AdvertCity
- June 5, 2015
- Armchair Software
- 1h median play time
Get on Steam
Get on itch.io StoreA cyberpunk advertising tycoon game. Explore a massive procedural city, and plaster your adverts all over it. Float around cyberspace and post links online. Watch the economy of the city evolve with the effects of your decisions.
Mac OS
PC
Virtual Reality
Windows
Linux
Oculus Rift
Tablet
Reviews
- The game has a unique and engaging concept of running an advertising agency in a cyberpunk city, which can be appealing to fans of the genre.
- The atmosphere is enhanced by a solid soundtrack and a visually striking cyberpunk aesthetic, despite some graphical limitations.
- There are strategic elements in managing relationships with corporations and deciding how to run ad campaigns, which can lead to interesting gameplay dynamics.
- The user interface is poorly designed, making navigation and understanding game mechanics frustrating and confusing for players.
- Gameplay quickly devolves into repetitive clicking with little depth or challenge, especially after the initial learning curve.
- The lack of a proper tutorial and clear instructions leaves players feeling lost, which can lead to a steep and discouraging learning curve.
- monetization62 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The monetization aspect of Advertcity is centered around managing an advertising agency in a cyberpunk setting, where players earn money by placing ads for various megacorporations. However, the gameplay quickly devolves into repetitive clicking and grinding, with minimal challenge or strategic depth, as players can easily unlock all technologies and dominate the market without significant risk of failure. Overall, while the concept of advertising management is intriguing, its execution leads to a lack of engagement and depth, making it feel more like a simplistic clicker game than a true tycoon experience.
“It's extremely easy to become best buddies with all the other megacorps and unlock every advertising technology in the game before the end of the second hour, turning gameplay into little more than endlessly clicking the same few buttons.”
“Losing money is next to impossible, with no rival ad firms and all strategy reduced to 'don't place a company's ads on a building owned by their rival'.”
“Unlock a couple of advertising techs and you soon realize it's just a grind.”
- gameplay32 mentions
- 19 % positive mentions
- 72 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The gameplay has been criticized for its lack of depth and clarity, with many players finding the mechanics confusing and the overall experience repetitive and shallow. While there are some interesting elements, such as managing corporate relationships and advertising strategies, the gameplay often devolves into mindless clicking, especially after unlocking all technologies. Additionally, the interface is seen as obtuse, making it difficult for players to fully engage with the game.
“But it is a management war viciously fast paced; in the blink of an eye, you can doom your entire gameplay.”
“This game has a unique style; the devs put a lot of effort into details, and the game mechanics are simple, but far from easy.”
“There's some mechanics like managing your reputation with the corporations and determining the best way to run the different kinds of ads that have potential.”
“The gameplay was just confusing as could be.”
“It's extremely easy to become best buddies with all the other megacorps and unlock every advertising technology in the game before the end of the second hour, turning gameplay into little more than endlessly clicking the same few buttons.”
“The navigation is hard, the tutorial is hard, the gameplay is lackluster, minimal, and hard.”
- graphics20 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 65 % neutral mentions
- 15 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are criticized for being vague and inconsistent, with notable graphical errors such as distorted streets and poorly executed lighting effects. While some appreciate the simple polygonal design and its fit within a cyberpunk aesthetic, many feel that the visuals serve more as functional information rather than as an engaging artistic experience. Overall, the graphics are seen as outdated and lacking in polish, detracting from the overall gameplay experience.
“The graphics are simple polygons and wireframe menus but fit the cyberpunk feel to a T, and the heavy, oppressive soundtrack is the icing on the dystopian cake.”
“Looks like nice cyber graphics of modern games, but inside it is more of an old engine game.”
“This game was built on a great idea, but the UI is quite bad; it's extremely hard to get to play the game. The graphics don't mean much since they are more for information than visual effects.”
“There are weird graphical errors where they tried to make streets with car lights traced, but it's not consistent and there are weird places where it bends, twists, or tears.”
“It just feels harder to be created (in theory) as if the game is trying to impress you with something it hasn't, graphic fidelity.”
“This game was built on a great idea but the UI is quite bad; it's extremely hard to get to play the game. The graphics don't mean much since they are more for information than visual effects.”
- music12 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 42 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The music in the game is praised for its solid, theme-appropriate soundtrack that enhances the cyberpunk atmosphere, with heavy and oppressive tones that align well with the dystopian setting. While the tracks are enjoyable and fit the game's aesthetic, they are considered neither groundbreaking nor worthy of standalone purchase. Overall, the music effectively complements the experience, particularly as it syncs well with gameplay actions.
“The only thing that saves the atmosphere is the very solid and theme-appropriate soundtrack, which contains a good dose of cynical humor.”
“I really do love the concept, and the cyberpunk feel is a great pleasure, both in music and display.”
“The graphics are simple polygons and wireframe menus but fit the cyberpunk feel to a tee, and the heavy, oppressive soundtrack is the icing on the dystopian cake.”
“The music on Adverticity reminds me a little of Utopia: Creation of a Nation. While the music is nice, it's nothing new or outstanding, and not worthy of buying separately.”
“The only thing that saves the atmosphere is the very solid and theme-appropriate soundtrack. The writing, although confined to small descriptions of corporations and advertising technologies, does contain a good dose of cynical humor.”
“The heavy, oppressive soundtrack adds to the dystopian feel, but overall, the music lacks originality and impact.”
- atmosphere6 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is primarily enhanced by a solid, theme-appropriate soundtrack and writing that features cynical humor, creating a charming and relaxing environment. However, this appealing atmosphere is undermined by a significant lack of content, depth, and variety, making the game feel more like a rough prototype than a polished experience. Overall, it is characterized as an atmospheric clicker/simulation hybrid.
“I think I'd describe this as an atmospheric clicker/simulation hybrid.”
“The charming and relaxing atmosphere creates a unique experience, even if it doesn't fully compensate for the lack of content and depth.”
“The charming and relaxing atmosphere fails to paper over the crippling lack of content, depth, and variety, leading to a game that feels more like a rough prototype than a finished product.”
“The only thing that saves the atmosphere is the very solid and theme-appropriate soundtrack and perhaps the writing, which, although confined to small descriptions of corporations and advertising technologies, does contain a good dose of cynical humor.”
- humor6 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in "Face Clicker" is characterized by clever puns related to Facebook and a biting, anti-establishment tone reminiscent of the works of Gibson and Stevenson. However, players note that the prevalence of game-breaking bugs detracts from the overall comedic experience.
“The face clicker is a funny pun on Facebook and serves you as the only cool emoticon, but also as a very useful badge.”
“The game has the pulse of the novels of Gibson and Stevenson, with biting, anti-establishment humor.”
- grinding6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and frustrating, often feeling that it detracts from the overall experience. Despite acknowledging that grinding is an inherent part of the game, many express dissatisfaction with its execution.
“The controls are tedious.”
“But the game is so grindy, and grinding is stupid.”
“One way or another, there will be grinding.”
- story4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The story in the game is minimal, with few actual narrative elements present, despite some hints at a deeper plot. Players often find themselves focused on commercial pursuits, such as running blimp ads for a megacorporation, rather than engaging with a rich storyline.
“There are so few actual story elements, even while the descriptions hint at what might be happening below the skyline.”
“In my quest for the fattest bank account, I started running nothing but colossal blimp ads as quickly as I could for one particular megacorp.”
- optimization4 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game suffers from poor optimization, particularly on high-resolution LCD panels, leading to performance issues as operations scale up. Additionally, players have reported audio glitches that can result in crashes, especially during critical moments like bankruptcy.
“Performance can suffer once your operation becomes enormous, and I experienced an audio mishap that forced a restart the first time I went bankrupt.”
“Bad optimization for high resolution LCD panels.”
“Performance can also suffer once your operation gets enormous, and I had one audio mishap that forced a restart the first time I went bankrupt.”
