Esports Life Tycoon - Does This Game Keep Up With The Big Leagues?
The makers of simulation game YouTubers Life have done it again, but this time, their latest development centralises around the world of esports. In Esports Life Tycoon, the player has the chance to see if they've really got what it takes to develop a small team of eager gaming enthusiasts and turn them into professional athletes.
I'm not going to lie, as someone who has played YouTubers Life on Nintendo Switch, I'd already dabbled with U-Play Online's gaming style before (and quite frankly, didn't enjoy it as much as a player should). Going into this review, I decided to forget my prior issues and wipe the slate clean for the latest release.
Click to enlargeEsports Life Tycoon was originally released as a beta in early 2020 for 5000 lucky testers, but on September 3, the game officially became available to purchase and play on Steam, IOS and Android. Players are tasked with creating and nurturing their very own esports team, hire staff to guide them to success, and even negotiate subs when players become injured (which believe me, they do - a LOT). The game has even partnered up with some pretty big names in esports, with Fnatic, G2 Esports, PSG Esports, and Heretic all included in the game as players you can bring in to your own team or play against.
Your main goal is to fight your way to the top of the league by playing a game called "League of Heroes". Every two days, you are given a new team to analyse, develop tactics against, and train. It's important to remember that your players have a good rest too - burnout is real and definitely accounted for within the game.
Click to enlargeFIRST IMPRESSIONS / STARTING THE GAME
At the start of the game, you need to make your personal character. One element that really stood out to me was the ability to tailor your skin tone as accurately as possible. While there were five base colours, you could slide the cursor across to custom-make your profile and suit a range of skin tones - making the game inclusive from the start. The hairstyles left a lot to be desired, but that's purely just me being picky.
One of my favourite parts of the game was designing my team's shield and uniform. I had a LOT of fun creating my K8TEsports team (self-indulgent, I know, I know), as I could really feel like it was my own and that I had an actual stake in their development.
After spending way too much time setting up my team, I picked my players - you can alter their name, but I just kept mine the same. Then, the hard part came along, and I'm not going to lie, my previous PTSD from YouTuber's Life began to set in. When you first enter your home, there's a LOT of information to take in, but thankfully, due to the game's repetitive nature, it's easy to pick it up. After a while, you'll be sending your players to where they need to be without having to second guess it.
HOW IT LOOKS
Aesthetically, the game looks polished. On PC, it's not the most advanced simulation game when you consider the level The Sims is currently performing at - but for iOS and Android, I can see this game really shining behind a fancy retina display. It has similar design concepts to its predecessor, but it really feels like U-Play has taken on board any criticism from YouTubers Life. As I previously said, characters could be a bit more customisable, but it's also great to see a range of diversity in the teams - especially considering you can switch up and have both women and men on a single team. This is something that would be great to see more of within the real-life esports scene.
As the CEO, you can also choose to play the league games yourself, or simply Resolve Match and find out the outcome of your team's training strategies. Playing in the "League Of Heroes" tournament seems reminiscent of a general MOBA game, and you can push certain Top, Mid, and Bottom lanes to help aid your team in destroying the opposition's Nexus (a giant crystal that your team guards, which leads to either your victory or destruction when attacked).
Click to enlargeHOW IT PLAYS
I personally found myself learning a lot more about the inner workings of an esports organisation, and even spoke to other colleagues about how I was ready to ditch my day job to become the next big esports CEO. For £11.98 on Steam, it's not badly priced considering the hours of gameplay you can get out of it. I played for three hours in one of my sittings, and I still hadn't got around to climbing out of the Bronze League. After another fifteen hours, I've continued to still pick it up, but I don't know if it's a game I will continue to play once I complete the entire league.
Esports Life Tycoon plays well, meaning I didn't find myself getting frustrated with the controls and motions. At times, my computer struggled to handle the graphics (I definitely need an upgrade), but the game managed perfectly fine once I'd adjusted the settings to my personal output. You don't need an ultrafast gaming PC to be able to effectively play, so don't worry about not being able to join in on the fun if you don't have the optimal equipment.
Overall, the game is pretty straightforward - if a little repetitive. If you're looking for a game that will challenge you and your esports abilities, this probably isn't it. However, if you're looking for something to pass the time while feeling like you own a little corner of the esports scene, Esports Life Tycoon can give you that.
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Image Via U-Play Online | GGRecon
