Amazing Cultivation Simulator (PC) Review

Amazing Cultivation Simulator is a very, very, strange game. This is coming from a reviewer that has no problem with the multitude of various crazy JRPGs and other whacky releases that occasionally find their way over to the West. The root gameplay revolves around taking a few people that represents the beginnings of a tribe (or cult - as the title implies), and tries to expand it.

While the game is completely direct and blunt, it is mind-boggling complex. Everything, from harvesting resources, to building, to what the people are even doing is complicated, and not easy to figure out. There is an absolute horde of things to manage and keep track of, from everyone's individual food and morale, to their skills, experience, and then the most complicated part of constructing buildings using literal Feng Shui elements that carry heavy costs if not followed closely.

Artwork, style, and music are all pretty good. It has a very heavy Okami vibe with its bright, watercolor-like colour pattern and styling. The music is relaxing, and fittingly Asian. One issue is that the quality is not consistent, where certain things are absolutely gorgeous - take for example the title screen - but others leave a lot to be desired, such as how bad some of the character faces routinely look. The overall game looks okay, but it would have been better if it was clearer as it is hard to tell at a glance what things are.

Primarily players will be focusing on expanding their town, such as gathering resources, building resource dump zones, resource manufacturing, crafting, rooms, and so on. From here you have to balance five elements that affect how various things like power and morale are modified. Depending on what path to godhood you pick, you are going to be going after one of the elements more strongly, such as having fire-themed buildings compared to ice-themed.

Unfortunately, this is far too complex to really be enjoyable. It sits in a very strange dual-genre where players are required to be all-in on the crafting/construction, yet also all-in on the RPG/strategy aspects. Merely liking one of these genres will prove to be not enough. There is too much crafting required that general strategy players will be put off by the complexity and difficulty - and likewise, the more casual crafting players will likely be put off by managing morale, food, skills and experience.