The magic of a park game is that it can make you forget about time. When you’re in the zone building your park, taking care of the wants and needs of your visitors, and making a money-making machine that runs on its own, the best of the genre can feel almost euphoric. At its best, Park Beyond has fun rides, an easy-to-understand and enticing upgrade system, and a creative sense of humor. But, like a badly maintained roller coaster, there is a risk that things will break down in a way that will be very bad. After a few days in this park, I felt sick because things often went wrong.
Description
Building is the most important part of this kind of game, and Park Beyond does a good job with that. It’s a lot of fun to start from scratch and make a park that’s busy and growing. Building walks, flat rides, roller coasters, and shops is easy, thanks in part to a simple interface and controls for the simple stuff. Park Beyond isn’t a very subtle game, both because it’s loud and over the top and because it doesn’t try to hide how it’s like other games. Sometimes, though, that’s fine.
In the beginning of Park Beyond, you learn about the coaster system by building a ride that shoots you out of a fire escape, through gardens, over buildings, and to a park entrance via a cannon. This is a gloriously silly way to start the game. And joined by NPCs who are so annoyingly happy that they make you like them all over again. It made me feel like I was at a play. I had to like everyone, even the bad guy who wants to build (gasp!) parking lots instead of theme parks.
Park Beyond: About
Park Beyond is a simulation video game made by Limbic Entertainment and released by Bandai Namco Entertainment. It is about building and running a park. In 16 June 2023, the game came out for Windows PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X and Series S.
| Attribute | Details |
|---|---|
| Initial Release Date | June 16, 2023 |
| Developer | Limbic Entertainment |
| Platforms | PlayStation 5, Microsoft Windows, Xbox Series X and Series S |
| Publishers | Bandai Namco Entertainment |
| Genres | Construction and management simulation, Simulation Game |
| Engine | Unreal Engine 4 |
| Directors | Johannes Reithmann |
| Download |
Park Beyond: Story
Park Beyond is a fantastic resource for game mechanics education. The campaign mode of Park Beyond gets going in a unique manner that I really liked. You wake up in your room, walk over to your desk, and look at some drawings before folding one of them into a paper airplane and throwing it out the window. This takes you out into the world and right into the lesson through that open window, where you’ll meet Blaize. Here, they’ll show you how to get started and how to build a roller coaster to try to reach that hurriedly thrown paper plane.
The tutorial is a nice way to start the game because it puts you in touch with the world and makes you feel like a real person instead of an all-powerful park-building ruler. This storyline continues through all of the different stages of Park Beyond’s campaign, which starts after the tutorial when Blaize presents you to the colorful characters of the Cloudstormer company. The main plot point of the game is Cloudstormer, which you’ll join and work with to build magical parks that people will love.
Usually, these parts of the story are told in office meetings and serve as an introduction to each new area you’ll be working in. As you play, you’ll meet characters like Phil, who calls you his protege and wants to be free from health and safety rules so he can build anything he wants, Izzy, who is more grounded and wants to make sure Cloudstormer stays open, and Sofia, an engineer who can take a structure and make it look “impossible” to impress park guests.
But that’s not all. Each of these meetings in Park Beyond also has what I’d call “pseudo-game-changing choices.” As an RPG fan who loves branching paths and the chance to directly change how a story ends, it’s clear that Park Beyond isn’t trying to be on that level, but I love that we can choose the focus of a park by making different choices in conversation.
Gameplay
Park Beyond is a computer game made by Limbic Entertainment and Bandai Namco Entertainment about building and running a theme park. In June 2023, the game came out for Windows PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X and Series S. In Park Beyond, there are two major parts to the game: building your park and taking care of it. When you build your park, you can use your imagination to make the theme park of your dreams.
You can build different rides, shops, and activities, and you can also change how your park looks. You have a lot of freedom in the game to build whatever you want, so you can really let your mind wander. When you manage your park, you make sure that everything goes well and that your people have a good time. You need to keep an eye on things like money, how happy your guests are, and how happy your staff is. You also have to deal with accidents, natural tragedies, and angry guests.
Graphics and sound
Park Beyond is a computer game made by Limbic Entertainment and Bandai Namco Entertainment about building and running a theme park. In June 2023, the game came out for Windows PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X and Series S. The game’s graphics are very good, with realistic models of rides, buildings, and the environment. The game’s graphics are some of the best in the genre because it uses the Unreal Engine 4. Especially amazing is the lighting, which makes shadows and reflections look real
| Feature | Graphics | Sound |
|---|---|---|
| Visual fidelity | Excellent | Excellent |
| Detail level | High | High |
| Lighting | Excellent | Excellent |
| Weather effects | Dynamic | Dynamic |
| Sound effects | Excellent | Excellent |
| Music | Well-composed | Well-composed |
The game also has a weather system that changes, which can make your park feel more alive. Park Beyond also has great sound design. All of the rides have their own sounds, and the sounds of the park in general add to the feeling of being there. The music is also well put together and adds to the atmosphere.
Freeplay Mode
There is a story mode and a freeplay mode in the game. Players can really let their imaginations run wild in the freeplay mode. They can make any kind of park they want, from a small amusement park to a huge theme park. There are many rides, shops, and designs to choose from, and players can change everything to their liking.
The Impossibility method is one of the best parts of the freeplay mode. With this method, players can make rides that are truly unique and creative. Players can make rides that break the rules of physics and reality by putting together different parts.
You can also try out new ideas and strategies in the freeplay game. Players can try out different layouts, ride designs, and pricing plans to see what works best for them.
Tricky coaster
The great thing about Park Beyond is that it has something for every kind of player. Everything lives together, and you’re mostly free to approach each park in a way that feels natural to you. There are challenges scattered around each campaign mode map that you need to finish to keep moving through the game. Some people are likely to do this by looking at the game’s detailed numbers and charts, which give you so much information that it will feel like your job.
In these menus, you can keep track of everything from the demographics of your park to its funds to see which parts may (or may not) be making you money. Every visitor also has their own thoughts and opinions, which you can see by clicking on them to find out what they liked or didn’t like about their stay. More specific thoughts, like how much a certain drink costs, are also shown on each shop’s menu so that you can really get a feel for what’s working.
The “Heat Map” gives you a real-time, color-coded look at the park, showing people in a certain color based on how they feel about the statistic you’re looking at. Everything is very hands-on, and while you can probably play without paying too much attention to this, these options give you great feedback as you build and grow. You can also raise or lower the prices of almost everything that riders can interact with.
For example, to make a little extra money, you could charge extra for toilet service in luxury toilet stalls or raise the price of a coffee that’s popular with park visitors. If that wasn’t enough, you’ll also need to hire people like cleaners (who will also put trash cans around the park), entertainers to keep people happy, paramedics, and more. With that comes micromanaging them, and as the park grows, you’ll have to set up staff rooms, change their pay, and hire (or fire) more people.
Pros and Cons
Park Beyond is a theme park simulation game that is both beautiful to look at and creative. The game has a huge number of creative rides and attractions that can be changed, so players can use their imaginations. But its complexity might be too much for newcomers, and some users have said that it sometimes has technical problems. Still, Park Beyond is a great choice for people who want to build a park in a lively and creative way.
Pros
- You can design and build any kind of park you can think of.
- Rides, shops, and other features can be changed in many ways.
- A difficult story mode with interesting goals
- There are different biomes to build in, and each has its own difficulties.
Cons
- Some of the controls can be clunky
- Lots of Bugs
Final Words
Park Beyond does a great job of capturing the sense of fun that theme parks can bring out in kids. Impossible rides give a great sense of wonder, and the simple design makes it easy to do. Unlocking new rides and making the park bigger bit by bit is fun, and making something completely intense can be a lot of fun. But that happiness goes away quickly when parks get out of control and people get stuck, staff ignores important needs, and financial ruin seems to come out of nowhere.
