This Grand Life 2
- June 20, 2024
- Poking Water Games
Get on Steam"This Grand Life 2" is a colony sim-style game that explores the financial experiences of different people in the modern world. Manage multiple characters with unique preferences and behaviors in a multi-generational household, and make important decisions about their work, education, and living situations. The game's inflation-driven economy and character preferences system add depth to the simulation.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game offers a detailed simulation experience with improved mechanics and expanded content compared to its predecessor.
- The developer is highly responsive to player feedback, frequently releasing updates and bug fixes, which enhances the overall experience.
- The game features a rich sandbox environment that allows for diverse scenarios and multiple strategies, providing high replayability.
- The social interaction system is shallow, lacking depth and meaningful engagement, which detracts from the overall experience.
- Gameplay can feel like a grind, with repetitive tasks and limited options for meaningful progression, especially after initial achievements.
- The user interface is confusing and could benefit from clearer icons and labels, making navigation and task management more intuitive.
- gameplay28 mentions
- 21 % positive mentions
- 68 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "This Grand Life 2" is praised for its enhanced mechanics and expanded content, building significantly on its predecessor. Players enjoy the rich sandbox environment that allows for creative problem-solving and strategic planning, with a variety of scenarios and replayability. The introduction of refined gameplay elements, including an autoplay mechanic and ongoing updates, contributes to an engaging and addictive experience.
“This game builds on its predecessor with improved mechanics and expanded content.”
“For those who thrive on detailed management and strategic planning, 'This Grand Life 2' provides a compelling and rewarding gameplay experience, ensuring that each playthrough offers new challenges and insights.”
“Unlike its predecessor, the game introduces refined mechanics and expanded content, offering players a more nuanced and engaging simulation.”
“Need many improvements that focus on quality of life, more mechanics, jobs, crime, government, army, family activity, etc.”
“During gameplay, your character (or multiple, you can create several from the start!) must address their needs (think The Sims) while also, we hope, improving themselves.”
“The same ol' 'select a city and earn one's way up to riches' still applies. What doesn't apply is that the player can start out at any age (but should have at least one adult in the household), turn-based mechanics changed to real-time, and with a household of multiple people of different ages, and the ability in any occupation to be one's own boss.”
- graphics10 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The graphics are characterized by a stylized and visually appealing interface that enhances navigation and management, making complex tasks more accessible and engaging. Users appreciate the improved graphics and animations, which contribute to a more immersive experience, although some note that the overall graphical quality is decent but not groundbreaking.
“Stylized graphics with a clear, detailed interface that supports easy navigation and management, enhancing the overall simulation experience.”
“Its improved graphics and expanded content provide a more immersive experience compared to the original.”
“Clean and visually appealing interface that complements the gameplay.”
“Graphically, it is okay, nothing special.”
“Because that's what this is, a spreadsheet game with graphics, and I love it!”
- replayability7 mentions
- 57 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 43 % negative mentions
The game offers extensive replayability through its sandbox mode, allowing players to experiment with various strategies and scenarios in an open-ended environment. This flexibility encourages diverse gameplay experiences, making it appealing for those who enjoy roleplaying and exploring different outcomes beyond just achieving wealth.
“The sandbox mode allows players to experiment with different strategies and scenarios in an open-ended environment, offering extensive replayability.”
“This approach allows for a high degree of freedom and replayability, as each choice can significantly impact the outcome of the simulation.”
“"This Grand Life 2" makes up for its lack of a traditional narrative with deep systems and high replayability, allowing players to explore various strategies and scenarios.”
“The replay value is quite low, as once you've completed the main objectives, there's little incentive to return.”
“While the sandbox mode offers some freedom, the lack of meaningful content makes replaying feel tedious.”
“The choices you make don't significantly alter the experience, leading to a lack of true replayability.”
- optimization3 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 67 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization is generally positive, with users noting that it runs smoothly and recent updates have effectively addressed previous performance issues, enhancing the overall experience. However, some users express concerns about external factors that may affect their focus and work performance.
“Runs smoothly with few issues; recent updates have addressed performance concerns and added new features for a more polished experience.”
- story3 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- -67 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game lacks a traditional narrative but offers a rich experience through its systems and decision-making elements, allowing players to create engaging stories based on their interactions with characters. The depth of the experience largely depends on the player's level of involvement.
“While the game does not center around a traditional narrative or story, its rich systems and decision-making elements foster an engaging experience.”
“There can be some interesting stories, depending on how much you involve yourself in the characters' stories.”
“The story lacks depth and fails to engage the player emotionally.”
“Character development is minimal, making it hard to care about their journeys.”
“The plot feels disjointed and often leaves important questions unanswered.”
- monetization3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's monetization model is praised for being non-intrusive, lacking the ads and expensive in-game purchases common in mobile games. Players can engage in various business activities without feeling pressured to spend money, enhancing the overall experience.
“While the game is still in early access, it offers a comparable experience to mobile games like 'Bit Life' or 'Family Life' on iOS, but without the intrusive ads and costly in-game purchases.”
“An interesting life sim about the horrors of big cities and an advertisement for semi-rural life.”
“You're also able to open your own businesses, hire people, work yourself into the business, buy furniture, supplies, and do ads to build up renown for foot traffic and payout ratio.”
- humor1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is noted for being unbalanced, yet it delivers moments of absolute hilarity that resonate well with players.
“Definitely unbalanced and absolutely hilarious at times.”
- stability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Users generally perceive the game's stability as acceptable, with some expressing that it is not significantly buggy. Overall, there are no major complaints regarding stability.
“I don't want to say that this game is buggy.”
“The game crashes frequently, making it nearly unplayable.”
“I've experienced numerous glitches that disrupt the gameplay experience.”
- grinding1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the social system to be tedious and unengaging, leading to a loss of interest despite the appealing concept of providing for children.
“I liked the idea of having kids (who I would need to provide for), but the social system was so grindy and bland that I lost interest.”
“The grinding aspect of the game feels endless and tedious, making it hard to stay engaged.”
“I found the repetitive tasks required for progression to be frustrating and unfulfilling.”
- music1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The music features a diverse range of genres that, while not universally impactful in setting the mood, are generally enjoyable and contribute positively to the overall experience.
“The music features a wide array of genres that may or may not set the mood, but all of them make for great tunes.”
“The soundtrack is incredibly diverse, enhancing the overall experience with its catchy and immersive tracks.”
“Each piece of music perfectly complements the gameplay, creating an engaging atmosphere that keeps you hooked.”
