To wash, rise, or build an empire?
I’ve had the urge to buy a new game recently, and I usually only buy games on sale. Right now, there are three games on my wishlist that interest me...
What are my choices?
- PowerWash Simulator 2
- The Rise of the Golden Idol
- Celestial Empire
For each one, I downloaded the demo or prologue just to get some first impressions.
Do I need PowerWash Simulator 2 ?
I played the original PowerWash Sim for 160 hours and still haven’t finished all the DLC, but the prospect of doing a whole new campaign in Muckingham is hard to resist.
No one will hire me if I can't clean my own van!
Demo thoughts: Not impressed. It’s not bad, it just feels a bit different in a way I’m not comfortable with. It’s good that you can switch to the old control scheme, but nothing made me go, “Wow! I need this game now!”
How about The Rise of the Golden Idol ?
I’ve done 8 of maybe 11 cases in the original mystery-puzzle game and enjoy it very much. The latest installment looks great with its ‘80’s theme.
There's a dead body under that pipe!
Demo thoughts: I was immediately thrown by the complete overhaul of the user interface. Why change something that worked perfectly well? The font size was smaller with no options to increase it, and the first two cases were a bit drab - a prison cell murder and a corpse in the snow. Not the Californian sunshine I expected from the trailer. Nope, this one can wait until I’ve finished the original and its DLC - which might be the better purchase.
What about Celestial Empire ?
I do like a good city builder, with most of my experience being in Sim City and Cities Skylines. I’m also an avid watcher of Chinese dramas, and I study the language too! So a city builder that looks like one of my favourite costume dramas is something I really want to play.
What a nice looking yamen!
Prologue thoughts: I’d already watched a YouTube gameplay video of Celestial Empire and decided it was worth a buy, but I just wanted to check the Prologue version to see if I could scale up the UI. I like to play games while in bed, so a big font on the TV screen is essential. Fortunately, it does! And the initial presentation looks very polished.
So, what’ll it be?
I’ve not fully decided. While I’m tempted to get the DLC for The Case of the Golden Idol, I could easily wait until I finish the main game.
Celestial Empire is my pick. It’s on sale, cheaper during Early Access, and ticks all the boxes.
I’ll let you know what I think of it in a future blog post!