Aquatico Is A Laid Back Management Sim With Some Tech Issues

Aquatico is an underwater city builder set in a post-apocalyptic world. It has a beautiful ocean  that’s bursting with marine life and relatively low stakes. The surface is unlivable due to a meteor crash. Once you’re below the waves however, setting up a few key buildings takes care of a large chunk of the “survival” aspect. You can potentially take a more laid back approach to management while still having a successful city. 

The game’s many features will be unloaded on players at the beginning. This leads to menus quickly filling up the screen. It becomes frustrating without adding any tension. There’s also no story after that initial setup. So you simply upgrade what’s next in the research tree without having to balance that with what’s necessary to complete a goal. It’s great if you just want an “endless” builder.

If there’s one thing to worry about, it’s over-expansion. Keep an eye on resources and go out on frequent expeditions. That should keep any problems at a manageable level. Expeditions also give simple choices and offer the closest thing Aquatico has to narrative decisions. These are mostly automated. The most time consuming thing will be navigating the research tree. Necessary upgrades are hidden by research that isn’t always required for whatever you want to build. 

Aquatico won’t let players build a fantastical city. It’s all utilitarian gray and silvers. The UI could be reworked to take up less space. It’s a slow-paced entry to city builders. There are higher difficulties once you’ve got a handle on all of Aquatico’s mechanics. Old fans of management sims may not find much to keep them interested beyond the fish and other creatures swimming by.