The culture of the startup company really came into prominence back in the 1980s, slowly and surely proving to be a large part of the business world over the last few decades. The notion of a startup is simple – a business goes from scratch, making its own rules and systems that are not bound by traditional corporate standards. Yet it is tech that has driven the culture, especially in recent years with the rise and fall of online business.
Startup Company Console Edition allows you the chance to start a tech company from scratch, and to see if you can survive in the cut and thrust of the business world.
Startup Company Console Edition describes itself as a business simulation sandbox game. It’s an intriguing premise and one that executes itself well with charm and genuinely absorbing gameplay. You start the game as a CEO and founder of a company of your choosing, as you get to customise the name and all the details of your new company. It will be tech-focused and so you need to create a website to compete with the big guns of the web world. The copyright avoidance police call these companies Amazine and Gurle, so there’s no risk of being put behind bars.
The first thing to do is decide what sector your website is going to focus on. Areas to go into could be streaming, or an online sales platform. It’s all up to you. Then you will get some seed money to start your way in the world and with that cash, you can rent a small bit of office space in the city, buy yourself a desk from the online store, and then sit at it. You are now in business.
The tutorial is a great way to give you an introduction to Startup Company and you’ll want to take it all in as it can get quite complicated later on; you will need to keep your wits about you. What’s good is you have several mission tasks to follow and rarely do these allow you to get lost in menu systems. Your first port of call is to get some employees – like someone to do your creative work or research. You headhunt them, make a choice from what money you have and then get them a desk and start to work on the website.
From there it’s all about getting your website developed, built-on with new features and dragging in those vital consumers visiting your site. Waiting for these features to open up in the game takes real-time and you can fast forward, or pause time at any point. When you get more visitors to your website then, of course, you get more money and interest. Now you can get more employees, bigger office spaces and new research features. You can design your office in whatever way you like, but will need to keep an eye on employees’ happiness and basically keep a keen eye on all your menus to see if you are winning. Be nice and give good holidays for your staff, free drinks in the office, and healthcare – all these contribute to a happy worker. But these cost money so it’s always a balancing game.
The gameplay, like found in all good sims when they work well, is very addictive. Startup Company introduces new systems and brilliant features that I haven’t seen in a game before and some of these ensure it all feels new and exciting. Yes it’s complicated and nuanced and tricky to grasp, but there is something about the challenge of the game that I very much embraced. I liked seeing my website grow and building up my happy office of workers. I’ve made lots of mistakes, but it was fun learning about what works and what doesn’t. This is a bit like a startup I suppose, without the risk of financial ruin.
In the visuals department is a nice colour system, but it’s not a big-budget game like Cities: Skylines. But it works perfectly well for the job it does. The menus and overall design of all the UI are clean, crisp, and work well. The soundtrack is nice and breezy; easy listening without being memorable.
If you’re a fan of a sim experience then you will get a whole load of enjoyment from Startup Company Console Edition. The startup setup feels like a new world to explore, totally fresh. It feels about right in terms of price too and even though some may think of it as a bit tricky and menu based, others will lap up the opportunities it brings.
Startup Company Console Edition is on the Xbox Store
