Disco Simulator Review

I may be rapidly approaching 40, but I still fondly remember my clubbing days. In an attempt to recapture my youth, today we’ll be reviewing developer Games Incubator’s latest title: Disco Simulator. But, is this one akin to getting on the dance floor with some friends? Or, is it more like that 3 am dodgy kebab and sense of shame best left forgotten? Let’s find out!

Having played several of this developer’s previous games in the past, Disco Simulator could be one of two things: an unpolished gem or an outright disaster. At its core, it’s a simple management simulator that tasks you with running your very own club. Your goal is to make money by entertaining patrons and providing them with a good time. To do this, you’ll need to decorate your club, provide basic amenities, hire staff, and put on events to keep the punters coming! Sounds simple enough!

At the start of each game, you’ll need to select a manager to play as. Only one is available at first, with six more unlocking as you complete various clubs. Each has their own unique perks, such as Greg being able to host events 20% cheaper than others, or Martha starting with an extra $5000. From there, it’s time to choose a club; three are selectable from the get-go, with the other six unlocking after beating previous ones.

Disappointingly, the objectives for finishing each “level” never differ from earning x amount of money or reaching a certain Disco Level. Your Disco Level will increase after three of four specific goals are met. These are: reaching a certain reputation, having a set number of decorations placed, hosting a number of events, and unlocking a specific number of upgrades. Again, there is very little variety to these challenges, and I would have liked to have seen a broader range of tasks to undertake.

Initially, when I saw “Simulator” in the title, I assumed this, like the majority of the genre, would be first-person. In fact, it’s an isometric game, similar to something like The Sims or any of the (probably) millions of tycoon games. Still, this zoomed-out viewpoint doesn’t hide the fact that Disco Simulator is a bit of a mixed bag. On the plus side, there’s plenty of neon-soaked dancefloors where customers can get their groove on, and the cartoon-like style is charming in its own way. Seeing your grubby, dull space grow into a vibrant, colourful party scene is satisfying. However, character animations are rather lacking and look pretty robotic (and not in the totally cool dancing sense).

As for the audio, you’d think that a game centred around a club would have some banging tunes. Well, unfortunately, that isn’t the case here! It’s bland and repetitive, and it won’t be long until you start hearing the same generic music on repeat.

Performance-wise, Disco Simulator runs very well on PlayStation 5. It’s a shame that practically zero effort has gone into making it play well on a controller. Sure, these sorts of management games are always best on keyboard and mouse, but you’d expect there to be some buttons assigned to opening certain menus. Instead, you’ll mostly be navigating with a cursor using the left analog stick. It’s not terrible, but it can feel clunky when the user interface hasn’t been adapted all that well for consoles.

Growing your club from a dingy dive bar to the city's most popular spot is simple. First, you’ll have to complete a checklist of needs before opening; things like placing a dancefloor, hiring some staff, and so on. There’s no tutorial outside of a few bits of text in the menu, so it’s mostly trial and error until you get to grips with the game. It’s far from complex, though, so it shouldn’t be too difficult!

As mentioned earlier in this review, the main goals are earning money and keeping the customers happy. Ensuring each person's wants are satisfied means you’ll need to spread yourself thin in order to keep everyone grooving. Serve certain drinks, make sure enough seats are available, host events, etc. As you generate income, you’ll be able to improve your club and add new features, some of which will need to be unlocked by purchasing upgrades. There’s a genuine sense of progression, although there just isn’t enough variety between clubs, with the game starting to feel very repetitive once you’re onto the third or fourth venue.

You’ll occasionally have to deal with certain issues, such as fires breaking out or an attempted robbery. These play out by giving you a list of options to choose from, although almost each one can be best resolved by contacting emergency services, making the whole thing feel rather redundant. Additionally, you’ll also get hands-on with things such as mixing drinks or checking IDs. These are simple mini-games, but they do break up the monotony of otherwise uneventful nights.

Disco Simulator is less of a simulator and more of a management game; unfortunately, it isn’t a particularly engaging one. Whilst I did get some enjoyment out of making my club the best in town, once you’ve done it the first time, that’s pretty much all there is to see. A lack of variety and challenge hampers what could otherwise have been a fun little tycoon game.