycoon games I was having this problem and they all told me I needed to build toilets. This seemed obvious once I heard it, but the game had explicitly said that I could increase hygiene by building janitors without any mention of toilets. I think for people like me for whom Deluxe will be their first RollerCoaster Tycoon game, I would recommend using the internet for anything you can’t seem to figure out in the game alone.

Rating

8/10

Regardless of these little snags, RollerCoaster Tycoon Adventures Deluxe was a really fun game to play as a newbie to the RollerCoaster Tycoon series, and while I can’t comment on how it compares to previous titles in the series, I would definitely recommend it to anyone who wants an introduction to the series.