Park Beyond Closed Beta Has Me Sold On Impossification

Park Beyond is an upcoming construction and management simulation video game from Limbic Entertainment that aims to give players an authentic experience on what it would feel like to create and manage your very own Theme Park but with a flavourful twist with its Impossification feature.

So when I was given the opportunity to test the game through a Closed Beta test, I was genuinely excited to put the game through its paces, being no stranger to construction and management type games as I was quite a fan of them earlier on with my earliest experience being Jurassic Park Operation Genesis on the PlayStation 2.

In this Closed Beta test, the game had me testing three separate campaigns as well as an Exploration Park within the sandbox mode. These are quite sufficient in terms of content as I felt like the game has added more function and features as well as being more polished throughout judging by how the game performed during my time with it.

Campaign Experience

Mission 1 was the same campaign mission that we went through in August last year which we enjoyed with just how easy and beginner friendly building a roller coaster was as well as how helpful and informative the tutorials really were as the game slowly gave you an idea of how Park Beyond will actually play like.

Mission 2 assigns you to an old theme park which you will need to bring back to its former glory. In this particular mission a lot more emphasis is given on how to build paths and placing flat rides. There are also more cutscenes variety here which also included a choice system that affect the type of assets that you can place.

For example, one choice had me deciding on the overall theme of the Park and who the target demographic is which would determine the overall aesthetic of the Theme Park itself. Soon after, you will be given milestones to achieve or reset it if you are not particularly interested in completing them.

From there you will officially start to manage your own Theme Park, which has you expanding the land and theme park by building anything you desire while still remaining relevant to your targeted audience. During this time, you will learn to analyze the on-goings of your Theme Park with the visitors having different needs and emotions and you as the Manager will need to manage those accordingly. For this, a very convenient function called the Heat-Map can be used which lets you check on your visitors and their overall happiness level.

Personally, I think the game captures the feeling of managing a Theme Park really well in a much more engaging and fun way when compared to recent titles like Jurassic World Evolution as you are not just spamming attraction buildings but also making sure that the Theme Park is built properly and satisfactory for customers on a deeper level.

Once you cleared mission 2, the 3rd mission introduces a character named Sofia who is the engineer of the Theme Park and will be your guide as she attempts to explain to you the magic that is the “Impossification” feature within the game.

As mentioned in our previous first impressions write up, the Impossification feature lets you create experiences that are beyond that of a normal Theme Park. By using this feature the attraction levels of your park will level up which in turn would yield more benefits and generate more income. The limit of things that could be Impossified seem endless, ranging from the Flat rides, shops and even staff members and is only limited by your Amazement gauge.

The research function is also introduced in this mission which has you unlocking new stuff in the game every time your theme park levels up such as more flat rides, shops and other things.

Exploration Park

Included in the Sandbox Mode, there is an Exploration Park mode which essentially serves as a tutorial for players that did not go through the campaign. Here you will find different set of challenges for you to tackle and touches on the basic knowledge you will need about Park Beyond.

Sandbox Mode

Before starting construction on your Theme Park you must first choose the map and overall theme of your park. This choices carry certain weight during the park management section as different terrain may result in different types of moods. For example, if the map is more scenic in nature you can create roller coasters that offer scenic views which may improve the mood of certain types of visitors.

There are also different types of difficulties for you to choose from before creating your Theme Park, which ranges from a more relaxed type of gameplay to a super hardcore theme park simulator. A final goal could also be set for yourself before the game starts like Impossify all your items or creating a roller coaster.

During this Closed Beta test of Park Beyond, the Terraforming function also makes a return. Similar to Jurassic World Evolution, this features allows you to shape and create the world around you to your liking. Turning the landmass into the most ideal area to build your Theme Park around is definitely key in ensuring the feasibility of the park in the long run. You can also buy land expansions (if you need more play-space) with money.

Final Thoughts

Judging from the Closed Beta, Park Beyond strikes a very unique experience with the fact that it manages to merge fantasy and reality at the same time. While on the surface it does seem like your average theme park building simulator, the amount of flexibility you have through its building options as well as the Impossification feature shows that the true limitations of Park Beyond is your very own imagination.

Although, admittedly there are still some minor bugs that were present during the test such as placement problems as well as some weird behavioural issues.

The controls still need to be slightly more improved for me personally as it can get weird at times as I attempt to rotate the camera to get it into the position I want it to be. Hopefully this issue is resolved in the final build. Overall, the game experience is very fun and time just seems to pass exceptionally fast while attempting to create my perfect Theme Park.

Park Beyond is scheduled to release on the 16th of June 2023 and will be available for PlayStation 5 on Xbox Series S and X as well as PC.

You may find more find more information in regards to Park Beyond at their official website.

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