City Game Studio

88%
Game Brain Score Based on 481 reviews
  • gameplay
  • graphics
  • story
City Game Studio Game Cover
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You are the founder of your video game company. The starting point belongs to you, in your garage, or think big instead of small by acquiring your first local. At the end of the day, your decisions will make your studio a success and will mark the Video Game History.

  • Mac OS
  • PC
  • Phone
  • Windows
  • Linux
  • Tablet
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

88%
Audience ScoreBased on 481 reviews
gameplay18 positive mentions
grinding4 negative mentions
  • City Game Studio offers a deep and engaging gameplay experience, combining elements from both Game Dev Tycoon and Mad Games Tycoon, making it a standout in the genre.
  • The game features a wide range of mechanics, including the ability to create and manage multiple studios, develop your own consoles, and engage in market competition, providing a rich simulation experience.
  • The developer is highly responsive to community feedback, frequently updating the game with new features and improvements, which enhances the overall experience.
  • The user interface can be clunky and overwhelming, making it difficult for new players to navigate and understand the various mechanics.
  • Some gameplay mechanics, such as the impact of employee happiness and game scoring, feel unbalanced and can lead to frustrating experiences, especially for players unfamiliar with the genre.
  • The game can become repetitive over time, as players may find themselves following similar strategies to achieve success, leading to a lack of long-term engagement.
  • gameplay59 mentions

    The gameplay of this title is characterized by a solid core loop that combines intuitive mechanics with strategic depth, appealing to both newcomers and seasoned players. While it offers a variety of features and a rewarding learning curve, some users find certain mechanics unclear or underdeveloped, leading to a sense of repetitiveness over time. Overall, the game is praised for its charm and potential, though improvements in transparency and complexity could enhance the experience further.

    • “The gameplay mechanics are intuitive and easy to grasp, making it accessible to both newcomers and seasoned gamers.”
    • “The process of balancing development tasks, managing resources, and strategically releasing games adds an exciting layer of strategy to the gameplay.”
    • “Fun gameplay loop and surprising depth for the $20 price tag.”
    • “While the game has some interesting proposals and innovative ideas over the genre, its mechanics have very little depth in my opinion.”
    • “I like this game, but I feel as though it is too bare bones and the mechanics are a bit contrived.”
    • “I sincerely and wholeheartedly hope that you, the developer, will not abandon the game halfway through, because it looks promising, but something definitely needs to be done with the transparency of the mechanics so that there is no feeling that I do not control anything, and the game seems to be playing itself.”
  • graphics32 mentions

    The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many users criticizing them as subpar or "atrocious," particularly in comparison to other titles in the genre. While some appreciate the unique art style and find the visuals acceptable, others feel that they detract from the overall experience and suggest that improvements are necessary for future iterations. Overall, the graphics are seen as a significant area for enhancement, despite the game's depth and engaging gameplay.

    • “The graphics match the game's style, providing a solid visual experience.”
    • “A huge plus for me is the graphical style, which adds to the overall enjoyment of the game.”
    • “Nice graphics and awesome content so far; I can't wait to see how this game grows and progresses.”
    • “My main takeaway and drawback is that the game has absolutely atrocious graphics and UX.”
    • “The graphics leave something to be desired, but by no means are bad, as well with the music - while being repetitive and unvaried, doesn't make you want to turn off/down the volume.”
    • “Idk if the graphics were intentional but they are not good.”
  • story25 mentions

    The story aspect of "City Game Studio" is generally viewed as minimal and lacking the charm found in similar titles like "Game Dev Story" and "Game Dev Tycoon." Players note that while the game allows for adjustments in story elements during development, it often feels like a featureless clicker game with little narrative engagement, relying heavily on sales numbers rather than character or community interactions. Overall, it is seen as a more complex iteration of its predecessors, but still falls short in delivering a compelling story experience.

    • “A very decent and mainstream step between Game Dev Story and Software Inc, with lots of fun and a much clearer game industry direction.”
    • “If you ever played Game Dev Story, this is a more fleshed-out version of that.”
    • “I rarely write reviews, but as a huge Game Dev Story/Tycoon fan, this game takes it to the next level.”
    • “It has absolutely zero of the charm that Game Dev Story and other games in the genre have - like you never get letters from fans about how much they like your games, you're never told how/what your games are doing in any terms other than the raw sales numbers and fan count.”
    • “There are some games which really do not need story, character customization, etc., so I set them to like 16%... and on the game report, it says I failed on the story.”
    • “How could a theme park game need a story??”
  • replayability9 mentions

    The game offers significant replayability, especially for fans of tycoon genres, with a wide array of options for genres and themes that can be further expanded through mods. While it can be completed in a short time, the depth and developer engagement enhance its replay value, making it a compelling experience despite some criticisms regarding its overall replayability.

    • “It is surprisingly replayable, and I have yet to mess around with mods.”
    • “The amount of options for genres and themes is already massive in the base game, and it can be very easily increased with mods, which gives this loop insane replayability, similar to what it had in Game Dev Tycoon.”
    • “There seems to be foundational work for modding, which is a huge plus for replayability.”
    • “Unfortunately, finding a game to match the depth, replayability, polish, and charm it had has been a pain.”
    • “But on the other hand, it lacks replayability.”
    • “You can finish this game in 5 hours if you would like, but that doesn't mean that there is no replay value to it.”
  • grinding5 mentions

    Players note that grinding in the game has improved over time, with a more engaging challenge and incentives for consolidating projects. However, frustrations arise from a limited hiring pool and tedious team management, leading to repetitive tasks that can detract from overall enjoyment. While some find the grind manageable, others feel it becomes overly micromanaged and tedious, impacting their experience.

    • “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
    • “Grinding in this game is incredibly rewarding and keeps you engaged.”
    • “The grind is challenging but satisfying, making every achievement feel earned.”
    • “There is never enough decent designers in the hiring pool, and the hiring pool doesn't increase in size, which is quite annoying at the later stages of the game (having +70 workers and many million dollars). Also, balancing your teams becomes tedious, and the 'fire' button should ask you again if you really want to fire a person.”
    • “This leads to you spamming 'publish game offers' so more games in total are released, which feels very micromanagement-heavy and tedious.”
    • “But the issues make it too tedious for my enjoyment.”
  • optimization4 mentions

    Overall, the game's optimization is praised for improved performance and stability, especially given the complexity of its visuals. However, some users note that graphics optimization could be better, as even powerful machines experience lag, indicating room for further enhancement.

    • “The look is very similar, which I don't mind, but I believe this one has much better performance with much more going on, so great job on the optimization.”
    • “If you focus on optimization more than what is 'recommended', you end up with a bad game.”
    • “Graphics could use some optimization, with studios of 100+ members causing lags on pretty decent machines (3770k/16g/ssd/1080ti).”
    • “The game has very high potential in terms of depth, gameplay, performance, and stability.”
  • music3 mentions

    The music in the game is generally considered acceptable but repetitive, fitting the environment without being overly distracting. Some players noted that it was initially loud, but overall, it does not detract significantly from the experience.

    • “The music is okay, albeit repetitive, which fits the environment, I suppose.”
    • “The music is a bit loud on launch, but that could just be my headset and personal volume settings.”
    • “While the music is repetitive and unvaried, it doesn't make you want to turn down the volume.”
  • monetization3 mentions

    The monetization aspect of the game includes microtransactions and advertising options, but many players feel that the additional features unlocked over time, such as sliders and side-features, are not particularly engaging or valuable. While the game offers a variety of monetization elements, players often find themselves relying on basic advertising methods rather than exploring the new options provided. Overall, the monetization strategy appears to be more about expanding options rather than enhancing gameplay experience.

    • “Over time, you unlock things like more sliders while creating games that you'll very quickly have zeroed in on their ideal spot and then never touch again, or more advertising options despite the best option still just being clicking the button to use all advertising, or more optional side-features that aren't worth engaging with.”
    • “It has a lot of features, and it continues to add them like the microtransactions and ads.”
  • stability3 mentions

    The game's stability has received mixed reviews, with some players noting significant bugs and an unintuitive interface that detracts from the experience, while others find it relatively stable and promising despite a few issues. Overall, the consensus suggests that while there are bugs present, the game shows potential and offers a decent amount of content.

    • “The game is absolutely bug-ridden, and when combined with the very unintuitive interface, it does not make for an overall pleasant gaming experience.”
    • “I still have much to learn, and there are a few buggy issues, but this game has a lot of promise.”
  • humor2 mentions

    The game features a strong sense of humor, highlighted by its amusing mini-game of office decoration that encourages absurdly tight employee arrangements. Additionally, players enjoy the cleverness of automatically-generated game names and pun-filled competitor titles, adding to the overall comedic experience.

    • “Is decorating the office strictly necessary? Not really, but it allows you to play a sort of mini-game of arranging your employees and decorations for maximum efficiency—though it hilariously doesn't require you to leave much actual room for your employees, so you can pack them into some pretty tight arrangements if you want to.”
    • “The game has a great sense of humor: automatically-generated game names are absolutely hilarious, and the punny renamed competitors are clever.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Buy City Game Studio

Play time

36hMedian play time
51hAverage play time
17-100hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 3 analyzed playthroughs

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