Big Pharma

Big Pharma takes the cake when it comes to puzzle games that can both be therapeutic to watch, while being the right level of infuriatingly difficult to make you come back for more. If you are a fan of sizzle games, you owe it to yourself to take a look.

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"Big Pharma" is a business simulation game where you run your own pharmaceutical company, researching and developing drugs to cure diseases while balancing profit and ethics. Start with basic equipment and grow your company by discovering new ingredients and technology, while fending off competition from rival corporations. The game explores the challenging moral dilemmas of the pharmaceutical industry.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

Reviews

69%

Audience ScoreBased on 907 reviews

gameplay50 positive mentions

grinding18 negative mentions

Engaging puzzle mechanics that challenge players to optimize production lines and manage resources effectively.
Unique theme that combines business simulation with pharmaceutical production, offering a fresh take on the genre.
High replayability due to randomized ingredients and varying scenarios, keeping gameplay interesting.

Can become repetitive after a while, as many scenarios feel similar and lack significant variation.
User interface can be clunky and unintuitive, requiring frequent switching between tabs for information.
Some players may find the learning curve steep and the initial tutorials insufficient for understanding all game mechanics.

gameplay
144 mentions
35 % positive mentions
57 % neutral mentions
8 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game is characterized by a blend of enjoyable puzzle mechanics and light business simulation, offering a smooth learning curve and depth that keeps players engaged. While many find the mechanics addictive and rewarding, some criticize the repetitive nature and clunky UI, which can detract from the overall experience. Overall, the game provides a solid foundation for strategic planning and problem-solving, though it may not appeal to everyone due to its complexity and occasional lack of excitement.
- “Clear and succinct gameplay with amazing challenges and a ruleset that is both understandable and accessible.”
- “The gameplay is hectic, dynamic, and requires a lot of problem solving.”
- “It's satisfying, easy-to-learn, difficult-to-master gameplay makes it really open and engaging.”
- “The UI is clunky, and the gameplay feels unintuitive.”
- “I bought this since I thought it might be fun, but it is not - there is no real challenge to the gameplay.”
- “After about 10 minutes of non-menu gameplay, my Mac reaches full heat capacity, and the game freezes up, becoming clunky.”
story
72 mentions
13 % positive mentions
81 % neutral mentions
7 % negative mentions
The game lacks a traditional storyline or campaign, focusing instead on a series of missions that, while initially engaging, tend to become repetitive over time. Players appreciate the variety of challenges and the strategic elements involved in completing missions, but many express a desire for more diverse objectives and a deeper narrative context. Overall, the mission-based structure offers replayability, yet it often feels limited and lacks the emotional depth found in more story-driven games.
- “I thought really highly of this game, with a lot of replayability when working through the story scenarios.”
- “The game's main story mode has a really great variety of challenges to play through.”
- “Difficulty ramps up steadily as you progress through the missions.”
- “If you want a storyline or a campaign, this doesn't have that.”
- “The humor of classics like Theme Hospital is ditched in favor of a quasi-realism that doesn't really hit the mark, whilst a complete lack of story or characters ensures the game has as little heart as the big pharma companies it emulates.”
- “There is no story or campaign or anything.”
graphics
69 mentions
38 % positive mentions
58 % neutral mentions
4 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are generally praised for their clean, colorful, and cartoony art style, which enhances the overall aesthetic and is well-suited for lower-end machines. While some reviewers find the visuals charming and reminiscent of classic games like "Theme Hospital," others describe them as functional but lacking depth. Overall, the graphics contribute positively to the gameplay experience, making it visually appealing despite some criticisms of dullness.
- “The art style is gorgeous, to say the least.”
- “Big Pharma's simple, colorful, cartoony graphical style works really well.”
- “Charming little factory management/business management simulator with smooth animations and sleek graphics.”
- “The UI, graphics, and audio are all okay considering this is a tycoon game, but they're all quite dull.”
- “Music and graphics are poor for today's games, but I would have easily forgiven that based on a cheaper price if it had great gameplay.”
- “While the graphics are beautiful, this got boring pretty quickly.”
replayability
38 mentions
42 % positive mentions
50 % neutral mentions
8 % negative mentions
Overall, the game is praised for its high replayability, largely due to randomized elements and a variety of challenges that keep gameplay fresh. Many players appreciate the mix of management and puzzle-solving, which encourages multiple playthroughs, although some note that it can become repetitive over time. While most reviews highlight significant replay value, a few users mention limitations in longevity once certain aspects are fully explored.
- “Amazing puzzle management game with so much replay value and achievements to get.”
- “The replayability is very high too, due to randomization of components that appear.”
- “With a bit of twisted humor thrown into the mix, Big Pharma is beautifully made and very entertaining with a lot of replayability.”
- “The replayability of this game suffers, however, when you are finished 'exploring' new cures and the tech tree.”
- “It's not the game you will be playing like forever, but a couple of dozens of hours and an okay replayability is here.”
- “Minimal replay value.”
music
24 mentions
50 % positive mentions
38 % neutral mentions
13 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally described as pleasant and fitting for the atmosphere, with some users appreciating the "lab sounds" that accompany gameplay. However, many reviewers noted the repetitiveness of the soundtrack, suggesting that it can become distracting over time, leading some players to prefer turning it off in favor of their own music. Overall, while the soundtrack is enjoyable and complements the game's aesthetic, it lacks variety.
- “The soundtrack is pretty good; it also makes pleasant 'lab sounds' as the machines work and as you scroll and click through the menus.”
- “Even the music is fun and relaxing.”
- “Music is great (though I wish there was more); the game is virtually without bugs in my experience, art is good, there is nothing gimmicky about this title, and it's overall a very enjoyable experience with just the right amount of challenge for a more casual game.”
- “The music is your plain vanilla-flavored background beeping and bopping, which is probably what you want when you’re trying to concentrate on the finer points of chemistry and marketing.”
- “I tend to turn the music down in games like this because it becomes more of a distraction than an enhancement, and big pharma is no different.”
- “The main downside is the repetitive music, but this is easily fixed by turning it off and playing your own music outside the game.”
grinding
19 mentions
5 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
95 % negative mentions
The grinding aspect of the game is widely criticized for being tedious and frustrating, with players noting excessive micromanagement and inefficient mechanics that detract from enjoyment. Many feel that the repetitive nature of tasks and the lack of meaningful rewards for grinding lead to a sense of dissatisfaction, making the experience feel more like a chore than a challenge. While some appreciate the complexity, the overall sentiment leans towards a desire for a more streamlined and engaging gameplay experience.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “Unfortunately, interactions feel tedious: there's a lot of unnecessary moving back and forth between screens to find information I need to make decisions but don't find where I need them. Machine shapes make space usage feel very inefficient, which goes against my desire to optimize for fun, and leaves me dissatisfied with how any of the production lines look.”
- “Aligning machines and conveyor belts to flow efficiently was tedious and led me to give up on the game after an hour.”
- “Unfortunately, the logistics puzzles and business simulation don't really play off of each other well, and the game quickly becomes tedious.”
optimization
14 mentions
7 % positive mentions
71 % neutral mentions
21 % negative mentions
The optimization aspect of the game is highly praised, with players enjoying the challenge of dissecting resources and building efficient production lines. While the learning curve can be steep, the satisfaction derived from discovering small optimizations and improving efficiency is significant. Overall, it appeals to fans of management and puzzle genres, offering a rewarding experience for those who appreciate strategic planning and resource management.
- “It's somewhere between management, production optimization, and puzzle.”
- “It took me a while to get acclimated with all the tools and important optimization aspects to be mindful of, as I feel like it has a high learning curve, but hanging in there is more than worthwhile.”
- “Every small optimization found is a substantial reward to the player, and as it gets more and more difficult to make your line more efficient, finding the smallest and sometimes very insignificant improvement offers a great feeling of satisfaction from your puzzle-solving prowess.”
- “No, this is a production optimization game in the same vein as Factorio, where space and time are your limiting resources, and your goal is to build complex production lines as efficiently as possible.”
humor
10 mentions
80 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
20 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is a mixed bag; while some players appreciate its lighthearted take on pharmaceutical production and find amusement in the absurdity of the mechanics, others feel it falls short of delivering the dark humor promised in its marketing. The game features moments of comedic frustration, particularly in the competitive aspects of drug creation, but overall, it lacks depth in its humor and can be unfunny at times. Players looking for a simple, humorous experience may enjoy it, but those expecting more sophisticated satire may be disappointed.
- “Maybe it's not a production game with as much depth or throughput as some of the other production games like Factorio, but sometimes if you are just looking for a more simple humorous game, this is great for that.”
- “It's a business sim with a bit of humor in it; but you're really playing to mix-and-match the assorted components for random (sometimes useful) medicines.”
- “Are you looking for a great puzzle game where you strain your brain to create awesome production lines, produce hilarious drugs, and constantly have to evolve to meet interesting challenges?”
- “Not funny....”
- “I got highly disappointed with the game - it's unfunny and offers poor explanations of the game's functions.”
stability
7 mentions
14 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
86 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's stability is mixed; while some players report a bug-free experience, others encounter significant issues such as freezing and performance problems, particularly when multitasking or after extended gameplay. These technical difficulties detract from the overall enjoyment and can lead to frustrating interruptions.
- “Actually, the game has been bug-free the entire time I've played, which is quite impressive nowadays with so many unfinished, rushed-to-market games.”
- “After about 10 minutes of non-menu gameplay, my Mac reaches full heat capacity, and the game freezes up, becoming clunky.”
- “However, alt+tabbing out of the game occasionally freezes my entire PC, and the only way to solve that is by force closing the game, which is quite annoying.”
- “I was hoping this would be a lot like Free Enterprise, only without the glitches.”
emotional
2 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The emotional responses to the game are largely negative, with users expressing strong disapproval and a sense of disappointment, indicating that the experience was unfulfilling or distressing. One user even suggests a deep-seated aversion, stating they won't engage with the game again.
monetization
2 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
The monetization aspect of the game is characterized by a heavy emphasis on advertisements and market control features, which some players find enjoyable and engaging. However, there is a critique regarding the prioritization of advertising over research and development, suggesting a focus on profit rather than innovation.
atmosphere
2 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is characterized by a beautifully-animated, relaxed environment complemented by a pleasant soundtrack. It effectively balances clarity and aesthetic appeal, providing players with clear goals while maintaining an uncluttered visual design.
- “It's a beautifully animated game that presents a relaxed puzzle atmosphere and gives you almost all of the information you'll need up-front.”
- “It gives you the tutorial, has a nice atmospheric soundtrack, looks good, is not cluttered, and sets some goals for you to aim for, which I like.”