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"News Tower" is a simulation game set in 1930s New York, where you play as an influential publisher. Your goal is to define your editorial line, search the globe for newsworthy stories, and manage your team of reporters to beat deadlines. Be cautious of the mafia, mayor, and other factions trying to use your influence to print their version of the truth. The game allows you to follow key moments of the 1930s and decide whether to cover and influence them.

  • Mac OS
  • PC
  • Windows

Reviews

97%
Audience ScoreBased on 1,416 reviews
gameplay146 positive mentions
monetization25 negative mentions
  • Engaging and addictive gameplay loop that keeps players invested.
  • Charming 1930s aesthetic with a fantastic soundtrack that enhances the experience.
  • Well-designed mechanics that allow for strategic decision-making and resource management.
  • Limited content currently available, with the game ending after a specific date.
  • Some UI elements are clunky and could benefit from better organization and filtering options.
  • Random events can feel punishing and may disrupt gameplay flow, leading to frustration.
  • gameplay296 mentions

    The gameplay of "News Tower" is widely praised for its addictive and engaging mechanics, offering a satisfying loop of managing reporters, crafting stories, and expanding a newspaper empire. Players appreciate the balance of simplicity and depth, with a variety of customization options and challenges that keep the experience fresh, despite some concerns about potential repetitiveness and the need for further content. Overall, the game is seen as a charming and polished early access title with a strong foundation and promising future updates.

    • “The gameplay is fun and interactive; the time crunches keep you invested, and the customization, requirements, and buffs all add to this game the feeling of completing a puzzle while you're waiting for your employees to complete their jobs.”
    • “The core gameplay loop is simple on the surface, yet harbors intricate complexity, and the last few days can be positively nail-biting.”
    • “News Tower is a standout in the tycoon and management genre, offering one of the tightest, most streamlined gameplay loops I've experienced.”
    • “The gameplay is very straightforward and remains unchanged throughout the game.”
    • “The game lacks depth and variety, with repetitive gameplay that quickly becomes boring.”
    • “After you learn the basics, the gameplay rapidly becomes monotonous.”
  • music200 mentions

    The music in the game has received widespread acclaim, with many players praising its jazzy, big-band soundtrack that perfectly captures the 1920s and 1930s atmosphere. Reviewers highlight the soundtrack's ability to enhance immersion and enjoyment, describing it as relaxing, catchy, and well-composed, making it a standout feature of the game. While some mention a desire for more variety, the overall consensus is that the music significantly contributes to the game's charm and appeal.

    • “The music and visual styles of the game deserve a special mention as they are simply masterpieces.”
    • “The jazzy soundtrack, warm visuals, and detailed portrayal of a bustling, pre-crisis America are simply delightful.”
    • “The soundtrack is incredible, really captures the era perfectly, as do the background animations and they create this perfect and charming aesthetic.”
    • “The music skips often, the save process takes a very long time and the print lever sometimes is very laggy.”
    • “There's a couple songs which sound more 1950s than 1930s but that's a minor gripe.”
    • “The soundtrack, while certainly not something I'd listen to outside the game, fits the theme & time setting perfectly.”
  • story181 mentions

    The game's story is described as surprisingly rich, often taking precedence over management gameplay, which some players find slows down their experience. While the narrative elements are engaging and immersive, many users express a desire for more depth and variety in the storytelling, as well as improvements in how stories are generated and managed. Overall, the game offers a compelling mix of storytelling and management mechanics, but players hope for further development and expansion of the narrative in future updates.

    • “The storytelling is done in an excellent and graceful way, with the difficulty and possibilities slowly increasing as well.”
    • “The story and progression are paced well, and even at such an early stage in its development, there is so much content.”
    • “This is a fantastic mix of SimTower's space management, theme park or The Sims's happiness management, and a tag-based story publishing system.”
    • “I love management games, but the game's story and the slow way it is presented gets in the way of the management gameplay.”
    • “Stories become 'old news' a week or two after their completion, which means you can stall the completion of a story to prevent it from becoming old news. A lot of stories become old news, and there's no easy way to bin these quickly; good luck dumping multiple old stories.”
    • “While some news stories may be just as simple as assigning a reporter to a beat and having them come back with the story, quite a few news stories can have complex patterns, and these stories can consist of specific routes to take to get the full story.”
  • graphics138 mentions

    The graphics of the game are widely praised for their charming and aesthetically pleasing art style, which effectively captures the 1930s vibe and enhances the immersive experience. Players appreciate the vibrant visuals, smooth animations, and the cohesive integration of graphics with the game's soundtrack, creating a delightful atmosphere. While some minor performance issues and simplistic designs are noted, the overall consensus is that the graphics contribute significantly to the game's appeal and enjoyment.

    • “Beautiful graphics, amazing atmosphere, unique and engaging gameplay mechanics which sometimes provide a laid-back tycoon-like feel, but other times a race to the finish-line thrill.”
    • “The graphics are charming and well-designed, providing a visually pleasing experience.”
    • “The 1930s aesthetic is phenomenal.”
    • “This game has serious performance issues, and doesn't run properly even on the lowest graphics setting.”
    • “Now, let's talk performance—on my MacBook Pro (2019, i9, 64GB RAM, Radeon Pro 5500M), this game chugs like a snail, even at 800x600 with all the fancy graphics options turned off.”
    • “The graphics are simplistic yet aesthetically pleasing, and the brick building the newspaper resides in does a perfect job of giving the player 1930's vibes... only without jobless people loitering around the building and selling fruits or pencils.”
  • replayability32 mentions

    Overall, the game demonstrates a promising level of replayability, particularly for an early access title, with various mechanics and branching storylines that encourage multiple playthroughs. However, some players express concerns that once the core mechanics are mastered, the replay value may diminish, especially without additional long-term goals or sandbox features. Despite these concerns, many find the current content engaging and addictive, suggesting that ongoing updates could enhance its replayability further.

    • “Even though it's in early access, there's already plenty of highly replayable content.”
    • “Despite being in early access, there's still plenty of highly replayable content, and the roadmap and development cycle is frequent enough to keep me returning and excited for release.”
    • “The core gameplay is fresh, surprisingly challenging, and replayable.”
    • “For both the news and tower parts of the game, you'll pretty quickly figure out the meta, and at that point, it stops feeling particularly replayable.”
    • “As it stands, the game is unique with a decent core mechanic, but business sims live or die on their replayability, and this game needs work on those fronts to earn its overwhelmingly positive review score it somehow has.”
    • “My only real concern is that the gameplay between learning new mechanics can be quite grindy, and I'm not convinced there will be much replayability to the game once you know how it all works.”
  • atmosphere29 mentions

    The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its immersive 1930s aesthetic, enhanced by a fitting soundtrack and beautiful graphics. Players appreciate the unique blend of engaging gameplay mechanics and a vibrant, historical setting that captures the essence of the era. Overall, the atmosphere is considered a standout feature, contributing significantly to the game's addictiveness and enjoyment.

    • “The music is perfect for setting the tone and atmosphere - it's jazzy, sleazy, and pops with the kind of noir and grime you'd feel typical of the depressing 30's when the game is set.”
    • “Beautiful graphics, amazing atmosphere, unique and engaging gameplay mechanics which sometimes provide a laid-back tycoon-like feel, but other times a race to the finish-line thrill.”
    • “One of the standout features of News Tower is its ability to immerse players in the dynamic atmosphere of a bustling newspaper office.”
  • monetization25 mentions

    The monetization aspect of the game has received mixed feedback, with players noting that while advertisements are essential for generating revenue, they can overshadow the core gameplay and feel overly dominant. Users appreciate the strategic element of placing ads alongside articles but express frustration over the lack of reminders for ad production and the limited page count, which can lead to a sense of cynicism about prioritizing profit over content. Overall, the game successfully integrates monetization into its mechanics, but improvements in user interface and balance are desired to enhance the experience.

    • “Well good luck with the latter cause it seems that ads are the only way to make decent money, which is... concerningly realistic.”
    • “It feels a little cynical and un-fun to have putting an advert at the top of the first page, but that was basically always the most profitable way to go, because they have such high base monetary print-rewards.”
    • “The ads don't alert you when they're finished.”
  • optimization18 mentions

    The game's optimization is a mixed bag; while many players report smooth performance and stability, especially for an early access title, others experience significant performance issues, particularly on lower-end systems. Some users note that the game runs well on high-end PCs but struggles on Macs, indicating a need for further optimization. Overall, while core gameplay mechanics are engaging and encourage strategic layout planning, the inconsistent performance across different hardware setups suggests that optimization remains a work in progress.

    • “There are some features listed still in development, but the devs seem pretty consistent with updates and all the core gameplay aspects run smoothly.”
    • “The gameplay is simple and intuitive, but full of minute optimization and organizing.”
    • “And it makes you constantly think about your layout both aesthetically and to maximize performance of your employees.”
    • “This game has serious performance issues, and doesn't run properly even on the lowest graphics setting.”
    • “Now, let's talk performance—on my MacBook Pro (2019, i9, 64GB RAM, Radeon Pro 5500M), this game chugs like a snail, even at 800x600 with all the fancy graphics options turned off.”
    • “On my work PC (8700K + 16GB + 1060), the performance is weird - it's totally playable but sometimes it drops to 45fps for no reason, then goes back up to smooth 60, then back down to 45 - that is everything on low.”
  • grinding17 mentions

    Players generally find the grinding aspect of the game to be a mixed experience; while some enjoy the initial fast-paced leveling and clever mechanics, many feel that the repetitive tasks, such as managing old news stories and resource gathering, become tedious over time. The lack of efficient tools for managing these tasks contributes to a sense of overload, making the gameplay feel grindy and potentially diminishing replayability. Overall, while there are enjoyable elements, the grind can detract from the overall fun.

    • “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
    • “It's unnecessarily tedious, and a single button to purge old news items would be beneficial.”
    • “Its a fun management game that can make you lose track of time but then after a while it becomes grindy, very very grindy.”
    • “My only real concern is that the gameplay between learning new mechanics can be quite grindy and I'm not convinced there will be much replayability to the game once you know how it all works.”
  • humor11 mentions

    The humor in the game is widely praised for its clever writing and amusing scenarios, often drawing on historical themes and quirky character interactions. Players find the comedic elements to enhance the gameplay experience, making it both entertaining and engaging, while some even appreciate the unintentional humor from grammatical errors in dialogues. Overall, the game's lighthearted approach and funny events contribute to its charm and addictiveness.

    • “Great 1930's era design and lots of historic headlines as well as some humor.”
    • “A game well worth playing with a nice setting, funny events, & good tutorial that helps you along the way without being obnoxious.”
    • “Absolutely love this little gem, super addictive and easy to get the hang of, reading the headlines is hilarious at times.”
  • stability7 mentions

    Overall, players report a generally stable experience with minimal glitches and bugs, especially for an early access title. While some users noted occasional visual glitches, the game is praised for its performance and aesthetic appeal, with many experiencing no significant issues. Developers are actively working on improvements, which adds to the positive outlook on stability.

    • “It's not buggy at all for being in early access; it might need some more balancing and optimization, but the developers are still working on the game, so I don't think that will be a problem.”
    • “The game runs great; I personally have not run into any bugs.”
    • “The game offers some nice graphics and a superb aesthetic, although there are some ugly glitches here and there.”
    • “So far, it feels great; I encountered maybe a couple of visual glitches, but otherwise, it nailed it for me.”
    • “There are sometimes glitches, but overall, an amazing game!”
  • emotional4 mentions

    Players find the game enjoyable and immersive, capturing the chaotic yet rewarding experience of being a business owner. The wholesome art style and music contribute to a positive atmosphere, though some reviewers suggest that incorporating plotlines or personal storytelling could enhance the emotional depth of the experience.

    • “The game has amazing vibes and atmosphere; the art style and the music are just wholesome.”
    • “Enjoyable (but chaotic) management game, truly made me feel like a business owner who was at my wits' end.”
    • “Perhaps you could add some plotlines or the ability to write personal stories to add emotional depth to the game.”
  • character development1 mentions

    Reviewers appreciate the character designs and the overall building aspect, indicating a positive reception towards the visual and aesthetic elements of character development.

    • “I really enjoy the character building and designs.”
    • “The character development is incredibly deep, allowing for meaningful choices that impact the story.”
    • “Each character feels unique and evolves in a way that makes their journey compelling.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

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Play time

11hMedian play time
16hAverage play time
6-22hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 25 analyzed playthroughs

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