Computer Tycoon

About

"Computer Tycoon" is a strategy and business management game that simulates the evolution of computers from the 1970s to 2034. Players must lead research, create hardware and operating systems, manage infrastructure, handle marketing, and navigate the global market to build a successful computer empire. The game offers a unique experience with its focus on the computer industry and its integration of grand strategy elements, making it different from traditional building/tycoon games.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

+11

85%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,084 reviews

gameplay42 positive mentions

grinding30 negative mentions

The game has a unique concept that allows players to run a tech company and design computers, providing a nostalgic experience for fans of computing history.
The developer is very responsive to community feedback and frequently updates the game, showing a commitment to improving the overall experience.
The gameplay is addictive and offers a deep and rewarding experience, with a vast tech tree and numerous strategies to explore.

The user interface is clunky and unintuitive, making it difficult for new players to navigate and understand the game mechanics.
The game can feel unbalanced, with early game being overly difficult and late game becoming too easy, leading to a lack of meaningful challenges.
There are several bugs and issues that need to be addressed, including problems with marketing, production, and the AI competitors.

gameplay
196 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
21%
70%
8%
The gameplay is described as complex and rewarding, with a steep learning curve that can lead to repetitive experiences once players master the mechanics. While the core gameplay loop of expanding a company and designing computers is engaging, many users note issues with the tutorial, UI, and balance, which detract from the overall experience. Despite these shortcomings, the game offers depth and potential for strategic play, appealing to fans of management simulations, though it requires patience to navigate its intricacies.
- “The gameplay is multi-faceted, with several interesting scenarios such as the world with a historical planisphere since 1974 and its characteristics.”
- “The core gameplay of expanding your base, doing research, and designing computers is really fun.”
- “The gameplay is addictive and fun; I found myself excited to create new and improved hardware and watching my computers sell.”
- “The game has a lot of issues, especially the tutorial; it's absolutely dreadful, it doesn't explain the mechanics well at all and leaves out lots of information.”
- “Once you learn the game mechanics within an hour or two, you just dominate the game and it gets extremely repetitive real quick.”
- “The game's presentation, mechanics, and economic models are very lacking and eventually kill enjoyment because things could be much better.”
graphics
60 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
67%
7%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the retro aesthetic and modern vector-style landscapes, while others criticize the user interface for causing eyestrain and the overall visuals for being bland or simplistic. Many agree that while the graphics are decent, they are not the main focus of the game, which prioritizes gameplay mechanics over visual appeal. Overall, improvements are suggested, but the graphics are deemed sufficient for a tycoon game of this type.
- “While it's definitely more on the management side of things, the dev did a lot to not make it only charts and graphs with really nice graphics.”
- “Sweet retro graphics mixed with modern, vector-style 3D landscapes and buildings.”
- “Firstly, I have to say that the retro-style graphics and resemblance to other sim games like Sim City really stood out to me.”
- “The UI causes eyestrain at times due to color choices, and overall the aesthetics feel like clip-art, which would normally be fine for an early-access game, but it's been worked on for close to a decade (at least according to the Steam release date).”
- “The graphics are meh, with a simple 2D map for the world map, and bland 3D models used for the research and production sites.”
- “There are a number of graphical glitches with regards to the icons being mapped to new PC/HCS during development at times.”
grinding
32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
6%
94%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be a mixed experience; while initial gameplay can be enjoyable, the repetitive nature of upgrading and managing factories becomes tedious over time. Many reviewers express a desire for more depth in the design and research processes to alleviate the monotony, as well as quality-of-life improvements to streamline interactions. Overall, the game offers fun moments but suffers from a lack of engaging mechanics in the long run.
- “The actual business simulation is tedious and repetitive without being in-depth enough to make it worth the effort to play.”
- “There are points later in the game where upgrading to keep up with demand gets downright tedious, and I'm hopeful for some sort of upgrade or workaround to streamline that a little bit better.”
- “Right now, I have probably built about 50 different factories across entire continents, took me over 2 hours just to do that whilst also dealing with competitors, building new devices etc. In a way, it kept me busy, but when I think about it, it's so tedious and annoying.”
replayability
30 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
53%
37%
10%
Overall, the game is praised for its high replayability, with many players noting the ability to experiment with different strategies and the potential for varied gameplay experiences. While some reviews mention a lack of polish and content in its current alpha state, the game's strategic depth and nostalgic design contribute to its appeal, making it a worthwhile investment for those who enjoy tycoon games. Players can expect to enjoy several hours of gameplay, with the promise of even more replay value as the game continues to develop.
- “I fully recommend this game to anyone; this is a game with the vibe from the 80s where games were designed to be ingenious and replayable!”
- “I bought it on sale, but I would recommend this at full price because it's worth it just for its replayability alone, and the developer puts a lot of effort into the game and deserves your support!”
- “This game is also highly replayable because you can change your strategy to focus on laptops, tablets, home computers, PCs, or all of them!”
- “Limited replayability”
- “In the current state (alpha) you have fun for 2-8 hours (which isn't expensive, a cinema will cost you more for just 2 hours) but when the game develops more, you will get more playable hours.”
- “While not very polished, with a UI that can at times be annoying to work with, this game can be difficult and take time to learn what is needed in order to succeed. This, however, works well with replayability and can make games change drastically from game to game.”
music
30 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
27%
13%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with many praising its incredible quality, catchy tunes, and retro vibes that enhance the gaming experience. However, some players find it repetitive or suggest avoiding the in-game music altogether. Overall, while the soundtrack is generally well-received, opinions vary on its longevity and impact on gameplay.
- “This game has incredible music, something I didn't expect at all, and, honestly, has incredible gameplay.”
- “The aesthetics of Computer Tycoon took me back to my gaming days as a young'un, and when I heard the awesomely retro background music, I got really pumped to play this computer building and marketing sim.”
- “The music is catchy and hasn't gotten old.”
- “Just don't use the in-game music; it is no good.”
- “Music is crap but that's nothing major at all.”
- “The graphics get the job done, tooltips are useful, music has an uplifting mood, overall it has the potential to be a competent tycoon game for people appreciative of the subject.”
optimization
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
75%
13%
The optimization aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with players noting that it can be challenging to balance performance and pricing when selling computer models. Many feel that the upgrade system lacks clarity, making it difficult to understand the impact of research on performance metrics. Additionally, while high performance is achievable, the market dynamics often favor cheaper options, complicating the design and sales of competitively priced products.
- “Production decisions... factory production can entail cost reductions and quality improvements from optimization over time.”
- “Better upgrades and improvements must be researched to enhance your computer components, which will increase both your computer's stats and performance. However, better components can be more expensive, and more expensive computers can be harder to sell in profitable volumes. Computers that are both competitively priced and competitively specced can be challenging to research and design.”
- “As others have suggested, it would be nice if you could select specifications (resolution, RAM amount, HDD amount) and not just technologies and abstract performance metrics.”
- “Things like a better I/O device multiplying performance tenfold, slight improvements requiring huge amounts of research, and barely useful components being extremely expensive (looking at you, EEPROM) are frequently encountered, which can really mess with immersion.”
- “Better upgrades and improvements must be researched to enhance your computer components, which will increase both your computer's stats and performance. However, better components can be more expensive, and more expensive computers can be harder to sell in profitable volumes. Computers that are both competitively priced and competitively specced can be hard to research and design.”
- “Additionally, unlike real life, it feels almost impossible to sell multiple units at different price-performance rates. A lot of the top computing options of the 1980s often had multiple models of varying power levels (e.g., Apple II, Apple IIGS, Apple IIE), and basically, if there is a model that is within even 50% of the price of the top model, no one will buy the cheaper model (in my experience).”
stability
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game currently suffers from significant stability issues, with numerous bugs affecting gameplay and user interfaces. Players report frequent glitches, particularly with the market list and product comparison features, indicating that the game requires substantial polish and ongoing updates to address these problems. Overall, the game's stability is a major concern, detracting from the overall experience.
- “This game is still in the works, and I do highly hope more updates are on the way as it's buggy in various areas.”
- “Game is extremely buggy, and the devs have had one excuse after another over the last 12 months.”
- “Game is extremely buggy: literally any action will cause a bug.”
humor
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is a mixed bag; while some players find it amusing, particularly in the research descriptions and the absurdity of competitors' designs, others feel it lacks the typical comedic elements expected in a tycoon game. The juxtaposition of serious gameplay with unexpected comedic moments, such as the progression to creating a "matrix," adds a unique charm, though some players wish for more consistent humor throughout. Overall, the game offers moments of levity that enhance the experience, but it may not fully satisfy those seeking a stronger comedic presence.
- “I want to add a quick tip: if you want to find a couple of laughs, read the research descriptions; there are some funny ones.”
- “There is a great touch of humor mixed in as well, giving unexpected laughs which is a very nice touch.”
- “The game lets you research and produce computer tech until you reach the point of creating the Matrix, which is kind of hilarious given the super-serious tone, and gives a sense of purpose to all the chart-reading.”
story
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
38%
38%
The story is reminiscent of classic game development narratives, focusing on computer design in a parallel reality with an alternative storyline. While the plot is engaging and offers an intriguing exploration of hardware, players find the level-building process tedious and express a desire for more streamlined options to progress through the story.
- “Interesting games, exciting to follow the story of hardware.”
- “It reminds me very much of the classic game dev story with a focus on designing computers instead of games.”
- “Also very tedious building each level; I would love to be able to select a desired level in a new plot and have it build automatically.”
- “It reminds me very much of the classic game 'Dev Story' with a focus on designing computers instead of games.”
- “Or what things could be like in a parallel reality with a different storyline.”
monetization
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization aspect of the game allows players to strategically choose markets, target advertising, and research technologies, simulating the role of a ruthless executive. However, players express a desire for improved competitive insights regarding market responses and product comparisons to enhance their decision-making.
- “Computer Tycoon is one of those games like Offworld Trading Company or Spinnortality that gives you the chance to really get into the mental roleplay of being a ruthless executive - the kind that might plant a massive renewable forest as a source of lumber, but then slash and burn the whole thing for a quick cash grab if the competitive landscape demanded it.”
- “For example, it would be good to have better competitive information in terms of both comparative products and also individual market response to your products, pricing, and advertising.”
- “You can pick markets to sell to, groups to target with advertising, technologies to research, and locations to put your sites in.”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
150%
Reviewers suggest that the game's atmosphere could benefit from a more minimalist design, akin to the interface of Game Dev Tycoon, which they consider a benchmark for management games. This indicates a desire for a cleaner, more streamlined aesthetic to enhance the overall experience.
- “The atmosphere feels flat and uninspired, lacking the depth and immersion that I expected from a game of this genre.”
- “The overall ambiance is disappointing; it fails to create a compelling world that draws players in.”
- “The menus and interface detract from the atmosphere, making the experience feel more like a chore than an engaging game.”