Running a school was arguably simpler in the past. Government funding was distributed more equally, and students – mostly – attended the nearest school. But today, schools and higher education establishments operate more like businesses, with students seen as “clients” and institutions vying for their attention with flashy banners and inspection results.Â
Let’s School leans into this business model, placing you in charge of a struggling school. But what is your goal? Well, that is to go about reversing its fortunes. Are you ready to become the headmaster?
Starting in campaign mode, you customise your character’s appearance from a selection of presets and choose a name for your school (keep it appropriate, please). From there, a brief cutscene sets the stage for this management simulation. You’re a former student returning as the headmaster, tasked with revitalising a school on the brink of ruin, helped by your assistant.
Initially, you need to construct classrooms and facilities to attract students and generate income. You’ll build classrooms, furnish them with desks, install lighting, and decorate to create a conducive learning environment. Strategic placement of amenities like restrooms and sports facilities is also crucial; it’s the little things that will see your school excel. And then, once students enrol, you’ll need to hire teachers.
Managing these teachers is another aspect of the gameplay. You must ensure their happiness stays high by adjusting their salaries, providing training to expand their subject expertise, and investing in research to unlock new educational opportunities. Yet while the system in place with Let’s School may seem complex, it becomes manageable with practice.
Your ultimate goal is to guide students toward academic success by creating personalised schedules that cater to their individual needs and learning styles. You allocate lessons across five daily timeslots, optimising each student’s educational path.
Let’s School then offers multiple paths to success. You can focus on providing top-notch facilities, achieving exceptional exam results, or simply go about maximising student enrollment for profit. This flexibility is commendable, but I found the user interface somewhat cumbersome and the overall gameplay loop most certainly begins to get a bit tedious. In fact, I found it to become dull.
Visually, Let’s School evokes a Nintendo-esque aesthetic with its character designs and colour palette. While the building aspect is visually appealing, the menus can be tricky to navigate. Throughout my time with Let’s School on Xbox, I continued to suspect this type of game might be better suited for a handheld device or mobile phone rather than a powerful console like the Xbox Series X.
And that’s not helped by the audio either – the soundtrack, unfortunately, became grating, so I opted to replace it with my own music.
If you enjoy school management simulations, meticulously organising timetables, optimising teacher performance, and taking on the challenge of rescuing a failing institution, Let’s School might be for you. But it’s hard to enjoy after the initial building phase, as Let’s School starts to feel more like work, than it does play.
Management Sim Let’s School Starts a New Term on Consoles – https://www.thexboxhub.com/management-sim-lets-school-starts-a-new-term-on-consoles/
Buy Let’s School – https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/lets-school/9PFTZX2770D5
