Way back in the dingy darkness of 1997 I played a property management sim called Constructor, in which you could do things like bury rivals in their own cement, and have your foreman take down the other guy’s hooligans with a shotgun. I’ve never played any property sim that’s quite as nasty, but I do get a similar vibe from Mirage Game Studios’ Space For Sale, published by THQ Nordic, in which one or two players throw together budget rentals for aliens on a decidedly unfriendly planet. We caught a glimpse of it at a presentation a few days ago, and despite my better nature I am keen to dig in.
The building process starts with you pegging out a holo-dome to create a safe space for construction. Then you look at your client’s list of requirements, such as proximity to “captivating nature” (a waterfall, perhaps) or “abnormal” (???). You assemble habitats piece by piece, which lends the game a nifty Airfix quality, and string them to power-generating structures such as waterwheels in a manner redolent of the really rather lovely (however punishing) Astroneer. Once constructed, you set a borderline-unconscionable rent and hopefully, gain some reputation as a landlord, which attracts more clients.
Some building resources such as electro fruit must be gathered from the surrounding landscape, which doesn’t really welcome the attention. The planet you’re on has a nasty case of Space Rot, a creeping Zerg-esque infestation that sprouts tentacles and eventually, bulbous boss monsters. You’ll need to hack it back periodically before it swallows all the rickety condos you’re trying to flog as dream homes. Should you find time while quelling the fauna, there are also temples you can crack open to learn about the planet’s previous owners.
Where its stablemate Outcast: A New Beginning wants you to care for its strange new world while also treating the local lifeforms as a glorified power-up, Space For Sale makes no bones of being a game about paving over the flora and getting filthy-rich. I think it’s possibly the better game for it, but we’ll have to wait till the imminent beta to learn more. In the meantime, please run your eyes over this list of the best management games and let me know if you, too, played Constructor. I used to have nightmares about the opening cinematic.
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