Coal Mining Simulator: Prologue
- April 21, 2022
- Grande Games
Get on SteamWelcome to the world of Coal Mining! Start with almost nothing and get to the top - develop your mine, sell coal, buy new machines and avoid dangers in this sandbox simulator. Coal Mining Simulator is a sandbox experience in which it's up to you to create new tunnels and pathways. Make your mine truly yours, as you go deeper and deeper in order to mine more coal. Take control of numerous…
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game has a cool concept and offers a unique experience in coal mining simulation.
- Graphics are decent and the game runs well, providing an immersive environment.
- There is potential for the game to improve over time, with interesting mechanics and the ability to manage resources and contracts.
- Controls are clunky and frustrating, making it difficult to operate vehicles and machinery effectively.
- Gameplay can feel slow and tedious, with long processes for tasks like loading coal and driving vehicles.
- The game is plagued by bugs and performance issues, which detract from the overall experience.
- graphics21 mentions
- 57 % positive mentions
- 24 % neutral mentions
- 19 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players praising the realistic and decent visuals, particularly in the context of an indie title. However, many also criticize the optimization, noting issues like lag, long loading times, and clunky controls that detract from the overall experience. While some find the graphics appealing, others feel they fall short, comparing them unfavorably to older gaming standards.
“Graphics are good and it’s quite entertaining.”
“Good graphics with the dirt and so on, though if I buy something new I expect it to look new.”
“A great interesting game that quickly sucked me in with good graphics and interesting gameplay, one can say unique in its kind, because I have never seen anything like it.”
“Mine are well above those and despite numerous attempts at adjusting graphics, it runs like a dog.”
“Very laggy, occasional freezes and loading screens between environments (e.g. mine to outside) seem really, really long considering what graphics are actually there.”
“Some things don't even work so you cannot progress, vehicles are terrible to operate and the graphics are that of an original Game Boy.”
- gameplay12 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with some players criticizing clunky controls and illogical mechanics, leading to frustrating experiences like soft-locking. However, others appreciate the game's unique design, potential for complex mechanics, and engaging progression, highlighting its fun and dynamic simulation elements. Overall, while there are significant issues, the game also offers intriguing gameplay that can captivate players.
“During the gameplay, you will learn how to handle the machines, but you will also have to take into account logistical problems and the dangers of mining.”
“This game will have you hooked with its design and varied gameplay.”
“Game is well optimized and fun to play; I like the way that you start from almost nothing and progress through the gameplay.”
“Controls are clunky; some of the gameplay makes no sense.”
“Graphics are mediocre, controls are clunky, and gameplay is horrible.”
“So in conclusion, you can be a mechanic in detail in this game, but you cannot load the coal you mined unless you have the patience of Buddha and enjoy switching through the arms one motion at a time.”
- story8 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 38 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The story in the game is generally perceived as simplistic and lacking depth, primarily revolving around managing a coal mining company and completing repetitive tasks for profit. While some players appreciate the sandbox nature of the game, many feel that it fails to provide a meaningful narrative or engaging challenges, leading to a monotonous experience. Overall, the storyline is seen as a missed opportunity that could benefit from more complexity and variety.
“The obvious goal is to earn enough to be the biggest distributor, but at the same time you get missions, contracts, and above all the shop.”
“It needs more to the storyline that you start with and maybe think about gold and silver and other minerals.”
“The mission guide skipped telling me to accept a contract, so I had to look up on YouTube for a video to figure out why there was no coal to load at that point.”
“It needs more to the storyline that you start with, and maybe think about gold and silver and other minerals.”
“A bigger game based on that should provide either a meaningful storyline (which is hard in this setup) or ways to challenge players with some game economy, not just repeatable actions because proceeding with them time and again makes playing very boring.”
- music5 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players finding it enjoyable and well-complemented by good graphics, while others criticize it as poor and difficult to control. Overall, the soundtrack seems to be a point of contention, with some users feeling it does not enhance the gaming experience.
“Good graphics and music; a bit hard to control the machines for me, probably because I don't drive and I'm not into driving games. I usually crash the vehicle or get stuck, lol.”
“Nice visuals and soundtrack.”
“The music and audio are so awful.”
“They ask you to pay for the base game, the soundtrack, and at least a grand's worth of DLC.”
“The controls are horrible, and the music is just as bad.”
- optimization4 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
The optimization of the game appears to be inconsistent, with some users reporting poor performance due to issues like lack of camera culling and aggressive texture memory allocation, while others find the game well-optimized and enjoyable to play, noting good performance relative to its visual quality. Overall, experiences with optimization vary significantly among players.
“The game is well optimized and fun to play; I like the way that you start from almost nothing and progress through the gameplay.”
“So far, the performance of the game is good.”
“The performance was quite good for how it looks.”
“Performance is really poor; I suspect there is no camera culling, and texture memory allocation is way too aggressive.”
“The game runs poorly on my system, and I believe it could benefit from better optimization techniques.”
“I experience frequent frame drops, which makes the gameplay feel choppy and unresponsive.”
- grinding3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Reviews indicate that the grinding aspect of the game is perceived as clunky and tedious, with players finding it generally unfun. While some acknowledge that the tediousness may reflect the realistic nature of mining work, it still detracts from the overall enjoyment of the gameplay experience.
“Clunky, tedious, not realistic, and just generally unfun.”
“I have to say the excavator portion was the most tedious experience I've had in a while, and I consider myself to have a pretty high tolerance for tediousness.”
“But I think it might be accurate as a simulator, because live/work is normally full of tedious processes, and I have a glimpse of how many steps a miner has to go through along his work.”
- stability3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Users report that the game experiences significant lag, occasional freezes, and lengthy loading screens, particularly when transitioning between environments. While there are some glitches, such as objects disappearing unexpectedly, the overall stability of the prologue is considered better than many other games.
“Very laggy, occasional freezes, and loading screens between environments (e.g., from mine to outside) seem really, really long considering what graphics are actually there.”
“Same thing with the glitches, like when your loader is carrying a full load of coal and somehow hits a ghost rock on the floor, jarring the vehicle and causing most of your coal to fly out and disappear into the aether.”
“There are a few glitches, but it's a prologue; overall, the prologue runs ten times better than most games do.”
