Game Dev Tycoon

 PC
User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 1191 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 835 out of 1191
  2. Mixed: 278 out of 1191
  3. Negative: 78 out of 1191

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  1. TheDXDan
    Feb 25, 2015
    8
    It's a Fun game!
    You Play through video game history,make consoles,projects,and MORE! I LOVE THIS GAME!

    Its also very cheap and also has Modding support so you can add MORE STUFF TO THE GAME!

    Its a good Game Altogether
  2. Referee
    Jan 24, 2015
    10
    One of the best games, I think. It is original and creative. It interesting and unpredictable. At last, she is beautiful. I play every day. Lightens mood.
  3. gonzalo123
    Jan 19, 2015
    3
    Well, this game is so funny, but the fun disappears when you see that you are in bankrupt. The game is a mediocre simulation of developing games, and isn't realistic or fun. Difficult to recommend.
  4. DDilettante
    Jan 17, 2015
    7
    I need to open by admitting the truth; I am not, and never was, good at management/tycoon type games. All those needs, requirements, wants... why can't everyone and everything work well together, without my constant vigilance? But I suppose, that's not the point, or the game wouldn't be challenging!

    This game starts you in your humble basement, at the beginning of the video gaming era.    I need to open by admitting the truth; I am not, and never was, good at management/tycoon type games. All those needs, requirements, wants... why can't everyone and everything work well together, without my constant vigilance? But I suppose, that's not the point, or the game wouldn't be challenging!

    This game starts you in your humble basement, at the beginning of the video gaming era. You work with what you have, making small games with minimal hardware, hearing the announcements roll on by; consoles are slowly released, murmurings within the industry heard, trends are identified.

    You pour your efforts into parts of the games you feel are going to give the best reviews, and thus generate the most revenue. Want to make a Medieval-Action game? Sure. Invest more time in the gameplay, but you're going to have to cut back in other areas, perhaps dialogue.

    Eventually, you'll make enough to move out into your own office. You can hire a team, each with different stats. You can train them (and yourself) up as you release more hopeful winners, while keeping up with the technology curve. With enough time and money, you can even make your own consoles, and have an R&D department.

    Because of my ineptitude towards tycoon games, I initially felt underwhelmed. The Farmville-esque graphics deterred me, and I kept needing bailouts from the bank.

    But then I hit my first winner. An overall 9.5 rating for a particular game. My bank account swelled. I suddenly knew what I was doing. I was hooked, trying to get that perfect 10 game (I never did, sadly). Watching those thought bubbles rise from your workers, seeing your game get more and more tech-design points was addictive. Wanting to try all the combinations of games. Trying out all the witty Pun-related game titles.

    Add all of the mods currently available on steam, and this could warrant several playthroughs (the story goes through 35 years of the gaming industry).

    Game Dev Tycoon is great if you like this sort of thing, and even if you don't normally go for these, it's still worth a try. It got me.    … Expand
  5. PPartisan
    Dec 29, 2014
    2
    GDT gives me very little reason to keep playing. The visuals are incredibly bland, the few animations and pop-ups that do exist lack context or character, in game feedback is sparse, and the underlying logic of the game appears flawed. In a word, it's unsatisfying. In another, it's boring. So, two hours after dropping £2.50 on it in the Steam sale, I'm done for good.

    From what I could    GDT gives me very little reason to keep playing. The visuals are incredibly bland, the few animations and pop-ups that do exist lack context or character, in game feedback is sparse, and the underlying logic of the game appears flawed. In a word, it's unsatisfying. In another, it's boring. So, two hours after dropping £2.50 on it in the Steam sale, I'm done for good.

    From what I could garner about the underlying mechanics of the game, success is based upon the correct combination of topic, platform, audience, genre, and then a variety of in game variables such as choosing to focus on dialogue, level design etc. The problem is that instead of having much at all to do about games or business management, GDT is all about making a series of guesses about correct combinations. It isn't about making your own games at all, or running your own start-up, but instead about replicating game history, as the only guiding principle a player really has for success is their own knowledge of what games were historically successful on what console at what times and for what reason. It's hour after hour of tapping boxes, getting one-liner reviews, a good or a bad score, then rinsing and repeating. The only "reward" for the player is the prospect of a good review and an occasional change of scenery. The pace of the game is very fast as well which, whilst irritating in some ways as it encourages button spam, serves to mask the one-dimensional game mechanics.

    Certain bizarre occurrences include harsh penalties for making game "sequels," or specialising in a particular genre, obligatory wage hikes for staff, no system for managing overheads and entering both the gaming and management industry completely blind! Everything is trial and error. Instead of having an option to research the status of the gaming industry at a given time to plan a game's structure and release date, I just have to take a guess and cross my fingers. Even when training staff, I don't know what it is I'm actually training them in (!) until their training is complete. If I knew as little as my avatar does, with zero knowledge of game or management, there's no way I'd create a start-up in my garage, yet I feel as if this is what I'm supposed to believe.

    A game of this sort could work very well, but it needs a serious injection of personality. As it is, I honestly wouldn't even play it for free.    … Expand
  6. TheReviewPeng
    Dec 21, 2014
    10
    This game is brilliant. It requires basic mathematical knowledge and uses some algorithms. Eventually making multi platform and multi genre games gets difficult but you can work out how to successfully make games using them. I have around 21 hours playtime on Year 131 with 3,864Million cash. It is very very fun. But now I've done and researched everything and make over 100 games I canThis game is brilliant. It requires basic mathematical knowledge and uses some algorithms. Eventually making multi platform and multi genre games gets difficult but you can work out how to successfully make games using them. I have around 21 hours playtime on Year 131 with 3,864Million cash. It is very very fun. But now I've done and researched everything and make over 100 games I can safely say I got my money's worth :D Recommend 10/10 + Fun easter eggs and Storyline.… Expand
  7. Enerla
    Dec 15, 2014
    2
    Tycoon without Tycoon experience...
    Simulation genre given without actual simulation...
    Speaks about history without mentioning the most important parts (early experiments, arcade machines, famous crashes and booms)... Speaks about the important systems without mentioning Atari, Magnavox, and several other early / important platforms. Speaks about a story without meaningful events and    Tycoon without Tycoon experience...
    Simulation genre given without actual simulation...
    Speaks about history without mentioning the most important parts (early experiments, arcade machines, famous crashes and booms)...
    Speaks about the important systems without mentioning Atari, Magnavox, and several other early / important platforms.
    Speaks about a story without meaningful events and and turning points...

    Boring and repetitive gameplay with little charm from design, characters or technology...    … Expand
  8. Negativs
    Oct 24, 2014
    6
    At least it's Patrick's and Dan's first game,but it is missing some point. Like:
    1.They could at least follow the gaming story.
    2.Critic reviews are pointless.
    3.Minimum modding.

    If developers will add patch,where are 1 and 2 items,than this game would be better,at least.
  9. RealmCopier
    Oct 17, 2014
    10
    My favorite game of all time. If you're willing to wait, you can accomplish truly great things all within a video game. Sometimes I forget I'm playing a game and not managing an actual game development company that's how in depth it is. For an indie game, it's absolutely fantastic.
  10. CrazySlaya
    Sep 26, 2014
    6
    It is a above average game. It is a time waster. It is fun but gets boring after a bit. You can get to the highest stage and make MMO's over and over again. You get more money and just repeat. That's the part where it get boring. The only way it is surviving for me is the mods. It still is alright with mods and it brings up something new. If you don't have anything good to play or buy thisIt is a above average game. It is a time waster. It is fun but gets boring after a bit. You can get to the highest stage and make MMO's over and over again. You get more money and just repeat. That's the part where it get boring. The only way it is surviving for me is the mods. It still is alright with mods and it brings up something new. If you don't have anything good to play or buy this is the game.… Expand
  11. Triiz
    Sep 12, 2014
    6
    First off this game is quite fun. I started it one afternoon thinking that I would just give it a shot 45 minutes. In the end I got hooked till the end of the game (around 6 hours of gameplay). What is interesting here is that the longer you play the more flaws you encounter. As much as the beginning is fun and refreshing, as much is the end boring and repetitive and you just can't waitFirst off this game is quite fun. I started it one afternoon thinking that I would just give it a shot 45 minutes. In the end I got hooked till the end of the game (around 6 hours of gameplay). What is interesting here is that the longer you play the more flaws you encounter. As much as the beginning is fun and refreshing, as much is the end boring and repetitive and you just can't wait for your studio to go crashing down or hit the "official end".

    The good points:
    - Graphics are nice
    - The concept is very interesting and the beginning is very exciting.

    The bad points:
    - Gameplay: this is where the game can vastly improve. It's not all bad, the base of it are, I think, good. At the beginning it is pretty cool to create your first few games. It is around the middle that it starts getting a bit tedious. What happens is that you tend to simply create sequels to your successful games. Another annoying part is researching genre (pirate, medieval, warfare...). The game only let's you do research on a limited list that grows when you unlock one. The issue is that if you have an idea in mind it takes ages to reach what you want. Surely something better could be done here.
    - Lack of depth: Overall it is the lack of depth of the this game that makes it fail. For instance, when creating an MMO you cannot decide any thing (free to play VS pay monthly). Creating an expansion simply adds users to the game, which cannot unsuscribe to it as the number just goes up. However, the maintenance cost of the game only rise up, even if your user base doesn't increase. Which, to me, makes no sense. World of Warcraft would have failed by now if that was the case.

    Overall, this is a fun game, I was tempted to give it 5 but if you take it as a "mini" management game and kind of ignore the lack of depth, it is fun to play. It probably could improve some things fairly easily (MMO creation and management, possibility to develop expansion and DLC to any games...).    … Expand
  12. vorgbardo
    Sep 10, 2014
    7
    The good: initially very fun; nice clean graphics; great music; offers an entertaining insight into the gaming industry.

    The bad: UI could be improved in parts (for example, it is be imperative to find your old games, but currently there is no way to filter them, so browsing gets very tedious when your stack of releases grows); this game loans so many elements directly from Game Dev    The good: initially very fun; nice clean graphics; great music; offers an entertaining insight into the gaming industry.

    The bad: UI could be improved in parts (for example, it is be imperative to find your old games, but currently there is no way to filter them, so browsing gets very tedious when your stack of releases grows); this game loans so many elements directly from Game Dev Story that it could be called a blatant rip-off.

    The worst: the success of the games you create is calculated based on very complex formula, and it has little or no random element. Also, this formula is always the same in every game you play. This is a personal preference, but to me this killed much of the enjoyment of this game: the way to success is always the same, tediously follow the pre-set mechanism that the creators of the game have set for creating the best selling products. If you stray from this and experiment, you will be invariably punished with lower scores for your games. Where's the fun in that?    … Expand
  13. fuzioN
    Sep 8, 2014
    9
    I can't remember the last time I started to play a game and got so addicted that i went on for 12-14 hours non stop. It's pretty hard in the beginning, gets a lot easier when you get the hang of it. Not giving a 10/10 only because i wish it were longer: longevity is a big issue here. Great game, thanks for the fun Greenheart!
  14. samuelmason900
    Sep 4, 2014
    9
    worth playing game for the amount of money i'm spending for this game. amazingly crafted brilliant game you found in this decade or even century.every gamer must know what is it being game development
  15. LedMetallica
    Aug 30, 2014
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. ONLY GERMAN:
    Mit Game Dev Tycoon erlebt man ein neues Spielerlebniss welches unheimlich Packend ist. Man fängt klein an und will mehr machen, besser werden, Träume verwirklichen und die aberwitzigsten Kommentare kommen von den Entwicklern hinzu.
    Grafik ist sehr schlich gehalten, die Konsolen Namen sind sehr interessant ausgewählt, der Sound ist auch sehr schlicht aber das Gameplay ist unbeschreiblich.
    Das Wichtigste zu diesem Spiel ist, dass man ja einen kühlen Kopf behält und stets einen überblick hat un Herr über die Lage ist.    … Expand
  16. Erazor
    Aug 23, 2014
    0
    I thought this was a remake of a Game Dev Story by Kiarosoft, it's actually a completely mindless unoriginal copycat POS I have ever seen. It's one thing to go for the same genre and subject, but another to also steal every single idea. I sincerely hope you guys paid some licensing fee otherwise I hope you get sued and go bankrupt. 0/10, uninspired, unoriginal, disappointing, meh,I thought this was a remake of a Game Dev Story by Kiarosoft, it's actually a completely mindless unoriginal copycat POS I have ever seen. It's one thing to go for the same genre and subject, but another to also steal every single idea. I sincerely hope you guys paid some licensing fee otherwise I hope you get sued and go bankrupt. 0/10, uninspired, unoriginal, disappointing, meh, borderline thieving.… Expand
  17. Cam_53
    Aug 16, 2014
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. In Game Dev Tycoon the opportunity to create your own games with different programs and weird combos you would never even consider.The amount of detail and effort really impressed me and in all made a great gaming experience especially for the current £3.50 cost on steam makes it a great buy and in my mind a brilliant well made game.… Expand
  18. Vunguard
    Aug 15, 2014
    7
    This is a neat little game, and every part of me wants to like it, because there are a lot of things that are just not right about it. So first the good, it does a good job of pacing the game development process and gives all kinds of possibilities for you to work with. It has a nice atmosphere and is nicely in-depth while still being fairly accessible. The general interface is simple,This is a neat little game, and every part of me wants to like it, because there are a lot of things that are just not right about it. So first the good, it does a good job of pacing the game development process and gives all kinds of possibilities for you to work with. It has a nice atmosphere and is nicely in-depth while still being fairly accessible. The general interface is simple, but it leans more towards the streamlined side of the spectrum than on anything severely dumbed down. The technological development process if nice and it's kind of interesting to see how the consoles develop, even if I tend to just ride the PC train until the end destination.

    There is some weird stuff about inaccuracies, such as how the publishers are only one-time deals (which isn't how it works AT ALL, in fact most companies get trapped), but I'm willing to let that one slide since that wouldn't be fun. The rating system makes me chuckle (basically, to determine how good the game is, you get four magazine scores which are #/10) because every time I do REALLY well I just laugh because there's always ONE magazine that gives me a lower score. My favorite was one where I had three tens and then one random seven. Also, the size of your company's staff is... not huge. In fact it's downright dinky. So for every person I like to think there's closer to five or ten.

    Now, all this said... there is a bit of a problem. And unfortunately it's a core mechanic. When making a game, you have sliders for each attribute of the game at three different stages, and you shift the attributes according to the type of game you're making. It's very important you get this right, otherwise you could accidentally make a horrible game. Well... in order to do this, it's kind of nice to have percentages or something else quantifiable. Shame this game doesn't do that. On top of that, that particular part is very poorly tutorialized, in fact while it gives you information about the priorities, it doesn't teach you how to translate them into your sliders. RPG's in particular can be catastrophic because translating everything is nightmare inducing. Mods help this, but the game doesn't get any points for that in my book.

    It's a good game at heart, but it has some little things in desperate need of help. this seems like a good group of devs, and their heart is in the right place. I'm glad a supported this game, and I think that it deserves to be successful, I just hope they patch what needs fixing.    … Expand
  19. SergeantSilly
    Aug 14, 2014
    2
    I would love to enjoy this game and play it in full but it has one of the most frustrating mechanics in any video game. The game calculates the score that your game receives based on two main things, how close you get to the best technology to design ratio and by comparing it to your last released game. The giant flaw in this system is that the best method of playing is to make games notI would love to enjoy this game and play it in full but it has one of the most frustrating mechanics in any video game. The game calculates the score that your game receives based on two main things, how close you get to the best technology to design ratio and by comparing it to your last released game. The giant flaw in this system is that the best method of playing is to make games not as good as they could be in order to allow you to make your next game get a higher score easier. This is one of the most frustrating systems I have ever seen in a game. The rest of the elements of this game are great and I would love it but this one mechanic makes the game unbearably annoying, punishing me for doing well.… Expand
  20. Zsolt77
    Jul 27, 2014
    10
    I really enjoyed building up a game studio from a Garage. The game conveyed a few messages for me:
    -the best investment is to train yourself
    -you yourself never complain or go to vacation -to make the best games you need the best people -the greatest danger in the life of such a company is getting high fix costs when it goes well once and then failing to deliver later It was like a    I really enjoyed building up a game studio from a Garage. The game conveyed a few messages for me:
    -the best investment is to train yourself
    -you yourself never complain or go to vacation
    -to make the best games you need the best people
    -the greatest danger in the life of such a company is getting high fix costs when it goes well once and then failing to deliver later
    It was like a learning game and I couldn't stop till 4am :)    … Expand
  21. PaKr
    Jul 22, 2014
    9
    Excellent game. Combines both simplicity and complicity :) It's easy to play, but not so easy to win. And it's a game about making games. I will not rest until create PERFECT GAME...
  22. bacisnipertop62
    Jul 19, 2014
    7
    Un petit jeu vraiment sympathique pour passer le temps . Avec un système de score vraiment bien pensé ou tout ce que l'on a fait est bien calculer . En plus la possibilité de vraiment personnalisé les jeux qu'on sort est vraiment pas mal .
  23. Rixhack
    Jul 13, 2014
    9
    It's a fun, retro style game which can make you get angry at your game failing - or be super happy and jump around the room screaming (True Story :P). But however, once you finish the game it's get's boring. Once you finish the games you don't unlock any new stuff so it gets old quickly. For me, I finished this game in one night. It's a fun experience for a couple of days, but it getsIt's a fun, retro style game which can make you get angry at your game failing - or be super happy and jump around the room screaming (True Story :P). But however, once you finish the game it's get's boring. Once you finish the games you don't unlock any new stuff so it gets old quickly. For me, I finished this game in one night. It's a fun experience for a couple of days, but it gets boring after you finish.… Expand
  24. Alkor
    Jul 5, 2014
    6
    A fun little sim game. Quite addictive, pretty well balanced for such a kind of game.
    Almost entirely text based, the graphics are a bit dull and the replayability is almost non existent tho...
  25. Enforcer122
    Jul 4, 2014
    8
    Really fun game. Easy to pick up, hard to master. There is so much room for growth and potential, more in-depth interviews and game making system for example. But it's an enjoyable, addictive game that will keep you entertained for weeks.
  26. lazatoy
    Jun 30, 2014
    8
    So, I reviewed this game when I still hadn't gotten the new updates that I'd wanted.
    Looking at it now with my steam key in hand, I can see where everyone went with this.
    The reason why I rated it slightly lower though, is not because of the update or patch or so forth, but rather some of the mods. Now, to be honest, I like the mods, even though theres not to many of them. But when    So, I reviewed this game when I still hadn't gotten the new updates that I'd wanted.
    Looking at it now with my steam key in hand, I can see where everyone went with this.

    The reason why I rated it slightly lower though, is not because of the update or patch or so forth, but rather some of the mods.
    Now, to be honest, I like the mods, even though theres not to many of them.
    But when you can click a button that will give you hours of FUN for free, whats the point?
    The update was awesome, though it took some of the charm off that would make me
    stay on for hours on end, TRYING to reach the end without reaching for the "cheatmenu" to
    give me billions of dollars and a team of highly trained cheaters (*ahem*) I mean employees FOR FREE.
    It is still a great game, but unless you want to bored, stay away from the cheat mods.    … Expand
  27. joggy
    Jun 25, 2014
    8
    Bought on summer sale for 3 euros, and I'm delighted with it. This is true casual game for me, it's easy to learn and very hard to master. Hours of fun. 8 overall, and that is top score which I can give to indie game
  28. demFailz
    Jun 22, 2014
    7
    Game Dev Tycoon is a fun, but challenging game. Greenheart Game's first game is a good start for the company. It's simple, but not too simple. It's hard, but not too hard. While there are better games than it, this game offers good enjoyment for a small price.
  29. mrlordloganman
    Jun 13, 2014
    10
    This was an amazing game I was really surprised since it was an indie game you need to use logic and reasoning. It is really fun and I played over 20 hours and still love it!
  30. ericcoutinho
    Jun 12, 2014
    7
    You are a game developer, working on your garage in the early years of gaming, developing from the old Commodore 64 to Ouya or XBox One. In the next 30-40 years you will grow side by side with the gaming industry, researching technology, design, marketing, and trying to make history.

    Game Dev Tycoon is an addictive casual game, and although not so deep in the simulation aspect, provides    You are a game developer, working on your garage in the early years of gaming, developing from the old Commodore 64 to Ouya or XBox One. In the next 30-40 years you will grow side by side with the gaming industry, researching technology, design, marketing, and trying to make history.

    Game Dev Tycoon is an addictive casual game, and although not so deep in the simulation aspect, provides a wide range of resources to manage, and to master this management you'll have to play it more than once, since the tips about how the market reacts to combinations of topic/genre/platform and time spent on each level of developing, still unlocked to the next playthrough.

    What kind of game the market wants now? Which technology is better to use? May i spent more time on level design or artificial intelligence? May i have to create a new engine or research new topics? It's better to make it alone or it's time to move on to another work space and hire employees? Shall i spent more time creating games or studying? How about to have a boot at this year convention? Self-publishing or using a publisher? May i need to sue pirates, give away old engines or let the fans to make related games? That's some of the questions you'll face while playing.

    About the flaws, the game have some, mostly because it needed more work to put together all this resources without compromising the gameplay. But facing it like a casual, cheap game, and learning how the game works, these flaws doesn't matter that much at the point of being big problems.    … Expand
  31. Sarcastiman
    May 31, 2014
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This game shows really much potential into becoming a good game, they have to patch the game though. Some things that annoyed me while playing this was the lack of immersive actions, some interactions with the office itself would be nice. There were so limited options for your office itself and the little events that came throughout your 'carreer' were also very limited. But it the atmosphere of the game itself was surprisingly good. When I played it, it didn't feel very repetitive at all. The game is worth it's buy and to try out, but it isn't a game to keep playing for days. A little bit more options could do the game wonders.… Expand
  32. tilde
    May 30, 2014
    9
    This game is an addicting experience, lots of fun and gives you enough freedom to experiment with different game genres. It honestly makes you feel like you''re a real game developer growing up with the developments of the gaming industry.
    Developing your own game engine is fun too, because it means that you can make some serious money!
  33. Mateus_Oliveira
    May 29, 2014
    10
    Wow,this game is awesome,have some bugs but is ok,can't wait for a sequel,this game deserves a better marketing,a game that is very well capable of vitiating,very careful for it not to happen
  34. SammichTime
    May 27, 2014
    10
    Great game definitely worth your time and money. Pls tell your friends about this game they will play for at least five hours overall even if they don't like it as much
  35. Skitte
    May 15, 2014
    9
    It's so unique, classy, nice, cozy and addictive. I played so many hours and I haven't finished it yet. My single concern is sometimes the scoring system and the gap of Graphics Option of the game.
  36. cashgrab
    Apr 27, 2014
    9
    A pretty fun and addictive game. The game starts with a rundown on the history of video games during the in-game first 30 years, which takes a bit more than an hour. If you manage to not go bankrupt until then, you will get to develop many other games and even your own hardware/research lab/MMO games, which may take several hours to achieve, considering its part of the endgame. I got thisA pretty fun and addictive game. The game starts with a rundown on the history of video games during the in-game first 30 years, which takes a bit more than an hour. If you manage to not go bankrupt until then, you will get to develop many other games and even your own hardware/research lab/MMO games, which may take several hours to achieve, considering its part of the endgame. I got this game for about $5 on sale during one of steam promotions and honestly it's a steal. I have 15 hours so far and I'm damn sure theres at the very least another 15 ahead of me.… Expand
  37. gietek
    Apr 20, 2014
    10
    When this game started, it was probably not really worth the price. Since then, the developers added a LOT of new features, four additional consoles, interface options and others. They really listen and respect their fans and deserve 10/10. One playthrough (1 company) took me 9 hours. The game really draws you in.
  38. GrantedTalkpow
    Apr 3, 2014
    10
    Only two words to say: Fantastic Game!
    The Graphics are nice, Sounds are nice, Gameplay is nice. One of my favorites! Create own Game Engines, Own Games... Develop, earn money, research, develop new game!
  39. snivymario
    Mar 8, 2014
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. As soon as I started playing I got hooked inside the game. Awesome. I just feel like I'm really developing games. It's just too bad that after I get in the second office I go down on money and then go bankrupt.

    I had just research 3D graphics and right after I got down on money. Not even the time to make a new engine. I still like it through.

    The best stuff (Pros):
    -Many choices for developing the games
    -Random reviews for a harder challenge
    -Boosts to improve scores
    The worst stuff (Cons):
    -Very hard to get very good reviews
    -Almost like Game Dev Story
    My final conclusion:
    I really think that it is a really good game, and, sorry for spoilers!    … Expand
  40. DarkSoul47
    Mar 7, 2014
    6
    It's a real fun in first 5-6 hours. But then, it becomes a repetitive game unfortunately. If you're into history of gaming industry, you will enjoy seeing new technologies such as NES, PSOne, Nintendo consoles. You will develop your dream games and you will try to combine new genres to make fans happy. But, when you reach to the end, there's nothing lef to do. You can complete achievementsIt's a real fun in first 5-6 hours. But then, it becomes a repetitive game unfortunately. If you're into history of gaming industry, you will enjoy seeing new technologies such as NES, PSOne, Nintendo consoles. You will develop your dream games and you will try to combine new genres to make fans happy. But, when you reach to the end, there's nothing lef to do. You can complete achievements and then uninstall the game. So buy it if it's on huge sale, it deserves $5-6 but, i wouldn't pay more than this for a game, which has maximum 5-6 hours of lifespan.… Expand
  41. MrRain
    Feb 26, 2014
    8
    The game is great. Yes it's a clone of Game Dev Story but to say it doesn't add anything new is rather arrogant.
    The game might not go deep into the developing stages but at least in this game you can make bad games. In GDS, you can take the most odd of combinations but as long as there's a lot of work behind it, the game still sells.
    It's a little harder than casual but not overly hard.    The game is great. Yes it's a clone of Game Dev Story but to say it doesn't add anything new is rather arrogant.
    The game might not go deep into the developing stages but at least in this game you can make bad games. In GDS, you can take the most odd of combinations but as long as there's a lot of work behind it, the game still sells.
    It's a little harder than casual but not overly hard. It took me about 4 restarts to finally figure out a few formulas to survive. Once you know what they're looking for, it's not too hard to stay alive and expand.
    The game is rather limited but instead of looking at it as a complete game, I think it's better if you look at it as a game built by people who have potential.
    The game is fun and can be very challenging, but I guess no one likes a challenge anymore.    … Expand
  42. PHJ
    Feb 24, 2014
    9
    What a pretty nice indie game dev simulator! The game of making games is addictive, it follows perfectly the videogame industry, so it has a history and a great one. You can balance betwen Graphics, Level Desing, Sound, Story / Quests, Dialogues, Artificial Inteligence, Engine and World Desing, witch makes you think a lot to create the perfect game with the perfect genre. The game haveWhat a pretty nice indie game dev simulator! The game of making games is addictive, it follows perfectly the videogame industry, so it has a history and a great one. You can balance betwen Graphics, Level Desing, Sound, Story / Quests, Dialogues, Artificial Inteligence, Engine and World Desing, witch makes you think a lot to create the perfect game with the perfect genre. The game have some very attractive graphics, it stil 2D, but is pretty beautiful, the gameplay is good, the engine works perfect as well the IA. A clear 90 Indie game.… Expand
  43. GaboAmorim
    Feb 22, 2014
    10
    simple, fun and smart
    Epic Game!
    10/10
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  44. AlexChauvin
    Feb 21, 2014
    9
    After playing and completing this game multiple times I've come to a sound conclusion. Game Dev Tycoon is a game developer simulation including features such as creating game engines, training staff, and more obviously, creating games. The game has many strong points being the customization of almost anything you want to do as well as the ability to force you to try new things, but it alsoAfter playing and completing this game multiple times I've come to a sound conclusion. Game Dev Tycoon is a game developer simulation including features such as creating game engines, training staff, and more obviously, creating games. The game has many strong points being the customization of almost anything you want to do as well as the ability to force you to try new things, but it also has its negatives. Game Dev Tycoon has the strange ability to make the hours simply fly by for myself but for other, this simply isn't the case. Some have said that the game penalizes you for repeating yourself and in all honesty at times it does. But this is to force you to try new things and not to just make the same game over and over again. I'll finish of this short review by saying this, Greenheart Games clearly care about not only this game, but also their fans, as you can tell by the notifications you get thanking you for buying it. Its developers like this that make a game fun to play which is why you won't hear from me for several days until I finally beat my previous high score.… Expand
  45. MaxPay
    Feb 18, 2014
    7
    Fun game that touches the basics of game development, yet flawed by some design choices. So, you don't compete with any other companies, only your own bank account... Wish to add a soundtrack or type some backstory to your new game? Well then, first you need to build another brand new game engine to support such a thing. GDT has a neat history lesson as a story element to keep you going,Fun game that touches the basics of game development, yet flawed by some design choices. So, you don't compete with any other companies, only your own bank account... Wish to add a soundtrack or type some backstory to your new game? Well then, first you need to build another brand new game engine to support such a thing. GDT has a neat history lesson as a story element to keep you going, but after it ends and you've unlocked everything, there's no more challenges or anything to appear. Genres could use more work, as there's like 5-6 of them. Making AAA titles may have a serious impact on the game's performance. And then, there are these bars, which you have to set accordingly to the preset values for each topic/genre combo in order to make a good game. All in all, it gives you a set of simplistic and restrictive mechanics to play around with, however if you're interested in it's concept, it's still worth a look at, as it's the only 'game dev' game on PC. Hopefully some day we see a worthy sequel of it or another game that evolves from this one.… Expand
  46. Klewer
    Feb 13, 2014
    7
    A fairly basic game however it is very fun and will offer plenty of entertainment and gives you the chance to finally make that perfect game and console !
  47. Pezofdoom
    Feb 9, 2014
    9
    Gameplay is solid. I played with in conjunction with two other people, all of us on voice chat. One went bankrupt not understanding why he was doing bad, one was okay, and I was pretty damn successful. If you enjoy simulation games where it encourages trying to figure out cause and effect, you'd enjoy this game.

    Some things will not make sense because some choices are subjective to    Gameplay is solid. I played with in conjunction with two other people, all of us on voice chat. One went bankrupt not understanding why he was doing bad, one was okay, and I was pretty damn successful. If you enjoy simulation games where it encourages trying to figure out cause and effect, you'd enjoy this game.

    Some things will not make sense because some choices are subjective to what the developers thought was the right choice tree, but overall there wasn't any real "wtf" moments for me.

    Decent reply value, one play through will take several hours. I would say this is a good one to play with multiple people because you all will start with different starting genre's. Worth the $10 price point, if you can get it for less than that, it's a no brainer buy.    … Expand
  48. LeonidasRex
    Feb 7, 2014
    10
    If you're an older gamer with a head full of useless gaming memories, then Game Dev Tycoon is for you. How will the NES fare against the Commodore 64? Will a ninja game do better as action or RPG? Do you know video games because you spent thousands of hours of your life playing them over the past few decades? This with this game you can turn that knowledge into million of unspendableIf you're an older gamer with a head full of useless gaming memories, then Game Dev Tycoon is for you. How will the NES fare against the Commodore 64? Will a ninja game do better as action or RPG? Do you know video games because you spent thousands of hours of your life playing them over the past few decades? This with this game you can turn that knowledge into million of unspendable dollars.

    I'm rating this a ten---for an indie that you can probably get for $5 or less on sale. The graphics and sound effects are minimal. The music gets annoying quickly. But the idea and underlying gameplay are clever and well-executed. You can start in your garage writing the equivalent of Zork, and finish the game with your own console and MMO.    … Expand
  49. masterturner
    Feb 2, 2014
    3
    While the game begins fun, whimsical, and simplistic, the game begins to suffer after you play a bit longer. In short, the game's system is extremely fickle, unpredictable at times, and utterly arbitrary.

    The limited "topics" do little if anything to enhance gameplay and instead only serve as an artificial block for creativity - if you want to succeed at the game, you do not get many    While the game begins fun, whimsical, and simplistic, the game begins to suffer after you play a bit longer. In short, the game's system is extremely fickle, unpredictable at times, and utterly arbitrary.

    The limited "topics" do little if anything to enhance gameplay and instead only serve as an artificial block for creativity - if you want to succeed at the game, you do not get many chances to make the games you truly want in many cases. You instead must settle for the topics you have to work with. In addition, the way topics are implemented penalizes you for thinking outside the box. While "X topic only goes with X method of gameplay" may be a line of thinking that is popular among some real life publishers and developers, blending unusual topics with different game styles has proven successful in the past, and gamers shouldn't be penalized for wanting to try unusual combinations.

    The game is extremely difficult if you aren't sticking to common themes. According to the wiki and guides written to help players build a successful company, the game essentially penalizes you for making too many good games - you are only competing with your own score, and competition does not actually exist. Your company single-handedly decides what the bar is for games and that makes it extremely hard to do well throughout the game if you get a good start early on. You will spend a long time trying to recapture the same success of your first game, and this will force you to pick combinations along the same lines, if not remake constant sequels - but never too close together, as making games with similar topics too close to one another causes a backlash.

    Individual employee stats are horribly implemented. "Leveling up" does not improve stats, it only serves as an experience limiter to determine what specializations you can pick up by pumping up stats through training with your usually very small allotment of research points. While a little training seems justifiable for the purposes of keeping your team competitive and for helping them achieve specialization, this game takes it to an extreme.

    In other words, the people you hire early on, despite constantly gaining "experience" with the tech and the industry, don't actually get any better just from making games. This means when you get the bigger office, the smartest move is to fire all your veterans and hire kids from the university to replace them. This is because the "industry veterans" on your team since you got out of the garage will invariably have laughably poor stats compared to the specialists you can hire immediately from the university. I could understand wanting to supplement by developed team with a few new kids for fresh new ideas, but again, this game takes it to an extreme.

    The timeflow goes EXTREMELY fast. Even a moment or two of idle "watching" your team can severely impact your progress if you want to get things done while story events are still happening - you need to be giving orders every step of the way, or your team will sit there doing nothing for entire weeks at a time. It's enough to make you want to fire them for their inefficiency, but hiring new people costs hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not millions, just to get the message out that you need new people. Even though this is basically a ton of peoples dream jobs. Talk about an immersion killer. Your team is also limited to 6 at endgame, which is an unbelievably small team given the scale of the industry by that point. Again, what is immersion?

    Your team ALSO cannot be sent out for their "vacations" preemptively, and can only be sent off when they start complaining and losing efficiency - to make matter worse you cannot delay the release of your games when this happens, meaning that unless you want to let your team piss around and do nothing but collect a paycheck for a little while first, you risk them needing a vacation in the middle of development, hurting the max points that go into making the game good. It would have been nice to be able to preemptively give them a little time off before a long development cycle to prevent burnout, but such plans in management never occur to your character no matter how many times issues arise.

    The development cycle is repetitive and and constant no matter the game/topic/engine/size. You churn out games every few months in the beginning and maybe one or two a year if you're working optimally later on. There's way to develop more than one game at a time even when your team is big enough to support AAA games. The decisions for what games work best for what systems are arbitrary and contrived at worst and wish-fulfillment at best (I don't, to this day, have a clue what makes the Dreamcast so good for simulation based gaming, nor have the faintest idea what makes the PC bad for casual gaming). I could go on, but character limits. Suffice to say that this this journey through the game development world isn't going to end as nicely as you'd hoped.    … Expand
  50. Woodsflame
    Feb 1, 2014
    10
    I love the game! While I never played the Game Dev Story, I very much enjoy Game Dev Tycoon. I myself want to be a game dev, and I LOVE the nostalgia of seeing all these old systems. I actually found quite a bit of re-playability, in the fact that I am somewhat of a completionist, and I would play through over and over again to get all the info on each genre and console. It's a very fun toI love the game! While I never played the Game Dev Story, I very much enjoy Game Dev Tycoon. I myself want to be a game dev, and I LOVE the nostalgia of seeing all these old systems. I actually found quite a bit of re-playability, in the fact that I am somewhat of a completionist, and I would play through over and over again to get all the info on each genre and console. It's a very fun to play game, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.… Expand
  51. KornatzReviews
    Jan 22, 2014
    10
    This is by far the best tycoon/simulation game I have ever played. I could play this a for million years and not get bored. I highly recommend checking this game out, especially since it's only ten bucks.
  52. Jessrond
    Jan 22, 2014
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. It is a very enjoyable game. Yes, it can get repetitive, and the strategies can seem mundane... but if you let your imagination work along with the game, you can really get lost in it.

    The best part about the Steam Update was that they randomized which game topics you start with. In the earlier versions of the game, you started with the same basic standard 80s-game lineup: Military, Space, Medieval, Sports... and then I think Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Racing were the ones you could learn next.

    So back then, you'd just hammer out Medieval/Adventure and Medieval/RPG, learn Sci-Fi/Fantasy, make more Adventure/RPG... get Racing, learn casual games, etc.

    But with this new random starting setup, you could have a tough break if you get a game like Surgery that only has one "Great Combination" or you could luck out and get Fantasy that works very well with anything.

    The game is addictive and at some level it may seem like a free game you'd play on Kongregate, but it's much more than that.

    One minor issue: In the third office when you have Hardware lab and Design lab, switching between the three causes some lag.    … Expand
  53. ethanvenzin
    Jan 19, 2014
    9
    Well,i'll give it a nine out of ten because this game is soooo much fun,but it can't be run on notebook or less than 1024 x 768 screen resolution but that's not the problem, i think when we create the games there is no related things when you create a game with online support it's just all games are the same maybe they'll create the sequel to it,and i hope the sequel will be available forWell,i'll give it a nine out of ten because this game is soooo much fun,but it can't be run on notebook or less than 1024 x 768 screen resolution but that's not the problem, i think when we create the games there is no related things when you create a game with online support it's just all games are the same maybe they'll create the sequel to it,and i hope the sequel will be available for all resolution or give it a patch… Expand
  54. jasenalphawolf
    Jan 17, 2014
    10
    I love this game I play it to death it sucks you into making a great game and I love this game if you don't have a steam account you can buy it's also on steam there is a great little community and lot's of mods I love it I love I love it it definitely deserves a ten and the makers are epic.
  55. BrunoHP
    Jan 4, 2014
    7
    Developing a games from early 80's to next-gen consoles and beyond is fun. Review algorithm can be a problem when you make the game with 9.75/10 score, and 5 years later you make a sequel with revolutionary engine and get only 7/10 or lower. When you are playing the game for the first time, it can pass 6 hours in a row and you still want to play more. When you finish a 35-year long story,Developing a games from early 80's to next-gen consoles and beyond is fun. Review algorithm can be a problem when you make the game with 9.75/10 score, and 5 years later you make a sequel with revolutionary engine and get only 7/10 or lower. When you are playing the game for the first time, it can pass 6 hours in a row and you still want to play more. When you finish a 35-year long story, you can continue playing, but it gets boring after 50 years. This game will only remain replayable if you replay it only when new updates are released.… Expand
  56. adi7991
    Jan 2, 2014
    9
    A great tycoon in sometime. I really feel that this game could have been better if it had more realistic numbers and actions. Example, The player must have the opportunity to set the price for the game the he/ she produces and the topics and research materials are too limited. This was an option through a mod but I think this could have been integrated with the game (if possible theyA great tycoon in sometime. I really feel that this game could have been better if it had more realistic numbers and actions. Example, The player must have the opportunity to set the price for the game the he/ she produces and the topics and research materials are too limited. This was an option through a mod but I think this could have been integrated with the game (if possible they must do that in the next coming patch). At the end this game really has the feel to being a tycoon. Every time your game is a success you know how Mr. Pevel (CEO of SCS Software) feel for the success of Euro truck Sim 2.… Expand
  57. RodrigoOffline
    Jan 2, 2014
    10
    Game Dev Tycoon keeps you as a producer of indie games, challenging your logic, to create a wonderful game, as the own game dev tycoon. And best of all, he shows you important moments in the history of games, such as rejecting nintendo playstation, making the Sony create their wonderful video game! This game is addictive and wonderful, the staff of greenheart had a great idea in creatingGame Dev Tycoon keeps you as a producer of indie games, challenging your logic, to create a wonderful game, as the own game dev tycoon. And best of all, he shows you important moments in the history of games, such as rejecting nintendo playstation, making the Sony create their wonderful video game! This game is addictive and wonderful, the staff of greenheart had a great idea in creating Tycoon Game Dev. 0 to 10 give 14!… Expand
  58. blackbeast1
    Jan 2, 2014
    10
    Great game defiantly buy.
    it really explains how the gaming industry works. and it is also a really good game for Greenheart games first game.
    what are you reading this for go and get it.
  59. Allanplays
    Dec 31, 2013
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Played Game for 2 or 3 days almost nonstop, very entertaining however after getting past day 30 the first time the game loses most of its fun. The game is fun but has no replay ability and is very repetitive. If you like Sim games you'll love this game if you don't like Sim games you probably wont like it to much if you really get into it trying to get your score from when you end up it can be very grindy at times. The R&D lab is very interesting and cool to play with and so are the Hardware Labs, MMOs, and Extension packs for your MMOs. With Mod capability now it moves from a 7 to a 8 because of how some mods add some really cool things and not many games let modding happen and support it.… Expand
  60. SirRodney
    Dec 30, 2013
    10
    This game is a lot of fun. And now that they have added more complexity to it since the original release and modability so I would say that since the game is so enjoyable and cheap, additionally it being Greenheart Games first game, it was really well executed and polished.
  61. redsox133
    Dec 30, 2013
    9
    Pretty amazing game, especially for $5. I enjoyed being Electronic Arts and making horrible games and having awful customer support, and in another playthrough I was a respectable company that made effective games and patches and treated my fans well. Overall awesome game!
  62. topguy
    Dec 30, 2013
    3
    Rating: 3 points.
    First, good things, interesting idea for a game, and quite fun at the start.
    Why is it bad? First, the way your game gets popular is completely random, and you have little chance to change it. Meaning if you start doing bad, you are in the vortex and WON'T be getting out of it. The reviews the "reviewers" give don't give any info on how your game could get better and    Rating: 3 points.
    First, good things, interesting idea for a game, and quite fun at the start.

    Why is it bad? First, the way your game gets popular is completely random, and you have little chance to change it. Meaning if you start doing bad, you are in the vortex and WON'T be getting out of it. The reviews the "reviewers" give don't give any info on how your game could get better and only say "Your game is great!" or "Your game absolutely sucks!" or similar things. That doesn't help. If you have bad luck, you will have bad luck in this game. If you have good luck, you will have bad luck in this game.

    Overall, good game at the start, but it gets tedious and devastating around the middle.    … Expand
  63. etb444
    Dec 27, 2013
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This is way better than game dev story. From starting out with only a few thousand dollars in your garage to making million dollar hits for the Playsystem 4 or Mbox One this is truly the best game for interesting tycoon lovers. My only problem with this game is once you finish the campaign there isn't much to do but make more and more and more money.… Expand
  64. Tridus
    Dec 26, 2013
    7
    Fun little game, for the first couple playthroughs. Once you figure things out and know how to do well each time there isn't much replay value. It's a fun diversion, but not something you will get 30+ hours out of.
  65. WillTheCritic
    Dec 26, 2013
    10
    I played this game and I ended up playing it for weeks!
    I was having a bit of trouble at first trying to make the games well,
    but after a week I managed to understand the game very well. I love this game and have been playing it for months, trying out new things and bringing in old series... speaking of that I remember making a Virtual Pet game for the Gameling for Young, and it was a    I played this game and I ended up playing it for weeks!
    I was having a bit of trouble at first trying to make the games well,
    but after a week I managed to understand the game very well.
    I love this game and have been playing it for months, trying out new things and bringing in old series... speaking of that I remember making a Virtual Pet game for the Gameling for Young, and it was a casual game, and it was called My Little Pony and it ended up getting a 10/10/9/10 score! xD it was actually #1 on the market the WHOLE time! ended up getting 5M for it and it helped me to get into a better office and yata yata yata haha. I love this game and hope for either a sequel, or a DLC. :D    … Expand
  66. IrishAssasinxx
    Dec 26, 2013
    8
    A great game developer studio game, a genre which surprisingly exists but is all the better for it. Game Dev Tycoon uses real life events like the Gameboy, PS1 etc. It has pretty much every main console that was released in the last 30 years including the Xbox One and PS4, it even has a go at future consoles. While the game does have many problems such as large unpredictability whetherA great game developer studio game, a genre which surprisingly exists but is all the better for it. Game Dev Tycoon uses real life events like the Gameboy, PS1 etc. It has pretty much every main console that was released in the last 30 years including the Xbox One and PS4, it even has a go at future consoles. While the game does have many problems such as large unpredictability whether your game will be reviewed well, which tells you how well your sales will be. While the game does take many elements from the iOS and Android game Game Dev Tycoon it improves and modernises most aspects of it to a higher level. I'd give this game a 8/10… Expand
  67. busbfran
    Dec 24, 2013
    8
    Game Dev Tycoon, will always have you coming back for more in which I believe is a sign of a successful game. If you have play Game Dev story by kairosoft, this is a more updated and realistic version still packed with the addicting and joy of creating a hit game. I would recommended this game to all Simulations fans and anyone looking to try something different.
  68. Simba
    Dec 23, 2013
    9
    Game Dev Tycoon. It might sound boring. Hell to that I have only spent 5 hours on it but I already find it fun. It is the first game I have played which I don't rage in. It is a great game well worth it's money and has really cool features. If I had a score... It would be 9/10 Almost perfect game.
  69. Ilikegoodgames
    Dec 13, 2013
    0
    This is a lazy, broken, game that is way, way to easy. The game is luck based,not skilled based-if the developer actually put effort into designing this game, it could be really good.But it's not 'really good'. Not anywhere near it.
  70. Reveiwer
    Dec 13, 2013
    4
    This game really does show a lot of penitential, but the game falls shout because of the laziness of developers. The game is fun and somewhat addictive, but the rating system is gives you no information about how to improve your game (ass well as report) and there is no statistics at all.
  71. ted88pd
    Dec 11, 2013
    8
    Ho sempre provato una certa repulsione per i giochi casual, ma questo il primo che amo e che adoro alla follia. Game Dev Tycoon una piccola perla videoludica un capolavoro del mondo Indie, riesce a mettere alla prova la tua fantasia, la tua inventiva e le tue capacità gestionali, insomma un gioco che riesce a tirare fuori il meglio dal giocatore. Non avrà certamente un gameplay vario maHo sempre provato una certa repulsione per i giochi casual, ma questo il primo che amo e che adoro alla follia. Game Dev Tycoon una piccola perla videoludica un capolavoro del mondo Indie, riesce a mettere alla prova la tua fantasia, la tua inventiva e le tue capacità gestionali, insomma un gioco che riesce a tirare fuori il meglio dal giocatore. Non avrà certamente un gameplay vario ma di sicuro sa essere originale nel suo piccolo, non avra una grafica da urlo ma lo stile cartoonesco accompagnato da musiche spensierate e rilassanti regaleranno ore ed ore di puro divertimento a chi riuscirà a cogliere la bellezza di questo gioco.… Expand
  72. Invino
    Dec 10, 2013
    10
    Top notch little game. Cartoony gfx from an age gone by, but endearing for those old enough.

    If you were ever a fan of Capitalism II (even Movies Inc), you will like this.
  73. raiokincaris
    Dec 9, 2013
    7
    While the desire to replay this game after finishing the first time may be lacking, it's still something that has a little uniqueness in the massive amount of games that try to teach you something. It's not everyday that a game teaches you about not just other games, but other consoles in terms of who tend to go for what types of games on them. Countless hours obviously went into researchWhile the desire to replay this game after finishing the first time may be lacking, it's still something that has a little uniqueness in the massive amount of games that try to teach you something. It's not everyday that a game teaches you about not just other games, but other consoles in terms of who tend to go for what types of games on them. Countless hours obviously went into research of the topics, the consoles, and the overall storyline, but the only thing that will make this game more enjoyable will be the mods that are just now starting to be developed.

    Then again, I cheated with the game before there were any mods ;3 but that's just me. I tend to break games after I go through the main parts of them. That's part of my own enjoyment. Also, I think they need to optimize the code a little better, as it tends to lag after you hit certain numbers in the game save files ;3    … Expand
  74. marcusgames
    Dec 8, 2013
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This little game, bare in mind is made by two men on a tight budget. I think its great and I could, and have, play it for hours. the game starts off simple then gradually works its way up through history until your making your very own console to compete with the next-gen ones. Its not meant to be realistic, its meant to be challenging. we all know that making a game isn't this simple and that a single game cant realistically sell 700 million copies but who cares, all the hard work is all worth it when you achieve a high review score.

    "quirky but good"    … Expand
  75. titannet
    Dec 6, 2013
    5
    In Game Dev Tycoon your object is to develop console and computer games over the course of several centuries. You start out alone in a garage and slowly progress to larger offices and teams.

    One of the first things to notice in the game is the simplistic UI. You get some information on all your released games. But you can't sort by Genre or by Sequels or get some chart graphics or    In Game Dev Tycoon your object is to develop console and computer games over the course of several centuries. You start out alone in a garage and slowly progress to larger offices and teams.

    One of the first things to notice in the game is the simplistic UI. You get some information on all your released games. But you can't sort by Genre or by Sequels or get some chart graphics or whatever, so after you released ten games or so it becomes difficult to even keep track of things.

    Also there is barely a sense of accomplishment. Like a hall of fame for instance? Nope, dne. You get some newspaper like popups if you release a great game or sell a new record number of copies and you also get achievments if you are into that.. but how about a simple star on the wall or something?

    But I digress. Developing games in you garage starts out entertaining enough. You get some sliders (sliders? seriously?) to determine the importance of different game elements, you can select different genre/setting combinations, develop new game engines and in doing all this stumble you way to successful games, your first million and a new office.

    Unfortunately the game quickly falls apart afterwards. The main reason for this is that the game is completely one dimensional.

    The way to being successful is not to be creative but to go on the internet an research how you need to put your sliders for the genre of your game. While doing this you will also find out that the features in your game don't really matter, only that there are features which together with the sliders lead to some internal game score.
    And you will find out that the game review score, that basically determines sales is not calculated absolute but relative to your currently best game.

    I have to repeat this: your games are reviewed by comparing its "game points" to the "game points" of the best game you released so far. This seems like a decent way to prevent the game from becoming too easy over time but it's also completely braindead and leads to the winning strategy of: "start with bad games and only improve them about 10% each game".

    Releasing a very good game can actually ruin you. I released a perfect 10 game from my garage and made about 4Mio, a very good number in the beginning of the game. So I hired some new developers and made my next game: and it tanked. And the next: it also tanked. Only with some crazy bank deals I managed to keep afloat long enough so that some training and upcropping new features got my "game points" high enough so that I could score 7/8 games again and make money.

    I learned my lesson and deleted Game Dev Tycoon. It's not fun to play, it's not intuitive, there is no creativity required, scratch that, allowed and you might as well play Excel than pay even 5$ for this game.    … Expand
  76. thekarmicdouche
    Dec 4, 2013
    9
    One of the best games I've ever played !!!

    The story is incredibly accurate, the game-play is fun and addicting and the price is low.
    It gets a 9 as the review system is strange.
    Example: I release a vampire game with high graphics AI and level design my ratings add up to 12!!!
    Apart from that the game seems fine.
  77. soulboy_am
    Nov 29, 2013
    10
    It is really the best game that i have ever played!
    I bought it on Steam Autumn Sale, so, you must to buy it too, because there are no games that like this one.
  78. TerribleFate
    Nov 29, 2013
    8
    Game Dev Tycoon is one of the best simulation games I've ever played. It's fun, it's deep and great. You can spend a lot of time managing your own dev company and maybe it's very similar to game dev story, but I think this game is deeper than Game dev story.
  79. MrPresident1213
    Nov 28, 2013
    10
    A fun game to play with. You need to find the right combination to develop a great game, and you need to choose the right platform to release that game. You need money to develop a game, and also you can start your own stander for the game. LOVE THIS GAME!
  80. neko_ceko
    Nov 28, 2013
    1
    I was about to buy this game on Steam, added it to my cart and all. Then I went over to Metacritic and Wikipedia to read a bit about it and saw their anti-piracy bollocks. So if any of you genius developers/marketing people or whoevers decision it was to be an ignorant are reading this, I guess you can only blame yourselves for losing another sale, eh?

    I downloaded it and it's okay,    I was about to buy this game on Steam, added it to my cart and all. Then I went over to Metacritic and Wikipedia to read a bit about it and saw their anti-piracy bollocks. So if any of you genius developers/marketing people or whoevers decision it was to be an ignorant are reading this, I guess you can only blame yourselves for losing another sale, eh?

    I downloaded it and it's okay, nothing special, I expected a bit more to be honest. The only reason I'm giving it 1 instead of 0 is because I'm nice like that. This is one of those rare games that I most definitely wouldn't buy, even if I did end up liking it because of the developers' moves.

    So congratulations to the developers for losing a sale!    … Expand
  81. Dodgerman500
    Nov 27, 2013
    9
    Great game for it's price, There is so much to do in the game, with all the different consoles and topic. The only problem i had with it some things get very repetitive and boring. For example you have to go to a convention every year, and years go by fast in that game, also you get asked to sabotage other developers way too often. Besides that this game is addicting and really fun.
  82. Cubed
    Nov 22, 2013
    5
    Although I played this game a lot and did have many fun experiences, it was more more frustrating than fun. You can spend lots of time planning your next game, making all the perfect combinations, running advertisements, and even starting your convention, yet you can still easily get horrible reviews.

    According to the wiki, you are playing to beat your previous high score, and the    Although I played this game a lot and did have many fun experiences, it was more more frustrating than fun. You can spend lots of time planning your next game, making all the perfect combinations, running advertisements, and even starting your convention, yet you can still easily get horrible reviews.

    According to the wiki, you are playing to beat your previous high score, and the quality of the game means little. The fact that "Good quality Good reviews!" is a little annoying. I can make a game real quick while I am doing research for my big game, and it will get three 10's and a 9. My big game will get 4's and 5's.

    After seeing that you were competing against your previous score, I made a sequel to my best game, using an incredibly new engine with many new features. The game was better than my previous high score in a number of ways, yet still got worse reviews.

    In the end, there are many fun times in the game, yet the review system nearly ruined it for me.    … Expand
  83. Segacritic1998
    Nov 22, 2013
    8
    This game is just awesome! You can do many things in the game like develop games (Duh),train your own staff,make mmos,make consoles, and much more! The problem is they left out some consoles from the game like: Atari 2600, Atari 5200 Atari 7800, 3do, Atari jaguar,Neo geo, and a few others.Also it starts out slow when you start the game for the first time which can make you impatient atThis game is just awesome! You can do many things in the game like develop games (Duh),train your own staff,make mmos,make consoles, and much more! The problem is they left out some consoles from the game like: Atari 2600, Atari 5200 Atari 7800, 3do, Atari jaguar,Neo geo, and a few others.Also it starts out slow when you start the game for the first time which can make you impatient at times but other than that the game is fantastic!… Expand
  84. Arkan01d
    Nov 21, 2013
    5
    tl;dr Just buy Game Dev Story for your smart phone.

    This game is clearly a rip off of Game Dev Story for Android and IOS devices. It progresses the same, has the same fundamental game making mechanics, and the player guide is so similar it hurts. This game does offer a few different options like making your own game engines and designers need to take vacations after making a few games.    tl;dr Just buy Game Dev Story for your smart phone.

    This game is clearly a rip off of Game Dev Story for Android and IOS devices. It progresses the same, has the same fundamental game making mechanics, and the player guide is so similar it hurts. This game does offer a few different options like making your own game engines and designers need to take vacations after making a few games. You can unlock genres by research and certain platforms are more tailored to certain game types. There is also Steam trading cards and achievements, if you're into those things, that can help sway you to purchase.

    The problem I have with this game is the game developing. In Game Dev Story the production bubbles are flying up and there's all these power-up sounds. It feels like your really working hard. Then each development phase focuses on that certain aspect of the game itself; so you have a clear idea of what's being produced and how well your team is doing for each game element: Graphics, Story, Sound, ect. Contrast that with this game, Game Dev Tycoon, the production bubble slowly float up and make barely a sound. Your developers seem to float over the keyboard and lazily sip coffee, instead of appearing like they are in a rush or really working hard. This game has development phases, but they are inconsequential. Each phase it tells you what you are going to work on, but your developers produce production bubbles for other game aspects. Why include a development phase if your team is going to do whatever they feel like?

    For $10 is this game really worth it? If you've never played Game Dev Story and always wondered what it would be like to be a game developer then I think you will enjoy this game. Game Dev Story costs 75% less, is more exciting and presents a much clearer focus. However, you don't get as much in-depth play and Steam bonuses; so it's really up to you. Personally I feel gypped and wish this game provided a little more excitement to the developing process.    … Expand
  85. izerch
    Nov 20, 2013
    8
    I definitely love this game. I can play it for hours. The only thing that i don't like is that at the end of the game you can still playing it and that's all. Yes, you can get more fans, you can get more money, and can still developing games but fall a little bit because it gets boring at that point. That makes me to start a new company and do it again just to see if i can do it better.I definitely love this game. I can play it for hours. The only thing that i don't like is that at the end of the game you can still playing it and that's all. Yes, you can get more fans, you can get more money, and can still developing games but fall a little bit because it gets boring at that point. That makes me to start a new company and do it again just to see if i can do it better. The good thing is that they are actually hearing us and they are working to add new features and really cool stuff. Good job Green Heart… Expand
  86. Fondly
    Nov 15, 2013
    9
    I love this game. I played it for days, and if they make a sequel, (PLEASE DO!!!) than I will play it for days, and buy it all over. The game is honestly amazing. To start in a small office like most developers like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Sony, and Nintendo. Although, I give it a 9 because there is a glitch with the R&D lab and the technology lab. The thing was part of the lab was cut byI love this game. I played it for days, and if they make a sequel, (PLEASE DO!!!) than I will play it for days, and buy it all over. The game is honestly amazing. To start in a small office like most developers like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Sony, and Nintendo. Although, I give it a 9 because there is a glitch with the R&D lab and the technology lab. The thing was part of the lab was cut by about a quarter of the screen, it kind of annoyed me, considering I had no way to fix it. Although this game shows you how you can become, if you want to become a game developer one day (like me) than it will show you what you may expect. And, if you plan on making the games in Game Dev Tycoon in real life, than you can simulate how it would look like if you developed it in real life. I love this game, and the price is low too, only $7.99? Awesome!… Expand
  87. keefbaker
    Nov 13, 2013
    9
    Dead simple little casual game, but you know what? I love the hell out of it, there's something massively addictive about building your company up and becoming one of the great game developers.
  88. logeman
    Nov 10, 2013
    7
    This Is A good game. however the replay value is weak. in my opinion) You should get it if you just want a game guaranteed good. Game Development Tycoon gave me 6 hours of game play.
  89. GamerQuinn
    Nov 10, 2013
    9
    Wow guys. You are reviewing a game you "don't" like, even though you possibly haven't played this. This is a GREAT casual and strategy game. Why don't you like it? Please don't read bad reviews all the time. You know that ALL the critics down rated the game, so don't trust those idiots.
  90. Fanchi
    Nov 7, 2013
    8
    este juego es realmente bueno, no he conocido otro juego que haya desarrollado este "hilo argumental".
    el juego en sí mismo es sencillo de entender y difícil de dominar como ha de ser un buen juego, la historia de fondo del desarrollo de la industria del videojuego y la salida de las diferentes videoconsolas me alucino, si bien es cierto que se han quedado muchas atrás, cosa que se    este juego es realmente bueno, no he conocido otro juego que haya desarrollado este "hilo argumental".
    el juego en sí mismo es sencillo de entender y difícil de dominar como ha de ser un buen juego, la historia de fondo del desarrollo de la industria del videojuego y la salida de las diferentes videoconsolas me alucino, si bien es cierto que se han quedado muchas atrás, cosa que se comprende ya que se empieza en la década de los ochenta, el único fallo que le veo es que el avance de la historia y tu propio avance no están del todo bien ajustado y tal vez debería de avanzar el tiempo un poco más lento permitiéndote pensar un poco más en los movimientos y alargando de paso la experiencia de juego

    totalmente recomendable    … Expand
  91. Mossflake
    Nov 5, 2013
    10
    A really simple concept, but one that works well. On the surface it doesn't seem too complicated and certainly a person could pick it up and play without reading any of the tutorial information, however their is a very subtle set of aspects that make the gameplay quite deep, and the development of the game is steady and interesting. The fact that is mirrors actual history and has funA really simple concept, but one that works well. On the surface it doesn't seem too complicated and certainly a person could pick it up and play without reading any of the tutorial information, however their is a very subtle set of aspects that make the gameplay quite deep, and the development of the game is steady and interesting. The fact that is mirrors actual history and has fun parody companies such as 'Ninvento'. Genuinely a challenge at first but not one so difficult to conquer that it is frustrating, and most of the appropriate options for your games can be guessed using common sense.

    TLDR; A fun game that can be as deep as you want it to be. Great to pick up and play, but easy to lose a few hours after you get hooked; good parallels to real life.    … Expand
  92. stg
    Nov 4, 2013
    10
    When I bought I wasn't sure it'd be any good but I was pleasantly surprised, as the game turned to be really fun.

    A big part of the game is getting game reports and really paying attention to what they say (which is repeated on your interface choices for games). There are many combinations that are important to a game success, including genre, ages, platforms and topics.
  93. Duskspark
    Nov 3, 2013
    9
    As someone who usually doesn't enjoy Tycoon games and a mild lover of the occasional strategy game, I must say "Game Dev Tycoon" is simple to handle, fun to understand and highly addictive to play. Start your own little gaming industry from scratch and make your way to the top of the video games food chain, along with a series of fun refferences and a rich gaming history.
  94. Vipgundam
    Nov 3, 2013
    0
    A blatant rip-off of the much better Game Dev Story by Kairosoft. Ironically, the "makers" of this game saw fit to release a torrent of the game with modified version of the game that causes players go bankrupt at a certain point in the campaign. That's right, they released a system to prevent pirates form enjoying the game they pirated. Irony at its best.
  95. Estus
    Nov 2, 2013
    9
    I love it! Its awesome! We have a lot of options to develop our own games, make upgrades, etc. Its one of the best indie games ever, and I dont care if its similar to Game Dev Story, because both are great games and very different (visual, algorithms, mechanics).
  96. NCremonez
    Nov 1, 2013
    7
    Review PT-BR: Game Dev Tycoon muito divertido e viciante no começo, até mesmo desafiador, já que muito fácil ir a falência no inicio do game, mas a diversão acaba nas primeiras horas de jogo, o sistema de notas bugado e inconsistente, você pode seguir tudo como deve ser feito e mesmo assim ganhar notas horríveis, ou não fazer nada e lançar um hit.

    A musica repetitiva e depois de um    Review PT-BR: Game Dev Tycoon muito divertido e viciante no começo, até mesmo desafiador, já que muito fácil ir a falência no inicio do game, mas a diversão acaba nas primeiras horas de jogo, o sistema de notas bugado e inconsistente, você pode seguir tudo como deve ser feito e mesmo assim ganhar notas horríveis, ou não fazer nada e lançar um hit.

    A musica repetitiva e depois de um tempo se torna extremamente chata.

    É um jogo que vale a pena por ser barato, mas não algo que você vá jogar por mais de 6 horas, depois de finalizar a campanha, o jogo perde totalmente o interesse.    … Expand
  97. ThePancakeWorld
    Nov 1, 2013
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I like this game a lot, some say its a game dev story clone. I've got to agree, but this game is in my opinion better and has simply the best anti-piracy thing ever. Also the easter eggs where great: pong easter egg, Portal easter egg the red barrel one it's one of those games who you could just play for 6 hours straight… Expand
  98. matheus_hk
    Oct 31, 2013
    10
    Awesome game. "Beautiful". "Played it for days". "Can't wait for the sequel".

    I haven't played the Game Dev Story but I watched gameplay videos and they're different enough for me. Not to mention that I don't have an IOS to play it even if I wanted to. And most of the other complaints I've seen have been solved through patching. If you think the rating you're getting is too random,    Awesome game. "Beautiful". "Played it for days". "Can't wait for the sequel".

    I haven't played the Game Dev Story but I watched gameplay videos and they're different enough for me. Not to mention that I don't have an IOS to play it even if I wanted to. And most of the other complaints I've seen have been solved through patching.

    If you think the rating you're getting is too random, try saving before you start the development and experiment with the parameters a bit.    … Expand
  99. Pacattack
    Oct 28, 2013
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Not quite perfect. Actually, not quite great. Don't get me wrong, I really, really like Game Dev Tycoon, but I would like to see more customizable options regarding custom consoles (such as color, and they could give you a list of different models of controllers and consoles, and you can match up the designs you prefer, they give you preset console models) and being able to price your game (and console) to what you like, of course affecting the sales, or being able to make your games free and offer in-app purchases. I will play this game for many hours at a time, it's very fun and enjoyable. But it does come with some unpleasant bugs, which I suppose is expected. Replay value not up to par. Quite repetitive towards the end, there should be more things to research. I didn't need to make a new engine for about 20 years because there wasn't much to improve (this was a later stage of the game). I really wish there was more things to do at the end. The first 40 years or so are very exciting, with constant research and development of game engines. But the fun really dies out around year 70-ish. No DLC is also a bit annoying as well. But there are many good elements too. The wide variety of subjects for your game is quite large. Also things like a company accusing you of copyright infragment, and you paying them or rallying your fans was neat. I think if they would make a inexpensive DLC that would let you price things, customize more things, fix some of these annoying issues regarding the reviews, add DLC, and addition things to research and put into your engines, I would give this game a ten. But I feel this is incomplete, not yet a great game. This has potential to be great, but it's just not there yet.… Expand
  100. LJ73
    Oct 23, 2013
    10
    I got the game the day it came out and I fell in love with it. The game full of imagination and encourages you to experiment with the different combinations. A small flaw with the game is that it is incredibly difficult, but there is a sweet taste of victory when you get a good game. I've invested over 43 hours into this game and have unlocked everything, also have an estimation ofI got the game the day it came out and I fell in love with it. The game full of imagination and encourages you to experiment with the different combinations. A small flaw with the game is that it is incredibly difficult, but there is a sweet taste of victory when you get a good game. I've invested over 43 hours into this game and have unlocked everything, also have an estimation of 3,485,187,534,823 in the bank so no Norwegian Scammers are going to put a dent in my budget! Long story short you should get this game if you play it as long as I have it is well worth your 10 bucks!… Expand
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Awards & Rankings

22
#22 Most Discussed PC Game of 2013
46
#46 Most Shared PC Game of 2013

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
68

Mixed or average reviews - based on 21 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 13 out of 21
  3. Negative: 2 out of 21
  1. SpazioGames
    Sep 16, 2014
    65
    Taking into account the quite low price and the almost non-existent technical requirements, Game Dev Tycoon is a good and above all original game, albeit without great pretensions.
    Read full review
  2. GameCritics
    May 12, 2014
    30
    However, I don't really think Tycoon really wants to be more than ‘a glimpse' at video game production, and any attempt to comment on the industry from this dull, monotonous experience fails to hit its mark.
    Read full review
  3. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Oct 24, 2013
    80
    What is it like to start with a few thousand dollars and end up in an office full of people producing multi-million gaming hits? This game lets you find out and makes it worth your while. [Nov 2013]
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