When going into something with the word ‘simulator’ in the title, a first-person viewpoint is pretty much expected nowadays. If you need convincing, the last seventeen simulators we’ve reviewed used this perspective – a run broken by 2015’s Goat Simulator, of all things. Discovering that Disco Simulator has a top-down view came as quite a surprise, making it feel more like a management game akin to the Two Point series than a typical simulator. Although in a few areas, it did recall Two Point Hospital’s way more primitive predecessor Theme Hospital too.
Assumptions are clearly made that anyone going into Disco Simulator will be familiar with the management genre, as the tutorial is hidden within the menus and is largely text-based, save for a few thrilling flowcharts. This makes for an opening based around self-discovery, as you fumble within the various menus and learn the controls. While this may not sound too encouraging, it only takes a few minutes to get to grips with designing your own nightclub, helped by a HUD that’s easy to navigate.
You’re presented with an empty space and must place a handful of essential items before opening your doors for the first time. This includes a dance floor, toilets, sofas for relaxing, a bar, and a few staff members such as bouncers and bar staff. After opening and making money from entry fees and drinks, profits can be blown on expanding, adding decorations such as neon lights and lasers, perhaps opting for a second bar and dance floor, hiring cleaning and security crews, plus a lot more besides. Most additional purchases are locked, requiring you to invest in an unlock tree upon levelling up – with every rank having criteria to meet based on funds, reputation and the quality of your décor.
A day-to-night cycle is in place, which sees you making improvements to the club based on feedback (more sofas, additional toilets, etc) and restocking the bar (a one button process, mercifully) before opening for business. Doors open 8pm till 8am, at which point no further construction or alterations can take place. While the club is open, your interactions involve manually repairing equipment and cleaning, assigning staff (something later automated), and playing brief mini-games that involve double checking IDs and mixing drinks. Situations often arise too, in which you can choose to defuse things yourself or call the emergency services. Whether it’s an electrical fault or an attempted theft, calling the professionals is almost always the correct response, making the other options available oddly redundant.
The main campaign sees you managing a succession of nightclubs, varying in size and location. To beat each scenario, a target must be met, such as a monetary goal. Every new location sees you start from scratch, right down to having to unlock cleaners and other basic amenities. This is a little discouraging, although harnessing newfound knowledge from one club to the next does give Disco Simulator a nice sense of progression. My first club was poorly designed, with too few toilets and a dance floor far too large, whereas my third club had everything laid out logically, keeping punters happy as a result. If there aren’t enough toilets and queues for the bar are too long, then they can become disgruntled – it pays to watch over how ‘maxed out’ your facilities are.
Disco Simulator flows well, in the sense that it only takes around 15 minutes to get a club up and running, and it generally takes under two hours to complete a chapter and move onto the next club. Not a great deal changes from one location to another, however, and this is one of a few things holding Disco Simulator back. It isn’t as if there are new economic hurdles to overcome, or things such as random power outages. Another downside is that certain aspects are quite basic. After hiring staff, the majority remain rooted to the spot – it’s a far cry from Two Point Hospital/Museum, where staff regularly take breaks and have demands. Indeed, there isn’t much in the way of personality here. You aren’t going to see groups of troublemakers, intoxicated women on hen nights, or spotty-faced teens trying to sneak in – just wave after wave of slender city folk who wave their arms around on the dance floor before grabbing a drink and draining the lizard. Some folk will fall asleep or become too drunk, and this is as much individuality as you can expect.
Seven paragraphs in, and we haven’t mentioned the music yet. Going into Disco Simulator, I expected music to play a big part, choosing musical genres that set a club’s scene and draw in certain clientele. Imagine my surprise, then, to find this aspect completely overlooked. There’s a wide selection of music to choose from (stock dance, rock, trance, and dubstep tracks) but this is simply background music; not the music that plays in the club itself. A missed opportunity to add an extra layer of management. It is possible to hire celebrity DJs though, which results in a footfall increase – especially if you choose to promote that night too.
Despite a few shortcomings, Disco Simulator is still very enjoyable. The presentation is polished, the visuals are tidy, and the lax difficulty makes for something easy-going. Even though it’s obvious this was a PC game originally, the control scheme and UI has been adapted to a controller well too. In the end, its biggest sins are that it’s weirdly no-nonsense and streamlined in a few areas where you’d expect more options. Flairs, afro wigs and gold chains? No thanks. Disco Simulator plays it smart and casual. Grab your most formal pair of brogues and boogie.
Games Incubator’s Disco Simulator is out now on Xbox Series. Published by Ultimate Games. A PC version is also available. A PS5 version due out 29th Jan.