This game is a bit up and down.
RollerCoaster Tycoon Adventures is a franchise that I’ve been long awaiting for to arrive on Nintendo Switch as I have fond memories of sitting at my PC for hours on end creating theme parks from my wildest imagination. With this new iteration having a lot to live up to, does the classic formula succeed on Nintendo Switch?
It’s your job to create and manage the perfect place for kids and adults to escape to for a fun-filled day out. Managing costs within your park, deciding which new rides are going to be built and making sure your guests are kept fed and hydrated are just some of the jobs you’ll be juggling.
The responsibilities that come along with the park creation is where you’ll learn to balance between the business elements of generating cash flow whilst keeping the guests entertained with new rides, food stands and amusement stalls. The first thing you will notice is the exceptionally long loading times once you’ve selected which mode you want to play. You could pop the kettle on and make a brew in the time you’ll be waiting to get started.
After you’ve learned the basics the three main modes are Adventure, Scenario or Sandbox where the world really is your oyster with no set boundaries or goals to adhere to. If you’re like me and would like some clear goals to reach, then you’ll have a lot of fun with the Adventure and Scenario modes. You’ll have to work towards certain profits, build a specific selection of rides or perhaps just keep your park guests happy over a set period of time. It’s here in the main bulk of the game though that the cracks start to form.
It’s disheartening to start building coasters with little to no boundaries when it comes to the laws of physics. You can build a track with a 90 degree angle, fly straight through a couple of trees and into earlier sections of the track with no penalties and the customers will happily keep paying to ride. Whilst this may not seem problematic for some, creating coasters that could exist in the real world was one of the key aspects that kept me coming back and designing from scratch. The goals you’re set within each scenario border on the uninteresting side as well; for example, the first one has you building a set number of ‘family’ rides. To achieve silver or gold rank then you have to build two or three further rides in the same category and they all follow this similar formula with very little challenge.
You have the option to speed up time like in previous titles and given the fact you’re having to research most if not all the decent rides in your park this can be a long and painful process. It costs £70,000 to research at the quickest rate of 10 days whereas it’s just £7,000 for 30 days of research. As a whole the game feels half-baked and if you’re a fan of the series you will find some enjoyment in the initial stages but you may find its more suited to a keyboard and mouse set up.
RollerCoaster Tycoon Adventures
Summary
RollerCoaster Tycoon Adventures has a long history and it’s a shame this Switch version doesn’t really hold a candle to the original – it’s let down by long loading times, a clunky coaster creation system and a painfully slow progression. Fans of the series will get a little enjoyment but you’ll be much better off sticking to the 90’s originals.