Tag: GameStar review

  • Steam Deal: One of the Best City-Building Simulators at Its Lowest Price

    Steam Deal: One of the Best City-Building Simulators at Its Lowest Price

    Key Takeaway

    – Tropico 6 offers expanded archipelagos, bridge building, and the novelty of placing world-famous monuments on your island, all while balancing political power and development.
    – It’s praised for freedom of play, presentation, and content, though it’s not considered highly challenging even on harder difficulties.
    – Current pricing: Steam has a 70% discount (~$12, lowest price to date), making it a strong entry point ahead of Tropico 7.

    Overview of Tropico Series and Latest Steam Deal

    The Tropico series has long been one of the best-known city-building and dictator simulations. Instead of medieval towns or realistic metropolises, the games revolve around a Caribbean island nation ruled by players as “El Presidente.” The still-current latest installment in the series is now available on Steam with a 70% discount for around $12 instead of $40, which, according to SteamDB, matches its lowest price to date. For city-building fans, this could be a good opportunity to prepare for Tropico 7, which is expected to launch sometime this year.

    Gameplay Evolution in Tropico 6

    In Tropico 6, players guide their tropical island nation through several historical eras, from the colonial period to the modern age. Compared with its predecessors, new features include larger archipelagos made up of multiple islands, bridge building and, for the first time, the option to steal world-famous monuments such as the Eiffel Tower or the Statue of Liberty and place them on your own island. As usual, the focus is not only on building up the island nation itself, but also on managing the political power structure behind it.

    Reception and Critical Takes

    German gaming magazine GameStar awarded the sixth installment in the city-building strategy series 81 out of 100 points, praising above all its freedom of play, strong presentation and substantial amount of content. Anyone looking for a serious challenge, however, is unlikely to find it here. According to GameStar, Tropico 6 is rarely truly demanding, even on higher difficulty settings, but nevertheless offers a successful mix of city building and politics. Windows Central even wrote in its review that it is “One of the best city-building simulators, ever.”

    Community Feedback and Performance

    The roughly 29,000 Steam reviews are 87% positive. On Metacritic, it holds a Metascore of 78 and a User Score of 6.8. Steam Deck compatibility is listed as “Playable.” Thanks to controller support, the game should also be reasonably playable on the handheld.

    Important Note on Pricing Information

    Disclaimer: Notebookcheck is not responsible for price changes carried out by retailers. The discounted price or deal mentioned in this item was available at the time of writing and may be subject to time restrictions and/or limited unit availability.


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  • Subnautica 2: Is Early Access Worth It?

    Subnautica 2: Is Early Access Worth It?

    Key Takeaway

    – Subnautica 2 closely mirrors Subnautica 1 but with meaningful, not radical, improvements, especially in atmosphere and core exploration features.
    – The Early Access build is technically solid with few major bugs and good performance, though some systems (map, story, crafting) feel unfinished.
    – Content is limited for now, with room for growth via updates; newcomers may prefer waiting for the full release, while fans of exploration may enjoy early access.

    Subnautica 2 finally entered Early Access on May 14. After the enormous success of the first game, which became one of the biggest indie highlights of 2018, expectations were naturally high – and it seems that developer Unknown Worlds has largely managed to meet them. For anyone wondering whether the roughly $30 Early Access price is worth it, two key questions matter most: How good is the sequel itself, and how polished is the Early Access version right now?

    Subnautica 2 sticks closely to the formula that made the original so successful. Players explore an alien underwater world, gather resources, build bases, upgrade equipment and gradually descend into increasingly dangerous depths – while encountering plenty of strange new sea creatures along the way. New additions include co-op multiplayer, expanded base building, DNA customization and a new vehicle called the “Tadpole.”

    Overview and initial impressions

    According to the German outlet GameStar, Subnautica 2 in its current state feels very close to the first game. The review essentially describes it as “Subnautica 1, but better.” Unknown Worlds has not tried to reinvent the wheel here. Instead, the sequel focuses on meaningful improvements rather than radical new ideas. That may not necessarily be a bad thing. GameStar particularly praises the atmosphere, which reportedly feels much closer to the original again after Below Zero was seen by many fans as a slight step backward. Criticism mainly targets the story, which GameStar describes as slow, predictable and clichéd. Even so, Subnautica 2 already has more than 97,000 Steam reviews with a very positive average rating of 91%.

    Technical state and early access content

    Technically, Subnautica 2 appears to be in unusually good shape for an Early Access launch. According to GameStar, there are hardly any major bugs or performance issues. Reddit users have also praised the game’s technical condition, and it is already Steam Deck Verified. There still seems to be room for optimization, though. Some users report that even powerful PCs do not deliver exceptional frame rates. Content-wise, fans should keep their expectations in check for now. Many players feel that the map, story and crafting systems are still unfinished, although that is expected to improve throughout the Early Access period. According to the roadmap, the game is set to receive smaller updates as well as at least one major content drop during development.

    Early Access will likely appeal most to existing fans who want to recapture the feeling of exploration, wonder and cautious dives into unknown depths while following the game’s development up close. In that case, the currently limited amount of content will probably be easier to overlook. Players expecting many new gameplay mechanics or a stronger focus on storytelling, however, may end up disappointed.

    What newcomers can expect

    Fans who are hesitant because of potential technical issues can probably buy in with confidence based on the current state of the game. Whether Subnautica 2 is the best choice for newcomers is more debatable. For first-time players, the original Subnautica is probably still the better option. It simply offers more content, a complete story and a fully realized world – and for many players, it remains one of the best survival crafting games ever made. Although Subnautica 2 already looks very promising and successfully recaptures the atmosphere of the original, its content is still in an early stage. Anyone planning to play the game only once and wanting the complete experience right away should probably wait for version 1.0, which is not expected for quite some time.


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