Boxelware’s Aquapark Tycoon is all about building a waterpark paradise, and while the basics are covered, how does it hold up against bigger theme park sims in its current early access state?
The German studio has always been very clear about its mission: “Boxelware makes the games they themselves would like to play. The team focuses on systemic sandbox titles with co-op mode.” Aquapark Tycoon stays true to that philosophy despite feeling like a massive departure from space sandbox Avorion, the studio’s debut game. With LAN and online co-op supported, it instantly feels like a notable approach to park sims with a few ideas of its own but no interest in getting too complicated.
Still, I don’t recommend jump headfirst into its sandbox mode. While already generous with several settings for seasons, research, free costs, and whatnot, tutorials outside the (more guided) Scenario mode are thin. Aquapark Tycoon sticks closer to classics like RollerCoaster Tycoon 3, yet it borrows new mechanics and systems from modern park sims.
Planet Coaster 2 might seem like the most obvious influence, with terrain tools and more flexible build systems giving it an edge over older games, but Aquapark Tycoon exists in the halfway point inhabited by other overlooked indie sims like Parkitect. You know how it’ll feel before you even load into your first map, but Boxelware isn’t simply riding the nostalgic wave many other indie studios (across all sorts of genres) are. The simplest explanation is that by focusing on waterparks, there was a good opportunity to go deeper without the project’s scope getting out of control.
Tropical and temperate paradises were to be expected, but I was personally surprised by saunas, colder environments, and the ability to tinker with and customise interiors in ways that land closer to the Two Point series’ brand of business development. Whereas the selection of buildings and attractions may not seem huge at first, Aquapark Tycoon runs on the idea that its players will tend to be creative. Blueprints are limited, but the freeform tools aren’t, so aspiring park managers are responsible for much of their fun.
In a way, Boxelware decided to stick closer to Frontier Developments’ creativity-first direction, which has been renewed in recent games with much deeper creation tools. Those players who prefer to simply plop buildings and premade slides and pools down will find some enjoyment here for sure, but even if the systems aren’t the deepest, the developers are favouring the more curious crowd.
In any case, there’s a refreshing sense of immediacy to Aquapark Tycoon that’s rarer these days and took me right back to the days of the first Zoo Tycoon. Even outside its sandbox mode, management never feels dense enough to bog down the rapid flow of creating, testing, and opening new attractions. This is something that seems obvious if you’re trying to entice the creative crowd, yet a few of the aforementioned park sims still struggled with it. Boxelware isn’t interested in padding things out.
There’s the promise of expanding Aquapark Tycoon into a bigger and more complete park sim over the duration of its early access period, yet what is already there makes the price tag reasonable. With more scenarios than you probably need across three different difficulty levels and a flexible sandbox alternative, its skeleton is sturdy and genre diehards have a perfect excuse to get lost in their pools for dozens of hours. I just wouldn’t try to do a cannonball yet, though.
While performance problems on up-to-date hardware didn’t arise during my time playing the game, it has annoying tendencies such as launching into the wrong resolutions seemingly at random (even if the in-game selection looks right) and then locking into blurry visuals until you restart and try again, having the cursor misbehave and misclick, or not allowing players to change specific keybinds. It’s all to be expected from an early access, which is exactly why those looking for smooth sailing should wait for a few substantial patches. Hopefully, those water slides won’t be as bumpy in a few months.
Aquapark Tycoon is now available on PC via Steam Early Access for £18.63 / $20.69 / 21,10€ (-10% launch discount).
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