I’m a huge fan of Animal Crossing and enjoy seeing other companies mimic the whole building-a-town-from-scratch scenarios. It has been done in many different ways and Go-Go Town! isn’t much different in terms of building a town and managing its residences and buildings, but it does come with some interesting and brilliant mechanics that help make it stand out and not just another carbon copy. I was lucky enough to be provided with an early access copy on PC and couldn’t wait to see what going down in Go-Go Town!
The game will be released on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Steam when the full release drops, currently it is in early access on Steam which is how I got a hold of it. Plan, Build, and Revive. This is the motivation used to drive you to Go-Go Town! Roll up your sleeves and explore the delightful world on offer will you become the mayor of a rundown tourism destination.
Straight out of the gates, you receive a phone call and get promoted to become the mayor of a destination that needs a lot of TLC. Using very little to start with you must develop the land to become a fine tourist destination that visitors not only want to visit but stay and become residents/workers. The story is pretty basic and doesn’t go too in-depth it’s just used as a way to set the scene and get you on your way.
Go-Go Town! does a fantastic and simple job when it comes to building your town. It outlines what resources are needed to build certain things and also gives you enough detail to steer you in the right direction rather than spoon-feeding you everything. As the game progresses you get different tier types for building and decorations and it gives you a sense of achievement to be able to work toward these goals. The main ways in which you can move up the tiers and unlock new goodies is by making your town clean, and inviting and having the trade to bring the tourists in.
There are two types of currency in Go-Go Town! This can be used in various ways. You can use coins to buy new items and you can use Ego to unlock new things from the tier list. A very simple system which I like, it doesn’t overly complicate things but gives you two resources to manage when it comes to levelling up your town. At the start, the game feels very repetitive and grindy but once you unlock new abilities and types of building everything becomes a lot easier and frees up your time to get to probably dive into making the town look exactly as you want.
Working toward ranking number one in your town’s ranking is the fundamental goal but it doesn’t have to stop there as you will find plenty to do and a lot of freedom when it comes to designing your town.
Unlocking the train station (near the beginning of the game) allows visitors to come and visit. They will buy items from your traders, walk around your town, and take them in and if you are lucky enough, you’ll get visitors that offer you a task and if you complete this task they will become citizens in your town. This means that they will go to work for you and help run stores or collect raw materials that can be used to make various things.
The only caveat to this is that they require a home to live in. You need to make sure that you stay on top of this and manage your citizen and allocate their homes so that they have a place to live and also that it is ideally located next to their place of work. The idea of it is that you spend the initial few hours in the early game doing all the labor and once you get enough citizens and the automated options (that you unlock later) it frees up your time to do the more enjoyable things.
Like exploring the different zones across the map or going through your town with a fine-tooth comb making it spotless and perfect.
The different modes of transport are a nice feature as they help speed up getting to and from locations as well as offer you more storage as this is a huge bugbear of mine. When collecting resources you have limited space and keep having to deposit things in storage to be able to collect more it becomes easier as the game goes on but when you have to collect wood to turn it into planks but then collect stone to turn it into brick there is a lot of back and forth which is why the vehicles are a huge love of mine.
The terraforming option allows you to get that perfect look and helps you get creative with your town’s layout and design.
It allows you to make beautiful garden areas, clear concrete paths, and crossings, and give you the freedom to build. Onto of this you can fish, grow crops, farm animals, and meet various wildlife which adds an extra bit of fun when you get tired of collecting trash. A lot is going on but I never once felt overwhelmed or stressed it was a nice level of peaceful/busy which is right up my alley. I don’t think I would have coped if the game had me micro-manage everything and barked orders at me left and right.
The soundtrack is amazing and certainly has you bopping along while you play, some of the songs are more catching than others but overall it is a pleasant mix and I enjoyed having it on while playing. The graphics are personally my favourite type of style. The colourful cartoonish visuals make it a welcoming playground and make it feel similar to Animal Crossing I can’t help but love it. The animations when riding your bike or chopping down trees are cool and I love the way everything has to be revealed with a cutting of a ribbon when you are ready to open it.
It is super wholesome and I love the detail that has gone into its visuals and art style. Like with most city-building games there is plenty to do and you only really stop when you feel like you have made your town the way you want and that’s it but seeing as this has so much on offer and it is in early access I’m hoping that they will keep adding new zones, things to do and building that will keep the player coming back and expanding. You can do multiple play through as you can have several different saves so as long as your creative juices are flowing then you will keep playing.
Conclusion
For a game that is in early access, Go-Go Town! offers the player a good amount to keep you busy while also feeling quite chilled out. The progression and unlock system is easy enough to get your head around and there is a clear consensus as to what makes a good Town. It is one of those games that is easy enough to pick up and play whenever. You can spend a good chunk of time terraforming your town to get it looking exactly the way you want, then switch it off and come back to it at a later date.
It’s addictive like Animal Crossing as it gives you the freedom to build the town, choose its residence, and explore the gorgeous areas that surround it. There is plenty to do and while I’m playing I don’t feel bored and with the Go-Go Towns! Soundtrack to jam out to while playing you can’t go wrong. I highly recommend you check out this game if you are into city-building games and keep an eye out for its release on the other platforms at a later date!
Go-Go Town Trailer
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