By Steel yourself
Version Reviewed: European
- review by James Watson
Rise of Industry 2 is a business management game and the successor to the original Rise of Industry from 2019. This new instalment is quite different to the original and has been developed by SomaSim instead of Dapper Penguin Studios.
Set in the 1980s (much later than the original), you run your own industrial corporation which you can specialise in metals, glass, plastics and many other sectors. As usual for the genre, you start small, gradually growing your business both literally and financially. After a decent tutorial, game modes offered are a lengthy objectives-based campaign and a sandbox mode.
There’s a lot of complexity to this game and even the early scenarios are quite challenging.
You build your empire in ‘complexes’, each specialised to a specific task such as raw resource extraction, resource processing, or manufacturing. You set up logistics chains to supply complexes with the output of others. What you don’t have can be bought in and what you ultimately produce is sold for income. An extensive, flexible tech system gives you plenty of options and eventually leads to conveyers and railways.
You must manage contracts for both buying and selling carefully, and you build up relationships with the owners of these third parties. Not honouring your contract by missing deliveries will cost you financially and sour your reputation, but you might be able to smooth things over at the golf course.
The simplistic graphics, although an improvement from the original, are not the strong point of the game, and the UI is rather clunky. But the game really does capture the feel of the 80s with its cheesy tunes and even some FMV.
The stylised UI is fun, but you often get bombarded with popups and the unintuitive controls can prove fiddly. The build controls also take some getting used to.
Overall Rise of Industry 2 offers a refreshing challenge and will appeal to players who love detailed business and factory sims. However, the game is not for everyone, and its overwhelming complexity, micro-management and cumbersome UI make it unsuitable for more casual players.