RollerCoaster Tycoon 3. 32 best tycoon and economic video games in 2023

Despite the years that have passed, the RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 can still blow you away.

Chris Sawyer had a huge impact on the tycoon genre. Perhaps the most important brand in the Scottish developer's output turned out to be the RollerCoaster Tycoon series, developed to this day and inspired by the iconic Theme Park from 1994 (you can read more about it a bit further).

The first installment of the series was released in 1999 by Hasbro Interactive and was quite successful, winning a number of nominations and awards in the "strategic game of the year" category. Similar popularity can be observed in the continuation released three years later, which in creative way developed the ideas of the original. The most successful installment of this popular series, however, seems to be RollerCoaster Tycoon 3, developed in 2004 by Frontier Developments studio (with Chris Sawyer as a consultant).

In the game we face a real challenge, as we have to create (from a scratch) an efficient and profitable amusement theme park, whose main attraction are the title roller coasters . We can design this entertainment center according to our own will, equipping it with a number of facilities (such as carousels, slides, railroads, etc.), without forgetting about food outlets, souvenir shops, toilets and other cosmetic objects.

In addition, we must take care of the appropriate staff of the park, employ cleaners, mechanics or clowns to entertain guests. But most importantly, each of our customers has their own preferences and expectations, and the key to success is to meet them skillfully. The cherry on the cake in RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 is an opportunity to personally test all objects we built. It all happens in the first person perspective.

LIONS, TIGERS, BEARS

In a DLC called Wild! you get a possibility to fill the theme park with wild animals. Nothing stands in the way of the roller coaster running just above the terrain where zebras and elephants may reside. At the same time, tickets to the observation platforms will provide additional revenue to our budget.

The title (developed by Frontier Developments), released as Complete Edition can be bought easily on Steam or you can find a boxed version on popular auction portals. And most importantly - despite the passage of time, the game didn't age that much. The history of the RollerCoaster Tycoon series does not end with the third part that we have mentioned here - in the years 2012-2018, several side editions of the series were released, including those for portable consoles and mobile devices. The last full-fledged installment is RollerCoaster Tycoon Adventures, released in 2018, which was developed by a brand new studio called Nvizzio Creations. In short, it didn't meet expectations and had relatively poor reviews.

1. The game's page on Steam
2. Game's page on Epic Games Store

The Settlers II: 10th Anniversary

The Settlers II: 10th Anniversary is a remake of the classic second installment of the series.

Started in 1993, The Settlers series is undoubtedly one of the most important and recognizable brands in the history of games, skilfully combining elements of an economic city builder and real-time strategy . The animations of working settlers, made with a grain of salt, also became a peculiar hallmark of this series.

In the 30-year history of the Settlers, during which Blue Byte Software studio has released eight main and a few side editions, it would be difficult to point out the weakest link of the whole franchise. Nevertheless, the legendary second installment from 1996 is the hallmark of the series. However, we chose a remake of the second part, entitled The Settlers II: 10th Anniversary, which apart from enhanced visuals and a few small innovations in game mechanics is a fairly faithful copy of its predecessor from the 90s 1980s.

In the story campaign you play as the leader of a group of Roman settlers, who get on a deserted island after their ship gets crashed. Your task is to build a well-functioning settlement and consequently find ten gates that allow the survivors to return home. The main premise of the game is based on the systematic development of your village, through the construction of new economic and military buildings.

PATHS AND FLAGS

The second part of the series was the last one based on a rather bizarre system in which all our workers and goods moved along the roads divided by flags into sections. This resulted in bottlenecks in which the raw materials could get stuck for long minutes. It is worth noting that we had no direct control over any of our units.

Since the third part, more advanced solutions and more direct command of the settlers have been implemented to the game. According to many people, this caused the game to lose a lot of charm.

To ensure that everything functions as it should, we must provide lots of raw materials, which in turn will be used to produce tools and other items necessary for the development of our settlers. As a result, a growing village can boast not only a dense network of roads enabling the transport of goods, but also a complex chain of economic links in which each link is dependent on at least one or several other links. Although there is also a military aspect in The Settlers II, and the elimination of our neighboring opponents is essential for overall success, the quintessence of the game is the economy, which is the key element of the tycoon genre.

The Settlers II: 10th Anniversary (and its prototype from 1996) can be purchased today both in the GOG.com store and on popular auction portals, and it can still deliver .

Even if Champions of Anteria, which was conceived as The Settlers: Kingdoms of Anteria, turned out to be a flop, Ubisoft didn't shelf the series. During gamescom 2018 the restart of the series was announced. The game was initially supposed to be titled The Settlers. Eventually, the subtitle New Allies appeared. Unfortunately, this production released this year failed to satisfy fans and meet their expectations that have grown over the years.

1. Game's page on the GOG.com