Since the release of Planet Coaster: Console Edition on the same day the new Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S launched, console players have been a bit behind on the PC counterpart in terms of post-release content. But with a recent double drop of both the Vintage Pack and World’s Fair, we are slowly catching up. In this review, we will be focusing on the Vintage Pack, and all the rides and features of yesteryear that brings.
With any new content pack, I like to test the waters in an original park before incorporating it into an existing park. So, I once again booted up Sandbox mode and came up with a suitable name for my new endeavour. There was only one choice when it came to the Vintage Pack; that section of society for whom the term ‘vintage’ is a mantra all on its own.
Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to Hipster World.
Hipster World starts off with a bold entrance, not afraid to make itself known to the rest of the world. In the Vintage Pack there are two brand new roller coasters. I placed them on the left and right of the entrance, towering over the main path that guests walk down.
First up is the Zephyrus; a truly wonderful wooden roller coaster that really harks back to the earliest roller coaster designs. Rickety, yet still solid as a rock, it is a perfect inclusion in the Vintage Pack.
As I have mentioned numerous times before with Planet Coaster, the attention to detail the team at Frontier Developments bring to the table should be commended, and even with this first roller coaster I was reminded of this. Each roller coaster needs to be tested before it is allowed to be opened, and you can jump on them to get a first-person view. The carriage shows some real wear-and-tear, like this coaster had been running for years, and makes the whole thing even more authentic.
Next up is Aces Sky, a real lost remnant of roller coasters gone by. This one doesn’t have a track for the most part, as it is a bobsled run. Your carriage will barrel up into the banks before being gently guided back into place, only to do it all again. You don’t see many of these types of coasters anymore, making it perfect for Hipster World and a great addition in this DLC.
The Vintage Pack is definitely unlike the previous DLCs – the Spooky and Adventure packs – as this also contains five rides as well. All of which have a higher nausea rating than the roller coasters surprisingly. Perhaps the rides of days gone by were a little more reckless?
There is Round the World, a Ferris Wheel that any self-respecting ‘vintage’ theme park simply would not be complete without. It does feel a little on the small side though; I was expecting one slightly bigger. That said, this wheel is much more of a thrill ride than a traditional Ferris Wheel, as the pods rotate on their own axis, and aren’t afraid to throw you around. Which probably explains the higher nausea rating.
Then you have the Loop Da Loop that flings a cabin round 360°, and Centrum; two rides designed to simply make you dizzy and not much else. They’re great fun. Finally, there is Hurricane which is that ride you see at every carnival pumping out the Ibiza classics from 20 years ago, with two-seater cars twirling around a central axis.
New shops are also available in the form of a popcorn vendor and a mysterious fortune teller. Probably for legal reasons the future seeker is called Zoltan, though avid ‘80s film fans will recognise the reference. The existing shops all have suitably vintage themes included in this DLC.
In fact, much of the scenery also included comes in several different forms of ‘vintage’. There are the old Victorian-style buildings with ornate stone designs adorned on their rooftops, as well as the much more vibrant tin panel-styled offerings. Both are vintage, but both are varied enough that they feel like separate entities in the same DLC.
Also, in the scenery screen you can find amenities such as a barbershop quartet, a vintage car, trapeze artists and one of those creepy monkeys that play the drums. Only bigger and creepier.
Sadly, there isn’t a new staff member included in this DLC so I had to settle for the most vintage thing I could find: a 65 million-year-old dinosaur mascot to keep my guests entertained.
The Vintage Pack for Planet Coaster: Console Edition on Xbox definitely feels like a better offering than the previous Spooky and Adventure packs. There is a much wider selection of rides and the amenities are much more than simple reskins of existing shops with new ones added. There is enough here to consider Hipster World a fully designed theme park but the two vintage roller coasters could easily be added to any existing park to really bring the punters in.
