High Rise City: Vacation Season by developer Fourexo Entertainment and publisher
Deck13—
PC (Steam) review written by
Susan N. with a copy provided by the publisher.
Estimated reading time: 7 minutes
High Rise City is an ambitious simulation game that I
previewed a little while back. At the time, the city builder had a few issues, some features that would have been a great additions, some unique challenges, and had a lot of promise. With the Vacations DLC, Fourexo Entertainment has added a ton of new buildings as well as a level of complexity to challenge veteran players of the genre. Let's revisit the game and see what has changed and improved and what may tank players while working towards the Vacations content.
Gameplay
It's rare that a city builder will challenge me the way that High Rise City does. Perhaps that's because other games within the genre are easier to manage. It might simply be that other games have more statistical information to determine the pain points of your city. Who knows? But what I can say is that this title has had me riding on some highs and then it will drop me like a rock. In this case, I had a much better time with the game after having figured out where critical information is listed.
Assuming that you have already played the game, then you'd likely know that in the top left of the screen are several buttons that give information to determine the best starting spot. Specifically, you want to make sure that you are close to key nodes like coal, iron, and wooded areas. This is critical because you don't want to be importing tools to build up your city. Once you get past some of the basic pain points, High Rise City becomes a bit easier to manage in the early stages of development.
That said, as you progress to higher tiers, you will get access to engineers who will demand a lot more from your city. And that is a statement I stand by. In order to compensate, you will need to expand a ton. High Rise City gets to a point where if you aren't strategic about your budget, you will start to financially drop off. However, once you've got the system down and resources aplenty, you will be able to get to the Vacations DLC without too much difficulty.
Before talking about the DLC content, I first want to mention a couple of things about the updates made to the game. For one thing, the terraforming is improved from its previous state. Though, I don't recall why I wasn't a big fan previously, it is now much smoother and easier to use. Another key addition to the game is parking lots. It's amazing how many city builders neglect this one small feature because I think they are important, don't you? Finally, the delivery driving is not awful like it was when I first played. While it could still use some refining, the turning capabilities and penchant for remaining on the road is infinitely better than it was. That said, I still managed to flip the truck over and the game wouldn't let me get back up! It's not a flawless system but you can get some easy upgrades for your buildings by completing a few. And unlike my previous experience with the game, I delivered several goods where before I avoided the feature entirely.
Vacations DLC Content
The vacation seasons DLC adds a ton of new buildings and challenges. There are now hotels with star ratings, a museum, a golf course, a Japanese restaurant, and a coffee shop! Not only did the developers add those, but they added a couple of buildings that stand out from the rest. It's called High Rise City after all, and what kind of game would it be without some gargantuan buildings like the Megatower 1 and Megatower 2? These two sky scrapers are truly a sight to see, but be warned as the buildings need many of the new resources in large quantities. For example, the first Megatower is $20,000 with 1000 Tools, 500 Bricks, 3000 Ferroconcrete, and 1500 glass. Even the new hotels have steep building requirements depending on which ones you go for.
Once you master the base game, the vacations DLC adds new resources that you will need to produce in order to begin your tourism districts. The ferroconcrete requires coal and iron to make steel. Then you need quartz and limestone. All four need to be found so that ferroconcrete can be produced. To get to 3000 for one of the Megatowers will take a lot of work. Plus, you will need to have a dedicated tour line that they will use to see the best places. Additionally, you don't want to have your tourism district close to your industry because they have specific needs to fulfill. Essentially, the DLC adds a whole new set of challenges that will take time to conquer.
One of the aspects I absolutely love about High Rise City are the aesthetics. There is an incredible amount of detail in each building and a ton of care that went into the options you are given. For example, hotels have their star rating in sight so there is never any confusion in the player. However, keen observers would be able to tell the rating based on the visual features they have. In the picture to the right, it is easy to tell that the hotel is not an expensive place to stay.
The Good and the Bad
High Rise City has done some optimization and improved some of the features since release. Notably, it has made the delivery system better. In the original version, the timer was too big, time was too restricted, and it was too clunky. I avoided using the delivery service as much as possible when I first tried the game. With the changes made, the vehicles are manageable to drive, the timer is not as intimidating, and the total mission time is not as strict. Although, there is something to be said for the games' responsiveness when trying to get the vehicle back on its wheels after a terrible turn.
The music and audio in High Rise City is fantastic. It's just as soothing as several cozy games on the market. I might even argue that the music is better. And that's interesting because I personally find the music to be so good that I actually notice the lack of it once I've exited the game. Perhaps in combination with the difficulty, the music has taken me by the hand and lead me into a wild addiction. It's that good!
With the advent of new buildings to construct and a whole other set of challenges to pursue, there are bound to be issues as well. Even though the delivery aspect of the game has greatly improved, it still has a couple of minor grievances. Although the handling is much cleaner, if you drive too quickly, you will hit a couple of bumps (due to the badly terraformed nature of some locations). Should the vehicle go off road, then you will have a timer to get back on track or else you fail the mission. This is a gripe that can make it difficult to succeed at times. Another small issue I have with the deliveries is the difficulty knowing what the timers end goal is. In the earlier version of the game, you were given a certain amount of time which was clearly marked. Now, the game still has the timer but for certain missions it's more difficult to tell how much you have. That only applies when the timer is counting upwards and not down. I say this because there is still a maximum timer that you won't be able to see. Although, on the left side of the screen, you can see only the elapsed time, not the maximum. So, while the feature is improved, it still has some minor issues.
The largest gripe I have is the game crashing. This seemed to happen in the sandbox mode when the autosave would begin, and this didn't happen in the story mode. Each time the game saved on its own, the whole thing would hang making me force closing the program. Thankfully, the saves are set to 5 minutes as the default, but it was still strange. The sandbox save does not have a ton of buildings that would cause the game to crash, so I'm not sure if there needs to be other fixes or if my computer was just not having it. Either way, it might be a good idea to pay attention to the graphics settings and to save frequently, just in case.
Vacation Final Thoughts
The Vacation Seasons DLC is fantastic. Adding more buildings as well as creating more of a challenge for players is a great way to add value to a DLC package. There are multiple new buildings that require players to strategize since the tourists will be looking for a place to spend their hard earned money. To do so, players have to keep them happy by providing new materials. And of course, the tourism location is key in that equation.
I've spent many hours playing High Rise City and I built up a ton of resources necessary to create an amazing tourist district that would make any city mayor proud. Make no mistake, it will take a ton of materials to have a spectacular tourist destination that will generate tons of money. So, if you like a good challenge from a solid city builder, be sure to pick this one up. And don't forget to grab this DLC, because you won't regret it. In my opinion, the $40 price tag (Canadian) is well worth it. Frankly, I have been awestruck by it, and that doesn't happen often. Not with city builders anyways!
Score: 9 out of 10
