Crime Simulator: Playgrounds

About

"Crime Simulator: Playgrounds" is a free-roam game that allows you to become a criminal and make money through various jobs and activities. Play solo or with up to 4 players, complete unique tasks, steal and fight, and take over hideouts. Craft weapons, buy cars, and choose how to handle encounters with police, civilians, and gang members. The game offers a diverse range of jobs and activities to keep you engaged.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

77%

Audience ScoreBased on 700 reviews

story8 positive mentions

monetization26 negative mentions

The game is very fun and entertaining, especially when played with friends.
It has a cool concept that combines elements from Thief Simulator and Drug Dealer Simulator, making it unique.
The prologue shows great potential, with engaging gameplay and a variety of missions.

The game suffers from significant bugs and performance issues, making it difficult to play smoothly.
Combat mechanics are unbalanced, with enemies dealing excessive damage and often not responding realistically to attacks.
Many players feel it is a cash grab, lacking the depth and polish expected from the developers' previous titles.

story
44 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
18%
75%
7%
The game's story is minimal and often described as lacking depth, with players noting that it feels more like a series of missions than a cohesive narrative. While some missions are entertaining and humorous, featuring wacky scenarios and cooperative gameplay, others are criticized for their difficulty and lack of clear objectives. Overall, the focus seems to be on gameplay mechanics rather than a strong story, which some players find disappointing in a crime simulator context.
- “First mission: 'Your neighbor is spewing out some weird stuff online; he believes in some crazy conspiracy stuff.'”
- “It's so funny - the wacky animations and the funny missions - had so many great laughs jumping people with my friend. You really feel like you're in the hood; you get jumped by local gangsters and you get to rob people and stuff. It's hilarious.”
- “This is a prologue/demo, not a full release. There are three reasons a dev releases a game as a demo: one being that the game is shortened into a little story to make you want to buy the game, two being the devs wanting a fresh pair of eyes to see the game and report bugs they couldn't or make quality of life changes to make the game better, and three to show off a passion project and see how it does.”
- “☐ no story”
- “No clear story guideline / annoying that only host can talk.”
- “For a simulator game based on crime, it is too story driven for my liking.”
gameplay
36 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
22%
67%
11%
The gameplay is generally considered fun, especially when played with friends, but it suffers from repetitiveness and a lack of unique features compared to its predecessor, Thief Simulator. Many reviewers noted that while the core mechanics are enjoyable, the game feels unfinished and could benefit from refinement and additional content. Overall, the demo offers a moderate amount of gameplay, but the experience can become tedious due to limited variation in tasks and mechanics.
- “Pretty fun game while playing with a friend, even though there was only about an hour of gameplay in this prologue.”
- “The gameplay is quite fun but there are a lot of things to be improved.”
- “The missions are fun and the mechanics are great too.”
- “Could use some refining on the mechanics and such.”
- “The gameplay loop of robbing houses, waiting for loot to respawn, and robbing the house again with little variation in where things spawned did get tedious, but due to the demo nature of the game, I couldn't complain too much about it.”
- “In its current state, the gameplay is a bit bland.”
monetization
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization strategy for the "Crime Simulator" is heavily criticized as it primarily serves as an advertisement for an unreleased product, misleadingly presented as a full game. Reviewers express frustration over the practice of publishing demos and advertisements as separate titles, viewing it as a cash grab that detracts from genuine game development and harms the gaming community. Overall, the sentiment is that this approach prioritizes quick profits over quality and transparency, alienating loyal players.
- “This is only free in the same way that adverts on YouTube and banner ads in your browser are.”
- “While it might seem like an innocuous mistake, publishing demos and advertisements as if they are full games is misleading and in some ways harmful.”
- “Often developers may choose to incorrectly publish demo/advertisements as separate games as a cheap way to bypass paying Valve for marketing presence on the Steam front page, which may seem clever to them, but it's harmful behavior and it's not good for gamers.”
humor
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is widely praised for its goofy animations, wacky missions, and the ability to create hilarious moments, especially when played with friends. Players enjoy the comedic elements, such as funny voices and absurd scenarios, which contribute to a lighthearted and entertaining experience. Overall, the game is described as a fun and funny adventure that encourages goofing off and laughter among friends.
- “It's so funny - the wacky animations and the funny missions - had so many great laughs jumping people with my friend. You really feel like you're in the hood; you get jumped by local gangsters and you get to rob people and stuff. It's hilarious!”
- “I'm crazy, but this game is actually fun with friends. I like the emotes and the funny hits in the game. 10/10, I'm crazy!”
- “I played this game with 2 other friends; it was a very funny game, and we laughed a lot.”
optimization
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
19%
62%
19%
Overall, the game's optimization has received significant criticism, with many players reporting performance issues such as low frame rates and lag spikes, even on high-end PCs. While some users see potential for improvement, they agree that the game requires substantial optimization work to enhance the overall experience.
- “Game could use more optimizations, but I did get what I asked for, and man, this game is fire.”
- “The game has the potential to become great; it just needs a little work on the combat system, the stealth system, and the lockpick system, as well as optimization that will come naturally with development.”
- “There were some small performance issues that could be ironed out, but that's the only thing I didn't completely love.”
- “At first I thought maybe it just wasn't optimized for my PC, but I had 2 other friends try on their high-end gaming PCs and they had the same problem.”
- “Not sure who this game is optimized for.”
- “Poor optimization: 4fps on the main screen but 50-60 in the game, a lot of lag spikes making it completely unplayable.”
stability
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game has been described as "kinda buggy" with various glitches, but many players still find it enjoyable and fun, especially in a multiplayer context. Some reviewers emphasize that it is a prologue or demo, suggesting that the developers are seeking feedback to improve stability. Overall, while there are notable bugs, the game's charm and potential are recognized by users.
- “Kinda buggy in parts.”
- “Games are so buggy, to be honest, and it's a thief sim rip-off with a gun and fighting, and that's it. 5/10 is my thought on this.”
- “It's a good game, but there are some glitches; overall, it's good.”
graphics
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
40%
20%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their quality, enhancing the overall experience, but this comes at a cost, as many players report significant performance issues, including low frame rates even on the lowest settings. Additionally, some users feel that the graphics settings are too basic and could benefit from more customization options. Overall, while the visuals are impressive, they may require further optimization and polish.
- “The graphics are great and the missions are amazing.”
- “The biggest crime this game commits is making the graphics so good it runs at 5 fps on lowest settings.”
- “I think it could use some polish with the graphics, and the dialogue for characters is--like in TS2--lame, but the core gameplay is fun.”
- “Another thing is game settings, too basic which sometimes would be better to have less options and fancy stuff but here we need borderless windows and other options to adjust graphics, sounds, etc.”
grinding
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious, as it involves repetitively robbing houses and waiting for loot to respawn with minimal variation. However, some reviewers noted that the demo nature of the game mitigated their complaints about the grind.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “The gameplay loop of robbing houses, waiting for loot to respawn, and robbing the house again with little variation in where things spawned did get tedious, but due to the demo nature of the game, I couldn't complain too much about it.”