Paradox Interactive is quickly cementing itself as the potential new king of simulation games with titles likeCities Skylines,Life By You, and the hotly anticipatedCities Skylines 2. The studio has also acquiredindie hits likePrison ArchitectandAcademia School Simulator, which has only grown its simulator market share. It seems like Paradox really wants to take on the genre, and aRollercoaster Tycoonclone feels like the next logical step.
Cities Skylines 2andLife By Youcould take the genre by storm and will hopefully be everything that Paradox is promising they will be. If they prove to be a success, then Paradox should quickly get to work chasing after the theme park simulation genre. While games likePlanet Coasterhave given players their theme park fantasy, nothing has compared to the iconicRollerCoaster Tycoonseries, and Paradox could be the one to finally fill that void.
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The Industry Has a RollerCoaster Tycoon Shaped Hole
RollerCoaster Tycoonused to be one of the biggest names in the simulator genre. This series of theme park builders first started in 1999, and it seemed to go from hit to hit. It was one of the few games that truly gave players control of their own theme park, and that concept pulled players to it in droves. The series seemed unstoppable, but then something happened afterthe release ofRollerCoaster Tycoon 3.
RollerCoaster Tycoon 3was popular when it released in 2004, but the fourth game would not release come out until 2016. Various behind-the-scenes issues caused the game this massive gap between releases, and fans were not thrilled whenRollerCoaster Tycoon Worldfinally hit store shelves. It paled in comparison to its predecessors, and the game felt like a glorified mobile title. Outside a few remasters, this game killed any hope forfurtherRollerCoaster Tycoonadventures.
Frontier Developments ended up releasing its own spiritual successor toRollerCoaster Tycoonin 2016. The studio had extensive experience with the genre, and fans were excited to see what it would deliver.Planet Coasterdid not disappoint, and it may be one of the most engaging theme park builders on the market. It offers a plethora of content for fans of the genre to explore, and Frontier has been consistently updating it with exciting content.
Planet Coasterhas gone a long way in filling theRollerCoaster Tycoonvoid. It has almost everything that theme park builder fans would want. However, it puts a greater focus on free form building instead of theme park management.Most ofPlanet Coaster’sDLCsimply adds new props and cosmetics for players to use in their builds. Players who want to spend hours customizing their perfect theme park can have a lot of fun here, but players that want to manage the business side of things may not have as much fun.
Paradox Interactive seems like the perfect studio to revive theRollerCoaster Tycoonbrand. It wasable to fill theSimCityvoidwithCities Skylinesand is preparing to take onThe SimswithLife By You. While it could focus on those two franchises, it could also attempt to go for the theme park builder genre. If it blended the creativity ofPlanet Coasterwith the management features ofCities Skylines, then it has the chance to create one of the bestRollerCoaster Tycoonsuccessors around.
Theme park builder fans have had no shortage of content in recent years, but it still feels like none of the games have truly captured what madeRollerCoaster Tycoonspecial. Many titles have come awfully close, but Paradox could be the ones to finally deliver on that promise. If it can create an exciting new theme park builder, then it could truly cement itself as an unstoppable simulator machine.
Cities Skylines 2is currently in development for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
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