➤ Tropico 6, the review 🎮

Tropico 6 is the new chapter of one of the most popular city management series in the field PC, characterized by a tropical setting and by being essentially a simulator of South American dictatorship, albeit with extremely relaxed tones. In older editions this theme was treated much more seriously, but by some incarnation now El Presidente, that is the avatar of the player, as well as the governor of the small nation that we are going to manage, has become more of a folkloric figure. Not that there are references to real themes, but they are much more nuanced and affect the gameplay in a less and more fun way.

For the rest, factions to be satisfied, political criminals to be arrested, opponents to disappear, elections to be bought, constitutions to be tightened up, riots to be quenched in the blood and the other typical elements of the series are all there. The player's main objective remains to make the nation of Tropico prosper, accompanying it through four eras. Basically, the basic mechanics are the classic ones of the genre: buildings are built with an eye to the resources available, check that there are no problems using the numerous summary screens and intervene where it is most necessary, following the wishes of the citizens or the needs of the Realpolitik, trying not to bankrupt the nation for too much magnanimity. In the meantime, we must also carry out a series of missions that are assigned to us by allies and advisors, which usually require you to build certain buildings or develop a certain sector. For example, we may be required to produce a certain amount of tobacco (one of the many crops available), which requires a specific plantation, or to conclude a trade route with a certain faction, or to send pirates to raid, or to send El Presidente to visit a certain building, or to enhance a certain tourist site and so on.

In general, the tasks that are assigned to us set the pace of the game, also because they are a great way to accumulate resources or favors and, in the missions, to make everything progress. In total, Tropico 6 is spread over four eras, ranging from colonial to contemporary, each with its own problems and buildings to be built. Particular praise goes to the interface, which is always clear and functional despite the many things it has to manage. Here you can clearly see the experience gained by Limbic with other strategists, in particular the Might & Magic Heroes, from which the Tropico 6 interface inherits clarity and readability, with all the warnings placed in the right place and no possible misunderstanding. The tutorial is also excellent, explaining the main functions of the game, as well as some of the advanced ones.

Missioni single player

Tropico 6 does not have a real campaign like Tropico 4 and 5, but a series of narrative scenarios similar to those seen in Tropico 3. In total there are fifteen and, in other words, altogether they stage the problems related to the development of the our dictatorship in different eras and in various socio-political contexts. Among the fifteen missions there are some more focused on economic development, while others will take the systems of control and repression of the population envisaged by the game to the extreme consequences.

There are also missions more focused on international relations and others in which more modern issues such as sexual freedom or freedom of expression emerge. Obviously everything is expressed with that irony that has always characterized the Tropico series and which in a certain sense represents its signature. After all, in what other game is it possible at the same time to rig up the elections, send the military on the hunt for dissidents and at the same time declare oneself friends of democracy? Tropico 6 is equipped with a series of tools that allow you to tell a wide range of possible developments of our small dictatorship, without ever burdening the gameplay and, indeed, making it interesting in every possible way. It is difficult to calculate how many hours it can take to complete all the missions, since the type of game not only allows you to play them several times by facing them in a different way, but also because once you have exhausted the scenario objectives you can continue playing as if you were. in sandbox mode. The latter then increases the longevity out of all proportion, since it allows you to play free scenarios that can be customized for difficulty, size, economic availability and aggressiveness of the factions. In terms of actual content, Tropico 6 offers a good amount of buildings, edicts to be developed and objectives to be achieved, as well as a great variety of possible economic developments, ranging from wild industrialization to extreme ecology.

Unfortunately, these days, it is difficult not to make comparisons with previous chapters which, DLC after DLC, they usually overflow with content. Tropico 6, from this point of view, represents an excellent starting point, already perfectly enjoyable. Obviously, those who come from the previous Tropics must accept that they still have to grow a bit. However, considering the duration of the missions (more than five hours each for the advanced ones) and considering the possibilities offered by the sandbox mode, it is easy to assume that the most passionate players can pull out from Tropico 6 dozens and dozens of hours of gameplay .

No multiplayer

Tropico 6 at launch will lack multiplayer, or at least the review version that was given to us did not foresee it. The developers have promised that they will launch it later, because they are still testing it. In truth, the mutiplayer was included in the beta of the game: obviously including a refined version in the finished product would have meant a delay in the launch.

Defects

Tropico 6 basically has two big ones defects. The first is a certain one lack of personality, which if we want is paradoxical for a series that is among the best characterized in the world of management. Making his debut in the series, Limbic entertainment he seems to have wanted to risk the minimum, making a fruit salad with some of the most loved features of the third, fourth and fifth chapter. The result, as is often the case, is not as exciting as it should be. It works, yes, but it is the classic top-of-the-class theme that seems to have perfectly understood what the teacher wanted from him, without however putting anything of his own into it.

The result is in a certain sense more aseptic and detached than it should be and lacks strong characterizing elements. The second defect, this more substantial one, concerns the economic system. It is true that in recent years the mobile world has imposed on all management systems to make the management of the economy less complex, so as not to frustrate too much the players who come from dull and flat experiences such as the Clash of Clans and the like, but the trend it's getting worrying. The economy of Tropico 6 - although it offers interesting elements such as pirate raids, trade routes, diplomatic relations that can yield aid or penalize a little, ties with factions, which can lead to unforeseen crises and expenses, and other - appears too simplified and little influenced by the way of conceiving the city, which should instead be the focus of the game. It is amazing to see how the simulation level has been so simplified compared to the first Tropics, where it was not only the presence or absence of certain buildings that mattered, but also their positioning relative to that of all the others.

In this sense Tropico 6 is closer to the philosophy of Two Point Hospital or Jurassic World Evolution, that is the one that does not penalize the player for how he builds, considering only the presence or absence of certain buildings, although Limbic has not completely renounced certain mechanics anymore. deep, which emerge however only by selecting the highest level of challenge, in particular in the sandbox mode. Indeed, it is interesting to note that the maximum difficulty of some modern management systems corresponds more or less to the average of the old titles.

A world not so much alive

One of the most controversial aspects of Tropico 6 it concerns the technical part. We are not talking about the graphics themselves, excellent for a management software, but about the vitality of the city. Unfortunately, the inhabitants of Tropico often behave in an unnatural way and stopping to watch them as they live their lives shows puppets that move like automatons, going from one place to another without criteria and without their choices really affecting the gameplay. Let's say they are mere decoration, where the pulsating arteries of our work should be. The buildings themselves are well done and well characterized: Limbic was able to clearly show the passage between the eras in the architecture of the various dwellings and production buildings.

Too bad that, for example, some remain the same regardless of the period in which they are built. Thus a colonial-era prison is identical to a modern-era prison. Obviously, redoing all the buildings for each era would have involved a huge burden in production, but a few minimal changes would have been enough to be satisfied. Finally, the soundtrack is excellent, made up of Latin American songs with an enthralling rhythm, which greatly increase the pleasure of playing.

Comment

Tested version PC Windows Digital Delivery Steam Price 44,99 € Resources4Gaming.com

7.5

Readers (23)

8.1

Your vote

Tropico 6 is a worthy new chapter in a series that, while remaining at the top of the management genre, struggles to propose substantial innovations. Limbic simply mixed elements of Tropico 3, 4 and 5 to try to offer something new, without really believing it. Let it be clear that we are not facing a bad game, but only the classic connecting chapter that tries to take the best from its predecessors, without being able to add anything of its own. Perhaps this basic shyness is the biggest problem in entrusting a long-running series like the Tropico one to ever-changing developers, who, crushed by the responsibility not to upset the fans, tiptoe into a story that up to that moment did not have them. take care of yourself, leaving no mark.