I live and breathe Rollercoaster Tycoon. I have that itch to install and play the original Rollercoaster at least once a year. Luckily it’s available online, and I double-dibbed quite a bit on the original Rollercoaster games (one and two). So whenever I get the opportunity to play a new addition to the theme park simulator genre, I hop on it like it’s the Swinging Ship 1 from Rollercoaster Tycoon. This is Park Beyond – so what’s new in this preview copy? Let’s dive in!
Now, you might wonder, what is new? Yes, Lander already played a bit of Park Beyond while at Gamescom 2022. You can read his impressions right here.
Park Beyond
To quote Lander a bit more:
Theme Parks are a place filled with magic. From thrilling rides to gorgeous decor, when done right, a theme park can certainly leave a lasting impression. And yet, they all are a bit identical, offering variations on the same concept. In different parks, you’ll often find similar types of rides, most of the time with different decorations of course, but the ride itself often feels familiar. In Park Beyond they want to go beyond that (roll credits). In this game, you’re hired as a new visionary, someone who dares to think outside of the box and create some of the most impressive rides of your life. Some might even say impossible rides. Blasting from one canon to the other, hovering in the air, being slapped around by a real yeti… Those are impossible things for theme parks but nothing is impossible in Park Beyond. They even named a mechanic after it!
By impossifying normal rides, you turn a pedestrian experience into something right out of the extraordinary. The rides you’re creating here aren’t that straightforward, the game pushes you to think outside of the box and even in the short introduction level I played, I managed to create a rather spectacular rollercoaster in the end.
New Additions
I tested the game on my brand-new Steam Deck to push it to its creative limits. So no mouse and keyboard, but plain old controller magic (Bandai Namco recommends playing the game with an external controller). Since the game is also coming to the current generation of consoles (PS5 and Xbox Series X/S), the final product will support full controller support. The developers assured us that creating your park will be as easy with the controller as it is with a mouse and keyboard. And boy, they didn’t lie. It was very fluid and practical to play my way through the two missions I could play in the build I’m writing this preview about.
The first level is an introduction to your character and the creative process of building the Rollercoaster of your dreams. I needed to follow a golden paper plane by making some tracks to follow it throughout the park. Using the control sticks and trigger buttons on my Steam Deck, I created a crazy rollercoaster coursing through my little city. From taking sharp curves to gaining height and dropping down low, I had my tracks under control in no time. It started as a relatively simple rollercoaster, but the more I created, the crazier it all got. In Rollercoaster Tycoon 1, I used to create a backward looping rollercoaster, in which the train got a bit of airtime before crashing back to the tracks. Well, Park Beyond embraced the same idea and gave us ramps and cannons – since, well, why not. Before I knew it, I built a ramp to propel my coaster over some helipads into the fountain and through the mountains. And like our good friend Phil states, it’s better to ask for forgiveness than permission. This might be the reason the company almost went bottom up…
Second Story Mission
In the second level, I got to manage an actual theme park in the mountains of Park Beyond’s country. During a pitch meeting, I picked themes, demographics, and more. I ended up with a Candy Ironic Hipster paradise, in which adults could sip coffee and ride candy teacups, ironically. The full version will have more options, so go nuts – keep in mind that there is a lot of competition, and your park needs to stand out! Follow the different instructions and objectives to get acquainted with all the mechanics that will make your park a success, from placing the suitable rides and buildings to cater to your target demographic and their basic needs to managing your employees, how to hire, and assigning tasks, and even playing with pricing, by adjusting the price of consumables in your parks’ shops.
I love the additions like heatmaps, which show the most accurate areas for toilets, janitors, and profit. The heatmap options are extensive and help with the precise placement of certain facilities and rides. On the other hand, we have hooks – which can be used while designing coasters. Since my theme park catered to adults, I built a rollercoaster that only went ‘forward’ and traversed over 2 kilometers so that it could become a scenic route. Since the park is located in the mountains, I dropped my coaster through a hill, through an aqueduct and gave them a ride through the clouds. The Rollercoaster became thrilling (reaching speeds towards 100km/h) and scenic, spanning a total of 2,5 kilometers of fun and nature, which could be enjoyed ironically. With a cup of gold brew, yes, you read that right – gold. Move over pumpkin spice.
Sandbox
I also spent a bit of time with the Sandbox mode, which is usually my favorite part of the game once I get the hang of it. It gives you a complete command of park creation and its components, introducing the park rating, amazement level, and our unique impossiflcation feature. Since I only completed two parts of the story mode, Sandbox will test your newly acquired management skills. With no more objectives to follow, you’ll have the freedom to run your park and all the challenges that come with it. You’ll be able to place food and drinks shops, as well as other elements like benches and trash bins, for the well-being of your visitors. Eight flat rides will be available to place. When reaching a specific park rating, some must be unlocked through the research tab.
Sandbox will also open a new world of customization with a look at the first stages of Modular building. You can purchase the essential working elements of shops and access a whole library of assets from themes “Candyville” and “Park Beyond” to create your buildings and decorate them entirely to your taste. This was highly satisfying and filled one of those holes Rollercoaster Tycoon never filled. But since the Sandbox mode drops so many mechanics on you, it’s pretty hard to figure out how everything works. I recommend you play through the story before diving into Sandbox Mode once this game drops its retail version. It has so many aspects, tweaks, and mechanics, and you’ll cut yourself short if you don’t fully master the basics of them.
Conclusion
This preview fueled my love for theme park building, and I’m genuinely convinced Park Beyond is the next big thing for the genre. It’s easy to start creating your theme park, but the options will force you to think outside the box and create some of the craziest rides. I can’t wait to dive deeper into the story mode and see what I can cook up with Phil to make the board drop their jaw even further.
