Project Highrise

Great game. I used to play Sim Tower many centuries ago, and this fills the void of my longing to play it again.

So I rate this as top-tier in it's genre, it has all the depth an complexity that you would want it to have based on the premise - basically being a large building planning professional but then having to act as the infuriated Facilities Management boss too
It makes you grumpy in all the good ways for a game of this type, OBVIOUSLY your sleek plans forgot a few small factors that could completely crucify your intentions when it comes to operations! What I'm saying it has a lot of deep, inter-connected web-of-management decisions and prioritisation needs which is what makes this a really, really good management game. One of my most enjoyable experiences in management games.
I loved how you can make all the things work with a rudimentary understanding, but can make them work way better when you fully understand their functions, benefits and cross-stream relevance. I love how you can build progressively smarter - and more profitable - towers based on different user needs and priorities. It really does push you in the right way to focus on what the design challenge was - it's smart, thoughtful, detailed and nuanced in a very satisfying 'build this here now then get ready for... " kind of way.
Thoroughly loved this but then it's right in my current favourite spot, and its achievements are also gettable, especially if you don't waste time on free-builds and save that Monster Perfect Tower until you've done enough scenarios. Make that free-play goal your final personal Shangri-La-Shard and sit back with that final satisfaction!
Mods are good too, but be warned all usage invalidates achievements!

After I played this game, I started to critisize the layouts of the skyscrapers I go to.

If you played simtower as a kid and want to scratch that itch again, wait for this game to go on sale from its $20 price and then you can go for it.
This is a tower management game that allows you to build your skyscraper as an office building, as a residential building, or as a hotel building if you pick up the DLC. From the get-go the main warning I would give to everyone is that you cannot build the tower exactly the way you want from the ground up. All towers are going to start out very similar where you start with the basic stuff, and then unlock more intricate and high-end stuff as you meet certain logistics and requirements. You're not going to be able to start plopping luxury duplexes all over the place the moment you start the game, you instead have to play by the games rules for a bit before you get to that point.
Overall though this game is about 95% like sim tower, the main differences being the types of rooms you can build and the fact that the game runs fairly fast instead of creepingly slow the way the original sim tower did. Managing your utilities (electrical, water, gas, etc) were the other unique thing this game added that was not something you dealt with in the original sim tower games, but it is a cool aspect to have to take into account as your skyscraper scrapes skyward (teehee)
If you can get this on sale for 50% off or more and want to scratch that sim tower itch for a couple hours here and there, I would go for this game :)

I love this game. It takes me back to the days of sim tower. A great tower building simulation here

Project Highrise is a spiritual successor to SimTower. Building from humble beginnings to a massive skyscraper. Players have to manage power, water, gas, air, phone, and air conditioning to units in the tower as well as managing noise levels, smells, visibility, and availability of extra services for tenants. While the game gets the basics right, it is far from perfect.
Some of the dev's choices for pathfinding are baffling. Tenants will walk to the far end of your tower where there are stairs and complain there isn't an elevator when their starting point was right next to an elevator. An employee of a shop whose shop was right next to an elevator had a thought bubble, "I wish there was an elevator here..." The game also does not let you stack elevators next to each other. Tenants will only take the outermost elevator. Workers will take an elevator that has a shaft from the floor they start to their destination and get off several times and change elevators for no particular reason. People complain that the area is too noisy, but when you surround them with noise-cancelling doors, but they still say the area is too noisy. So I am not sure what the game is looking for.
If you are looking to fill that nostalgia void from missing classic games like SimTower and want a new take that adds complexity and depth to the tower-building genre, you can have a good experience. Just know that it is flawed and since it is 10 years old, it is unlikely to get any more updates to fix issues and add content. What you get is what you get.

Super solid idea, decent delivery. Never knew there was an interest in building a highrise and managing one. Certainly after playing this game I have more of an appreciation to how much work can go into managing such a large building. Fun concept which shine can wear off quickly for some. 

Project's Highrise gameplay and controls are mostly coordinated and determined by the mouse. A large part of the game is played with the mouse. Not a major issue, but it feels like there is minimum keyboard shortcuts and features. The premise of Project Highrise is to complete contracts. Contracts are completed by meeting the specific demands, for example, having at least three types of a certain office or increasing the population to a specific number. Contracts sort of cycle and do not change much even as progress is made. The main challenge (besides fulfilling contracts) is to draw as many potential tenants as possible, and keep them happy. As the tenancy challenge rises and new offices or residences become available to make, the player also has to accommodate their new needs. A lawyers office for example will need catering services while an accounting office may need copies and a file room (outside of the office). There is a decent amount to explore when it comes to variety of room types, maintenance, policy type offices, cleaning rooms, etc... This part of the game certainly makes the player double think how they lay out their building.

The premise here is to build build build. The problem though is money money money (said in a Mr. Krabs' voice). Going negative and positive at the beginning flips quite quickly while later in the game it becomes a little easier maintaining in the green (cash flow). Players start out with extremely basic and small offices or residences. They themselves also require different needs (in addition to copy rooms and file rooms) such as electricity, water, gas, phone lines, and cable. The player must weigh their decisions on whether to focus on more construction (allowing more space for offices, residences, or building specific rooms), fulfilling more needs, or on required maintenance and renovations for offices or residences that are aging. This happy balance will make or break the first couple of hours of any new game started in Project Highrise. Do have to give credit to the Devs as there is quite a bit of variation when it comes to residences, businesses, offices, stores, and food options. The way to unlock the bigger and better offices and residences is to simply build more, and ensure tenants are satisfied and do not break their lease. 

The visuals and graphics are suitable to the game's environment. The sprites and objets are suitable to the game's design and atmosphere. There are visible animations in the game in addition to modified sprites. As rental spaces wear down it becomes more and more visible as time goes on. It is as detailed as it can possibly get from where the camera is positioned. The sounds and music aren't too bad, but neither great. Depending where the camera is pointing also will determine which sounds the player hears. The music isn't too bad and is generally nice to listen to passively. I feel like a little more could've been done in both these domains to further immerse the player into the game.

Overall, not a bad game, not a great game. It's a fun little building manager type game where creative possibilities could be endless. The full price is steep for the hours I got out of the game (especially waiting to accumulate money to make moves), so I would recommend purchasing on sale. Problem being my age is when I play games like this they were free on websites like miniclip.com or newgrounds, so I always am a bit hesistant to purchase something like this. Honestly though, well done to the Devs for trying something different. Readers - do your homework, if this is something you're EXTREMELY interested in, I'd suggest a purchase at full price. 


RATING: 7.35/10




      Gameplay
      C+


      Story / Campaign
      C+


      Visuals / User Interface
      C+


      Sounds / Music
      C+


      Replay-ability
      C+


      Overall
      C+