Pocket City

About

Pocket City is a city-building simulation game that allows you to create your own residential, commercial, and industrial zones, while also responding to crime and disasters. The game is advertised as having no microtransactions or long wait times, with everything unlocked and rewarded through gameplay. In Pocket City, you can toggle between landscape and portrait mode, and play without any restrictions on land expansion or building placement.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

89%

Audience ScoreBased on 3,925 reviews

monetization172 positive mentions

stability29 negative mentions

Great city building game with no microtransactions or ads.
Fun and addictive gameplay that keeps players engaged.
Charming graphics and humorous interactions with citizens.

Game becomes repetitive and lacks depth after reaching higher levels.
Some users experience crashes and performance issues, especially on larger cities.
Limited building variety and options for customization.

monetization
413 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
42%
35%
23%
The monetization model of this game is highly praised, with users appreciating the absence of microtransactions and ads. Players enjoy a straightforward purchase that grants full access to the game without any additional costs or interruptions, making it a refreshing alternative to the typical mobile gaming experience filled with paywalls and in-app purchases. Overall, the game is celebrated for its commitment to providing a complete and enjoyable experience without the usual monetization pitfalls.
- “I love that it is a premium game with no microtransactions; I wouldn't play it otherwise.”
- “It's refreshing to find a decent game with a respectful monetization scheme.”
- “No ads, no microtransactions, just pure honest city building.”
- “They're usually bombarded with ads and riddled with pay-walls coupled with excruciatingly long wait times for your components to be built.”
- “Google and Apple ruined mobile and console gaming with in-app purchases.”
- “Finally, a game that is designed to give recreational value to the players instead of most mainstream games where they will make you spend endless cash and ads.”
gameplay
178 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
51%
46%
3%
The gameplay is generally praised for its simplicity, engaging mechanics, and nostalgic feel reminiscent of classic city-building games like SimCity. Players appreciate the absence of microtransactions and wait mechanics, allowing for uninterrupted play, though some express a desire for more depth and variety in late-game content. While the game offers enjoyable challenges and a smooth experience, it can become repetitive after a few hours, with some users noting minor annoyances in mechanics and occasional performance issues.
- “Great gameplay and lots of polish.”
- “The gameplay is really nice in general; if you like simulation, no ads, and a good variety, that's your game.”
- “I absolutely love this game; it reminds me of playing SimCity on the Nintendo DS, the art style is fantastic and gameplay is extremely enjoyable.”
- “Past the title screen, I experience constant ~5 second lag in all aspects of gameplay, from sprites animating to response time to touch controls.”
- “But there's almost no actual gameplay here.”
- “This game is very shallow in terms of complexity and you can do basically everything the game has to offer with 5-10 hours of gameplay.”
graphics
169 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
53%
44%
3%
The graphics of the game are generally praised for their clarity, cuteness, and artistic style, with many users appreciating the charming visuals and smooth gameplay. However, some players noted minor issues such as pixelation when zooming in, occasional graphical glitches, and a desire for more aesthetic options and higher resolution textures. Overall, the graphics are considered a strong point of the game, contributing to an enjoyable experience despite some room for improvement.
- “This game is truly amazing and a work of art, from the simply great graphics to the intriguing storyline, I enjoy this game a lot.”
- “The graphics are crisp and cute.”
- “Absolutely beautiful art style and no in-app purchases.”
- “It almost makes it unplayable even when lowering all of the graphic settings.”
- “This is really bad considering how basic the graphics are and that it is a paid app.”
- “Extremely low graphics even on ultra settings on a OnePlus 7 Pro.”
story
99 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
21%
76%
3%
The game's story and quest system are generally well-received, providing engaging missions that guide city development and enhance gameplay. However, players note that quests can become repetitive, and there are issues with quest completion due to bugs and unclear objectives. Many users express a desire for more variety in quests and additional content, especially in the late game, to maintain interest and challenge.
- “This game is truly amazing and a work of art, from the simply great graphics to the intriguing storyline. I enjoy this game a lot.”
- “It has so many interesting nuances and creative storylines.”
- “The quests make the game way better because you have a mission while building!”
- “One of my very few issues is the quests are either extremely narrow in what needs to be accomplished, or they are completely ambiguous.”
- “Completing the same quests in each main city is likely going to become tedious after a time.”
- “The game doesn't give you enough quests on improving the city.”
stability
33 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
9%
3%
88%
Overall, the game's stability is mixed, with many users reporting minor graphical glitches and occasional freezing, particularly on mobile devices. While some players find these issues manageable and enjoy the gameplay, others experience more significant problems, such as continuous crashes and unresponsive controls. Despite these stability concerns, many still consider the game enjoyable and a worthy successor to its predecessors.
- “For the most part, it's taken the best bits of the original SimCity, added some nice extras, and wrapped it up in a mostly bug-free game.”
- “At first, I did think the game wasn't worth the money, but now it is one of my all-time favorite games. If you zoom in on people, they are having conversations and doing daily things, and there are no glitches or bugs I have found in the game yet.”
- “All good, no bugs.”
- “Only problem is it freezes every 20 minutes and I have to restart it.”
- “Great game except for a little bug which I experience; the game controls freeze after I press overview and stat tabs. Sometimes I need to restart the game again, please fix it.”
- “Continuous crashes and glitches - but thankfully those problems have.”
humor
28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is widely praised for its humor, featuring witty dialogue, amusing character interactions, and charming details that enhance the gameplay experience. Players particularly enjoy the quirky personalities of the townspeople and their humorous comments, which contribute to a lighthearted atmosphere. Overall, the humor is considered a standout aspect, making the game engaging and entertaining.
- “The graphics are cute, and the script is funny and witty.”
- “Funny characters and references with challenging gameplay.”
- “Amazing sense of humor from the townspeople, best city builder game out there and it isn't bogged down with ads or microtransactions.”
replayability
27 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
22%
59%
19%
The reviews on replayability are mixed, with some players praising the sandbox mode and customization options that enhance replay value, while others criticize the game for being too easy and lacking depth, leading to a quick sense of completion. Many users express disappointment in the limited variety of content and buildings, resulting in a repetitive experience that diminishes long-term engagement. Overall, while some find significant replay value, a notable number of players feel the game falls short in this aspect.
- “There is plenty to do and the sandbox mode adds lots of replay value.”
- “A great city simulator with a lot of replayability.”
- “Plenty of replay value with different regions and you can customize the lands to how you want.”
- “However, even if those were done correctly, Pocket City has surprisingly little replay value for this type of game; essentially, once you've played through it once, you've seen everything there is to see.”
- “Had a lot of fun with this game although it was short-lived, can be 'completed' within a couple of hours and there's no real replay value as it is pretty easy.”
- “Though the replayability does not really exist and the fact that the game was made and no significant update has come since then, yeah, after one playthrough it gets boring and you're basically done, nothing more to do, and the sandbox mode isn't enough to keep somebody playing, because the cities overall all look the same.”
optimization
19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
42%
42%
16%
Overall, the game's optimization is a mixed bag; while some players report smooth performance and good graphics, others experience sluggishness, freezing, and interface issues, particularly on specific devices. There are calls for faster menu navigation and better optimization for various mobile models, indicating that while the game has potential, it requires further refinement to enhance the user experience across all platforms.
- “It's a lot like other city builders such as SimCity, except very optimized for mobile. Not very hard (which I enjoy; it's a nice relaxing time killer) and very positive in all the little things residents say.”
- “Beautifully optimized; hope to see some new content added though because I've pretty much perfected all my cities at this point.”
- “Great SimCity-esque game, really well optimized for small displays.”
- “It's cute and generally decently made, but it's in desperate need of faster menu navigation along with some interface design optimizations.”
- “This game has not been correctly optimized for my Note 9, even though the free version of this game does (which I just upgraded from).”
- “Thing that bothers me is the performance; it freezes and stutters on my Nexus 6P.”
music
19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
16%
68%
16%
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many players noting significant bugs that cause the soundtrack to cut out after a short period or play incorrectly. While some appreciate the jazzy elements and small touches in the audio design, others criticize the soundtrack as childish and lacking in variety. Overall, there is a strong desire for improvements and additional music content to enhance the gaming experience.
- “It's easy to use, it's easy to understand, the controls are very intuitive, and I like the small touches like the soundtrack, the dialog, and the quests.”
- “This goes well with a smooth jazzy soundtrack.”
- “Really happy to see a no-IAP, old school game design here; I hope the developer will take others up on the suggestions to add larger maps, make buildings rotate, music, etc. Support good devs and city builders!”
- “Very fun game but unfortunately for me, the sound and music turns off completely after 5 to 10 minutes, having to close the app and reopen it again, repeating if you play longer.”
- “But I found a problem with the music in the game; it played for only a short time when I enter the game or reload the city, and then it has no music after that.”
- “Lacks a bit of that SimCity charm, and music is practically nonexistent.”
grinding
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
87%
Players generally find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and repetitive, particularly as they progress and face challenges like leveling up and managing resources. While some enjoy the initial gameplay, many feel that it becomes overly simplistic and lacks challenge after the early stages, leading to a sense of anticlimax. The frequent need to repeat tasks and manage disasters contributes to a feeling of monotony, despite some players appreciating the game as a casual distraction.
- “It's not too tedious, and it's very satisfying.”
- “It's a great time waster and mind distraction, and it's not grindy; it's not asking for money... ever within the game.”
- “XP grinding essentially becomes spamming parties and disasters until you hit the level you want.”
- “It's an enjoyable game but very tedious and limited in gameplay.”
- “Fun game, but once you finish the first part, it becomes super simple with no challenge left, just level grinding.”
emotional
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game is characterized by its wholesome and lighthearted nature, providing players with a fun and enjoyable experience that is both humorous and family-friendly. Overall, it evokes positive feelings and a sense of nostalgia, making it a delightful pastime.