Become El Presidente and create your own little tropical paradise, now in VR! Tropico returns to offer a nostalgic VR experience while adding some elements of the more modern Tropico games to keep things entertaining. I’ve been building my city for a couple of hours now so it’s time to form a conclusion. Is this VR experience any good? Let’s jump in!
It’s Tropico
Don’t be alarmed by the VR element of the game, Tropico VR is still Tropico like we all love it. It puts you in the role of a charismatic leader on a fictional tropical island. As El Presidente, you have the power to design and manage almost all aspects of the tropical lifestyle, this time, that power lies in your virtual hands, making it the most immersive Tropico experience to date. Managing everything from infrastructure to even tourism is extremely fun in VR and with over 40 different missions, this will have you hooked to your headset for a couple of hours. It’s one of those rare games that made me want to play ‘just one more’, even though I rarely use my Meta Quest 3 for prolonged gaming sessions. The comfort and gameplay flow of Tropico VR works like a charm and in just a couple of minutes, I was managing my city just how I liked it, a pretty impressive achievement for a VR experience!
As immersive as they come
Since Tropico VR is a proper VR game and not just a simple port with some added VR elements, it plays as intuitive and immersive as it should. I tested it on the Meta Quest 3 and it all came very naturally. From reshaping the landscapes to building the needed infrastructure to even shaking some hands, I really was El Presidente and it’s the first time I felt so connected to the city I was created. It’s certainly a step up compared to other city builders on the platforms, Tropico VR is the real deal and could easily become one of those benchmark VR games in its genre. The city building and simulation are very smooth and in no time, you’re creating the city of your presidential dreams. The interface is kept tight and minimal so you won’t lose track of what you’re doing, it’s all impressively altered for the VR experience and I can only applaud the team for delivering such an immersive experience.
That being said, it’s not a perfect game and since it’s a headset-only game, you quickly spot the quality of the graphics, which isn’t always that great. If you’re building close to your face, you won’t struggle with the graphics and enjoy the little details but when you try to look in the distance, you’ll notice the lack of quality, which can take you out of the immersion of course. It’s a bit of a shame the game isn’t on par with other headset-only games graphic-wise but it certainly makes up with its addictive gameplay loop.
Conclusion
Tropico VR is a pretty impressive title on the Meta Quest and offers a tight and immersive gameplay loop that fans of the Tropico franchise will certainly appreciate. It’s one of the better city builders on the VR market but could use some extra polish and details to make it shine bright. That being said, I had a lot of fun playing it and I’m pretty sure you will too!
