We got to try out the demo for Limbic Entertainment’s amusement park simulator, Park Beyond and here’s our first impressions. We’ve previously tried out the preview of the game, and now in the demo build of Park Beyond, we got to try out the first mission of the game as well as the sandbox mode.

First Glimpse

In the first mission of Park Beyond that we got to try out through the demo acts as a prologue to introduce us to the game. We got to take a sneak peek at the story mode which will be in the final game where we got to meet up with Blaze and Phil who are the members of the park management team. This is where we were introduced to some of the coaster building mechanics as well as the controls to the game.

Having a campaign mode isn’t particularly heard of in a these theme park management games so the inclusion of one in Park Beyond is definitely a breath of fresh air and a welcomed one in fact. The first mission for the game slowly eases in for the players as they get showed all the different functions that are in the game and does it patiently so that the players get to learn to use all those individual tools.

In Mission 1, we were given focus to the coaster creation part on how the basics of said creation would take place in Park Beyond. Basically while learning through the different functionalities of the coaster creation such as rotating a course or changing the height or the coaster loops, etc. The game also introduces us to certain mechanics like the addition of coaster modules like cannons or ramps that are able to shoot the player throughout the level.

In the demo, there were 2 modules for us to tinker around with, the previously mentioned cannon module and ramp module. The cannon module can help the ride gain lots of speed in a very short amount of time, and it works exactly how in you’ll see in cartoons where it actually shoots out the roller coaster carriage into the air.

Meanwhile for the ramp module, it has the same purpose as the cannon module but instead of blasting the roller coaster carriage, it would ramp the carriage up. You’ll need to match the length of your ramp to the speed of the roller coaster meaning that if your roller coaster is too slow, it won’t be able to make the jump and if it’s going too fast, it’ll overshoot and cause your coaster to crash.

If you have any worries about having difficulties with building your rides, not to fret since for someone as monkey-brained as myself, I was still able to manage out the coaster creation in Park Beyond. I feel like the devs had taken a very playful approach with the ride editor and it allows us the liberty to flexibly change anything at any point in time, even if the ride has already been placed down.

Creativity is at the Tip of Your Fingers

We were able to get exclusive access to the sandbox mode for Park Beyond where we got a sneak peek into the park creation and its components which introduces the park rating, amazement levels and the unique impossification feature.

The Sandbox mode opens up a new world of customisation with a new look at the “modular building”. Here we are able to build up the park, place down roads, and shops. The layout of the park also matters a lot where which flat rides are close to which shops, how long the distances are and so on so forth.

The flat rides in the Sandbox mode actually caters to the different visitor types that you find in your park which means that you’ll need to be able to cater your park for families, adults and as well as those pesky teenagers.

Players are able to purchase the basic working elements of the shops and then have access to a whole library full of assets which are located on the left side of the screen to create your own buildings as well as decorating them according to your own personal flair.

These assets from the library can either come off individually or combined together as a big prefab. You’re also able to customise the colours of all the objects that are in the game world so that’s pretty cool too.

Mission Impossification

So what exactly is impossification in Park Beyond? According to the developers, it’s a feature where you can not experience by going into a normal theme park. You’ll be able to experience the attractions which are a lot more outstanding than in real life. In Park Beyond, by going through the impossification, the attraction levels of your park will level up, which in turn will allow you to gain more benefits. More attraction in return would mean more revenue.

The game also offers some terraforming tools which allows players to play God and create mountains, riversides, lakes, etc. One of the examples of me using the terraforming tools come from the time where I made a hill and then using some trees as “hair” on the top of my landscape sculptures.

Sadly, the sandbox mode is still heavily work in progress, and so while we were given access to almost most of the features that are available in the game, there were some bugs in terms of camera work, assets suddenly glitching but worry not, those issues will be addressed when the demo officially comes out.

Opinion

Playing through the demo for Park Beyond, I was able to learn a lot about the management tools and the various creativity options in the game as well as a glimpse of the campaign. Comparing Park Beyond to other games, it does feel like the game offers a deeper management functionalities in my opinion, as well as the inclusion of a campaign mode to a sim game makes for such a unique experience.

Although I only got to go through the first mission of the campaign mode so I wouldn’t know how the campaign will turn out in the end. Trying out the sandbox mode, there are tons of different things that can be explored, both on the content side as well as the tool which are given to us to make our own Dream Park.

Park Beyond will be release in 2023 and will be available for PlayStation 5 on Xbox Series S and X as well as PC.