When it comes to taste in games mine tend to be very diverse. I’m also that weird person who likes 
metagames. You know like playing a game about making games. If you happen to be in the same pixelized boat as me then prepare to be recommended a great game! Game Dev Tycoon is an indie game created by Greenhart Games. Its not a new game since its debut was 2012 but it’s still a very good game. Many of you all in the community are developers, some dabble while others pursue it as a career. For both sides of that spectrum there is fun to be had in this game.
Now this game does go into some crazy meta levels people. I’m talking plays off of all the big companies, there systems, and even their choices. This thing is kind of on it’s A game when it comes to throwing things like that at you. And its not above poking fun at some of the companies either. The game spans the life, so far, of what we consider video games. You start your company right at the start of it and try to ride it out to be one of the big hitters come the end of the game. Like in life sometimes you fail horribly and become so in debt it hurts, other times you manage to squeak by. However there is that occasionally play through where you just happen to make the right decisions and the lines of code align to give you an incredible fake game company. Don’t you wish life were that easy sometimes?
Graphics aren’t really up there with this game but its art style is kind of funky enough to fit with what the creators were going for. The stylized look helps you really get in the mood as you navigate what systems to license and what kind of games to make. I have to admit I played with the sound off most of the time just because if it’s not critical to the game I tend to avoid the in game music. Mostly because if it’s not critical it tends to be a short snip looped forever and I like to play long hauls of those kind of games. No sense driving myself insane while doing it. As such I can’t really speak on the sound effects or the game music.
BUT I can tell you I had alot of fun playing it and trying to spot all of the references and digs at companies. I even kept playing it after the official “end” of the game. Which really is just the game tallying up where you are and giving you a ranking. You can still keep playing after that to continue your company it just won’t count towards your rank. Boy did I continue with it though, I wanted to see how futuristic I could get my company. I encourage you all to play it well past the official ending of the game to find out for yourself.
In the end I give this game a solid 4 out of 5. Its a good game with lots of video game references for all those nerds out there. Plus you get the awesome bonus of seeing how running a video game company would feel like without the risk of massive amounts of personal debt. Who could argue with that?
Taking on the pixels one by one
~Kayla