I had a fish tank when I was a kid. I’m terrified of fish. Now, why my parents thought this was a good idea is beyond me. Needless to say, this did not go well. I’m still scared of fish, but I also feel pretty bad about how that whole aquarium thing went down. To right past wrongs, I bring you Megaquarium by Twice Circled, a simulation game where you create and manage a public aquarium. I love simulation games. Whether I’m the captain of a ship or running a hospital. the whole premise of resource management, goal meeting, and making stacks on stacks on stacks – It’s all very appealing to me. Megaquarium meets all these marks, but with the added bonus of sea life.
Gameplay in Megaquarium
Honestly, this game doesn’t mess with the setup of simulation games too much. You start off with a simple building and a single room. In it, you need to build your first display with your first sea creatures to display. The aquarium building is pretty simple, with some aesthetic and functionality choices to make. You have to have specific tanks to house certain kinds of fish. For example, a shark needs cooler waters than a jellyfish. So you may need to add heaters or coolers. You also have to make sure the tanks stay clean and the sea life is fed adequately and treated when sick.
To care for every tank, you’ll need to hire a staff. There are caretakers, feeders, and maintenance staff to deal with. The building needs cleaned and cared for as well as the fish. And the better your tanks and facility are cared for, the better attendance you’ll have. Patrons bring in money, and with more money you can get better tanks, afford better staff, and create new displays for new sea life.
Making money is the biggest goal of the game. And you can do that with higher attendance, concessions, and merchandise stands. However, there is also a quest and goals system where different objectives will be mailed to you. You have the option to perform them or ignore them, but if you decide to take them on, you get cool stuff for your aquarium. So, why not?
Variety and Choices
The most impressive thing about Megaquarium is the sheer volume of choices you have in customizing and expanding your aquarium. There is so much sea life in this game. You have your groupers, surgeonfish, angelfish, rays, eels, and sharks. And that’s just a few of the categories. You actually have individual species in each category as well. Altogether, there are almost a hundred different species. But the choices don’t end there. You also have a huge catalog to customize your displays. There are different tanks, feeders, and cleaners. There’s also a ton of decorations and plants to add.
Buy Megaquarium
Megaquarium is out now on Steam for PC, Mac, and Linux. Get yourself a copy now and start building your own underwater paradise, and right your own childhood aquarium catastrophes.
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