Mall Empire
- February 16, 2017
- Games++
Get on Steam"Mall Empire" is a simulation game where you build and manage a modern shopping mall, starting from a one-star mall and working your way up to a five-star rating by providing a variety of shops and facilities to attract more customers. The game features over 50 stores, 20 store combinations, and 20 different character types with varying needs and wealth levels. It also includes options for advertising, investing, loans, and financial reports, and is built on the Unity 3D engine for compatibility on Windows, Mac, and Linux.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game offers a fun and relaxing experience, allowing players to build and manage their own mall with a variety of stores.
- There are over 400 achievements to unlock, providing a sense of accomplishment and motivation for players.
- The graphics and art style are appealing, and the game has potential for further development and improvements.
- The game is plagued by numerous bugs and glitches, making it frustrating and difficult to play effectively.
- Collecting money from stores is tedious and requires constant clicking, which detracts from the overall enjoyment of the game.
- The lack of tutorials and clear instructions leaves players confused about gameplay mechanics, leading to a steep learning curve.
- gameplay26 mentions
- 12 % positive mentions
- 65 % neutral mentions
- 23 % negative mentions
The gameplay has been widely criticized for being unengaging, overly simplistic, and riddled with technical issues, such as bugs that disrupt basic functions. Many reviewers noted that the mechanics require tedious manual actions, leading to a lack of challenge and interest. Overall, significant improvements in gameplay mechanics, user interface, and feedback are deemed necessary for the game to be considered worthwhile.
“It does require a little 'hide and watch' the gameplay to get the hang of things, but if you've got an IQ over 25, it won't take you long.”
“Etc. solid foundation, but to be worth even the 3 bucks they are asking, it needs much more than 15 minutes of gameplay.”
“Needs a lot of work on UI, feedback, and general game mechanics and workflow.”
“It's bugged beyond reason and the gameplay is mostly non-sensical.”
“But even if the game was bug-free it would still be terrible as the gameplay is so plain, boring, and downright annoying because of the necessity to manually collect your profits.”
“There are several technical issues (e.g. pause does not really pause the game, after reactivating the time speeds up), it is all oversimplified, but the biggest problem is gameplay - there isn't one.”
- music12 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 42 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The music in the game is highly praised, with many players finding it relaxing and a standout feature. However, the limited soundtrack, consisting of only one song and no sound effects, can become repetitive after extended playtime. Overall, while the music enhances the experience, its lack of variety may lead some players to mute it after a while.
“Probably the best part of the game is the music.”
“A+ to the music though.”
“I love the soundtrack and the art style; I would recommend it!”
“The music will get to you when you play this game for over 10 minutes, so mute the sound.”
“There are no sound effects, and there's only one song available, which isn't really a bad thing, but it naturally gets annoying after listening to it for a long period of time.”
“The music will get to you when you play this game for over 10 minutes, so mute the sound.”
- graphics10 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The graphics are generally described as cute and acceptable, with a charming art style that enhances the gameplay experience. However, some users noted performance issues, requiring the game to run on the lowest graphics settings. Overall, while the visuals are not groundbreaking, they are enjoyable and complement the game's features.
“Graphically, it is very cute and acceptable, already has a lot of stores and so forth. I like the 'combination' feature where you can get extra bonuses for certain store combos (once I figure out how to use it..lol).”
“Also, I love the soundtrack and the art style; would recommend! c:”
“Its just a regular sim tower with new graphics.”
“Well, the game only launches when I choose the 'fastest' graphics.”
“It's just a regular sim tower with new graphics.”
“The graphics are okay, I guess.”
- stability8 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game suffers from significant stability issues, with numerous glitches that render it nearly unplayable. Users report a lack of UI feedback and frequent interruptions from achievement notifications, contributing to an overall frustrating experience.
“I could have put up with it all if not for the terrible glitches which make the game unplayable in the way it was meant to be played.”
“Rather buggy, little UI feedback and the constant achievement spam is annoying.”
“Buggy as hell.”
- grinding4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious, particularly due to the cumbersome money collection process and the short duration of game days, which limits exploration. Additionally, the lack of customization options further detracts from the experience, making it feel repetitive and frustrating.
“If you don't buy all the combinations at mall rank 1, forget it; you never will. Collecting money is ridiculously tedious, game days are too short (1.5 minutes, which isn't even enough time for a shopper to explore the whole mall), and there's no customization.”
“Collecting money is tedious as it's a button per store rather than clicking on the store.”
“Collecting money is ridiculously tedious; game days are too short (1.5 minutes, which isn't even enough time for a shopper to explore the whole mall).”
- story4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 100 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The story aspect of the game revolves around managing and building a 15-story mall, allowing players to create various stores and upgrade them for increased profits. Many users compare it to mobile games like "Mall Developer Story," highlighting its familiar gameplay mechanics.
- monetization2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The monetization system allows players to purchase various enhancements, including investments, upgrades, and properties for their customers, as well as initiate advertising campaigns to boost their in-game success.
