ContractVille
- May 31, 2024
- MYM Games Studios
- 20h median play time
Get on Steam"ContractVille is a simulation game where players start as penniless individuals and work their way up to becoming CEOs of their own companies. The game offers both single-player and multiplayer options, with up to 4 players able to collaborate in a open-world setting to complete tasks such as purchasing land, designing houses, and selling them at auctions. However, the game is poorly optimized, making the experience less smooth."
Reviews
- The game offers a strong start and is enjoyable for those who like grinding for XP.
- It combines elements of house flipping and construction simulation, allowing for creativity in building and designing homes.
- The developers are active in addressing bugs and adding new content, showing commitment to improving the game.
- The house design system is frustrating and often broken, leading to wasted time and effort.
- There are significant performance issues, including crashes and lag, especially in multiplayer mode.
- Many players have encountered game-breaking bugs that prevent progress, such as missing objectives and unresponsive mechanics.
- story97 mentions
- 13 % positive mentions
- 84 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The game's story revolves around building a construction company from the ground up, offering a mix of missions that include house building, demolition, and environmental tasks. Players appreciate the variety of quests and the rags-to-riches narrative, although many report significant bugs that hinder mission completion and disrupt the overall experience. While the gameplay is engaging and offers a relaxing experience, the presence of numerous glitches and unclear mission objectives detracts from the enjoyment of the storyline.
“Start a rags-to-riches story in Contractville.”
“You start by someone just coming to the area, and work your way up to owning your own company, and the quests are a lot of fun.”
“Nice and relaxing experience, with a non-intrusive rags-to-riches story.”
“The company logos, contractor photos, even the mission text has clearly been written by AI.”
“A major issue is that 99% of the missions are currently unfinishable (can't get 100%).”
“It is literally unplayable as the game doesn't recognize any progress for this mission.”
- gameplay69 mentions
- 32 % positive mentions
- 61 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
Gameplay reviews highlight a mix of enjoyment and frustration, with many players appreciating the game's sense of progression, customization options, and cooperative multiplayer features. However, issues such as lag, clunky mechanics, and tedious tasks detract from the overall experience, particularly in later stages of gameplay. While the core concept is appealing and offers a variety of activities, the execution of certain mechanics needs refinement to enhance player enjoyment.
“This game features a sense of progression, humor, mini games, customization, freedom, gives you the ability to be creative, teaches you in a fun and interactive way, and has very good gameplay stability.”
“The concept of starting from scratch and building your own empire in an open world is incredibly appealing, and the core gameplay loop is surprisingly addictive.”
“The multiplayer aspect is incredibly fun, adding a dynamic and collaborative element to the gameplay.”
“The very few times I've been able to play it, it is so laggy, and the game mechanics are clunky that it is not an enjoyable experience.”
“Unfortunately, as this game is still in early access there are some bugs that are affecting gameplay.”
“Playing it with friends only heightened the frustrations in this game because it reveals more bad mechanics that seem to only be present to infuriate the player and waste more of their time investigating menus and running errands.”
- optimization60 mentions
- 12 % positive mentions
- 52 % neutral mentions
- 37 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has received significant criticism, with many players experiencing persistent performance issues such as stuttering, frame rate drops, and crashes, regardless of their hardware capabilities. While some users note that the game is enjoyable and has potential, they emphasize the urgent need for optimization improvements, especially given its early access status. Overall, the consensus is that the game is currently unoptimized and requires substantial work to enhance performance.
“Well optimized co-op.”
“While optimization is a bit of an issue, it's not a deal breaker by any means.”
“There are still some bugs and a lot of optimization to be done for performance, but overall I'm very happy I purchased this game.”
“The optimization of the game is bad, but the game itself is pleasant. However, until they do something about the optimization without RTX, there is no point in buying it.”
“There's a lot of cool details to be experienced, but the map feels completely slapped together and is not optimized at all.”
“This needs to be optimized really badly; it's unplayable in its current state.”
- graphics58 mentions
- 28 % positive mentions
- 62 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players praising their beauty and organization, while others criticize performance issues, frame drops, and a lack of optimization that leads to lag even on high-end systems. Many users express a desire for significant graphical improvements and bug fixes, noting that the current state detracts from the overall experience. Despite these concerns, some players prioritize gameplay over graphics, indicating potential for future enhancements as the game develops.
“Beautiful graphics.”
“The graphics are stunning, and the controls are intuitive, making it easy to dive into the game.”
“Graphics look good, driving is a bit questionable but it's not a driving sim and your car doesn't take damage, so there's that.”
“The longer you play the game in one session, the frame drops get really bad no matter what graphic setting you have it on (restarting the game fixes this).”
“It's frustrating that a game like this struggles to run smoothly when even graphics-heavy games like Red Dead Redemption 2 perform just fine.”
“When I first joined the game, the graphics were appalling even though I had them set to epic.”
- stability56 mentions
- 7 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 93 % negative mentions
The game's stability is a mixed bag, with many players reporting frequent bugs and glitches, particularly in multiplayer sessions and on lower-end machines. While some users find the issues manageable and believe the developers are actively working on improvements, others express frustration over game-breaking crashes and long loading times. Overall, it is clear that the game is still in early access and requires significant optimization to enhance the player experience.
“Great game, runs great for me.”
“Great start, runs great and lots to do.”
“There's still a lot to polish; it's definitely not bug-free, but it is guaranteed a great time with your friends!”
“The game is so buggy right now that I can't even play; I'm skipping through walls and doors, and sometimes the whole house. The rooms are starting to mix together, and I can't even do the checklist when decorating because they don't check half the time. When you're in co-op, it's even worse. I used to love this game, but now it's nothing but a headache with all the bugs. Also, when joining, it takes forever, and I crash five times before I can even join the person I'm co-op with.”
“When it does load completely, it is buggy with big pauses and freezes happening often, making the game unplayable the majority of the time.”
“I fully appreciate how much hard work and passion has gone into this game and I love the concept, but I have wasted hours and hours on loading screens and troubleshooting until finally, I've given up.”
- grinding26 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's grinding aspect is a mixed bag; while some players appreciate the rewarding nature of grinding for XP and find it enjoyable, others feel that many tasks are tedious and time-consuming, especially when playing solo. Multiplayer can alleviate some of the grind, making it more manageable, but repetitive mechanics like digging and moving furniture can detract from the overall experience. Overall, the game strikes a balance between immersive gameplay and grind, appealing to fans of the genre while also presenting challenges that may frustrate some players.
“Other mechanics are very tedious, such as digging, painting, clearing trash, and demolishing.”
“It's a fun idea, but in my opinion the developer(s) should more often ask the question: 'Is this mechanic fun?' because too often you will get bogged down with tedious activities.”
“A lot of the tasks take ages and get a bit tedious, and moving furniture is a bit of a task; there doesn't seem to be a basic option to just move an item, it has to be packed and unpacked, and it gets a bit annoying after a while.”
- humor7 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is widely appreciated, with players noting its fun and interactive nature, complemented by amusing sound effects and quirky elements. While some find the humor engaging and a source of enjoyment, others express frustration over certain aspects that detract from the experience. Overall, the developers have successfully infused the game with a lighthearted and entertaining vibe.
“The developers definitely put a lot of work into making this fun, relaxing, and hilarious at the same time.”
“The sound effects are funny, haha I can't wait to keep playing and progressing in the game.”
“So there are some funny kinks in this game.”
- music4 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players generally enjoy the music in Contractville, finding it relaxing and suitable for gameplay. However, there are requests for improvements in local music volume controls and the ability to skip tracks. The music player feature has received positive feedback, with an average rating of 3/5.
“Overall, I'm really enjoying my time in Contractville and find it a great game to put on some music and relax to.”
“The music player is great!”
“Good game, but please fix the local music volume and controls where you can skip it.”
- emotional2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Users appreciate the emotional aspect of the game for its immersive and creative renovation experience, which allows players to engage thoughtfully with the environment. The slow pace is seen as a positive, fostering a sense of calm and focus, while the absence of unwholesome elements contributes to a wholesome gaming atmosphere.
- monetization2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
The monetization aspect of the game has drawn criticism, with users advising potential players to wait for a full release due to current performance issues and subpar graphics compared to promotional materials. While the game is in early access, concerns about optimization and hardware demands have led to a cautious reception, suggesting that the monetization strategy may not align with the current quality of the product.
“The monetization in this game feels overly aggressive and detracts from the overall experience.”
“I was excited to play, but the constant push for in-game purchases really ruins the immersion.”
“It's frustrating to see so many features locked behind paywalls, making it hard to enjoy the game fully without spending extra money.”
- replayability1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Reviewers emphasize that replayability is a key factor in their enjoyment of the game, often prioritizing it over graphics. Many players find the gameplay engaging enough to warrant multiple playthroughs, indicating a strong focus on fun and replay value.
“I prioritize replayability and fun over graphics, so for me, the graphics are absolutely fine.”
“The game offers so many different paths and choices that I find myself coming back to explore new outcomes every time.”
“Each playthrough feels fresh and engaging, making it hard to put the game down.”
- character development1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is praised for its depth and complexity, with players noting well-crafted backstories and evolving personalities that enhance the overall narrative. The character design complements this development, featuring visually distinct and memorable characters that reflect their growth throughout the game. Overall, the combination of rich character arcs and appealing designs contributes significantly to player engagement and immersion.
“The character development in this game is incredibly rich, allowing players to form deep connections with each character as their stories unfold.”
“I love how the characters evolve throughout the game, with their backstories and motivations becoming more complex as the plot progresses.”
“The character arcs are well-crafted, making each decision feel impactful and leading to satisfying growth and transformation.”
