Blockbuster Inc. on PC
Back in 2005, the world was introduced to the exciting world of making movies with your own fledging studio thanks to The Movies, a Lionhead Studios creation. Since then, tycoon and management games have taken quite a ride, but no one has tried to bring back the magic of Hollywood, that is, until now with Super Sly Fox and Ancient Forge‘s Blockbuster Inc.
What follows is an eventful journey that could start all the way back in 1920 and continue until the 2010s, charting the course of not just your own movie studio but that of an entire industry. Watch as cameras get better and more technologically advanced, actors and stunt people become even more adept at their jobs, sets transform into complicated environments, and more as you try your very best to make it big in Filmwood.
For any returning fans of The Movies, Blockbuster Inc. will feel right at home, albeit with plenty of modern improvements and tweaks that help the entire experience feel much smoother than before. That’s not to say the game doesn’t have some issues, but the core gameplay of making movies is still very much an enjoyable process that manages to suck players in before they know it.
Starting with a small lot and just enough money to hire some rookie producers, writers, directors, and other vital people, aspiring movie moguls will kickstart their journey by making less-than-average films. There is something magical about watching NPCs spewing lines and performing actions as though they are on a real set, culminating in rough cuts that somehow qualify as a full film, ready for the industry’s judging.
Do well, and you’ll earn money at the box office while the people involved become more famous than they were before. Building up your studio is more than just about getting new buildings and facilities to create better films; it is also about building up your roster of people who help make it all happen. As time goes by, you will hopefully accumulate enough Research Points to unlock better cameras, more genres, and other useful enhancements, making it easier to score in areas like set design and technical prowess as you move through the decades.
However, the biggest draw of Blockbuster Inc. lies in the freedom it allows players when making those films. There are a ton of things to dive into if you so wish, from simple things like adjusting the budget, genre, and the people involved, down to the deep trenches of adjusting sliders for lore versus dialogue, how different scenes should be filmed, adding VFX and sound effects, and even editing the final footage that can be shared outside of the game with the community. Once you are sick of movies, you can always shift into the realm of television shows as well.
That kind of granular detail is not for everyone, but for those who are really into the process, this is a godsend in so many ways. For even novices like us, the daunting prospect of making a feature film slowly became much more manageable as we got the hang of adjusting positions, cueing actions, and making sure everything lines up on the visual and audio front, allowing us the joy of making our very own film that stands distinct from all the others made by the community or in-game.
As mentioned, there are also the people that players will need to manage in Blockbuster Inc., especially as success begins to become a normal thing. Famous people tend to demand more, and the only way to make great movies is to keep them happy. This means renegotiating salaries, building better facilities like top-notch cafeterias and lounges, and even leasing them nicer houses that reflect their growing status. The last thing you’d want is for a rival studio to poach your stars, so it is always worth considering shelling out just a little more if it keeps the group intact.
In general, a smaller pool of staff is obviously easier to handle, but once you have different teams roaming about the lot, the system in place can make it hard to understand just what is going on with your staff. The lack of meaningful information at first glance can be annoying, requiring multiple menu jumps just to see how much your star actor is hoping to get for his contract, which is not exactly the best process. Environmental information is also hard to get to, making the management aspect of the job that much more difficult.
The pace of the game can also be adjusted to be faster, considering that you will need to finish off a decade in order to progress to the next set of research upgrades and give you more tools to play with. As for the aesthetics, the slightly cartoonish vibe of Blockbuster Inc. does work well, but it is certainly a little rougher when compared to other management games like Planet Coaster or Two Point Campus.
As a revival of sorts for this particular niche of management games, Blockbuster Inc. has the chops to impress when viewed from the right lens. Its trading of grand management for more focused endeavours is something to be appreciated, and who doesn’t love the idea of making films that are blockbuster hits and creating stars out of nothing? Of course, they could very well stab you in the back and jump ship, but that is the name of the game, after all. While there are flaws, the other good things it has going for it make this game well worth checking out, just like that indie film everyone is raving about but you just haven’t gotten the chance to enjoy just yet.
Blockbuster Inc. is now available on Steam.
SavePoint Score
Summary
Not an Oscar winner, but certainly worthy of a nomination, Blockbuster Inc. is a great addition to the management genre.
