Info about Another Brick in The Mall:

Official game description:
Design, build and manage a giant shopping center. Open shops, supermarkets, restaurants, movie theaters, bowling alleys and more. Hire and manage the best staff for the job and milk your customers for all they're worth!
*   Design and build your center from the ground up. You are responsible for every road, parking, wall, floor tile, door, shelf, plant, you name it. Arrange them optimally, or to your liking, and create a unique shopping empire.
*   Thousands of characters and vehicles are simulated on screen, for that ant colony feel.
*   Hire your staff from a panel of applicants, making sure their skills match the job.
*   Deploy your workforce efficiently to keep the queues short, the shelves stocked and the floors clean.
*   Keep your customers happy and satisfied. Unsatisfied customers will not come back tomorrow and furious ones will make a stink and tarnish your reputation.
*   Sell staple goods to attract more customers and prey on their cravings and addictions to trigger impulse purchases.
*   Starting your venture with limited funds, responsible accounting is paramount to your success. Open your first business, turn a profit, take out loans and expand progressively.
*   Or play in sandbox mode and carelessly spend your infinite money: “This is your world.”

Release date: Apr 30, 2020

Categories: Management Simulation, City Building, Business Simulation, Economic Simulation, Sandbox, Mod Support, Customization


- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price: No data
- Playtime Metrics: No data
- Time-to-fun: No data
- Player Archetypes: No data


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Enjoyable and Addictive Gameplay (weight 0.85): Many players find the game incredibly fun and addictive, with a variety of management aspects and challenges that keep them engaged for hours. The gameplay is described as smooth, entertaining, and suitable for all audiences.
- Creative and Flexible Building (weight 0.83): Players enjoy the creative freedom and flexibility in building and managing their malls. The game offers a wide variety of shops, items, and design possibilities, allowing for a personalized experience.
- Good Value for Money (weight 0.8): The game is seen as a good value for its price, especially when on sale. Players appreciate the lack of micro-transactions and the extensive content provided, making it worth the investment.
- Suitable for Casual and Inexperienced Players (weight 0.79): The game is easy to learn and suitable for casual and inexperienced players. The intuitive controls and helpful tooltips make it accessible, while the depth of management provides a challenge for more experienced players.
- Simple and Clean Graphics (weight 0.73): The game's graphics are described as simple, clean, and functional. The retro-inspired 2D art style is appealing and fits well with the game's theme.
- Unique and Interesting Concept (weight 0.73): The game's concept of managing a mall is seen as unique and interesting, blending creativity with business acumen. The pro-union stance and the variety of management aspects add to the game's appeal.
- Extensive Mod Support (weight 0.67): The game offers extensive mod support, allowing players to enhance their gameplay experience with additional content and features. This adds to the game's longevity and replayability.
- Good Performance and Low System Requirements (weight 0.66): The game runs smoothly on a wide range of systems, including those with low specifications. Players appreciate the lack of performance issues and the game's ability to run on practically anything.
- Achievements and Expert Mode (weight 0.64): The game features a variety of achievements and an expert mode that provides an additional challenge. Players enjoy completing achievements and appreciate the added difficulty of the expert mode.
- Good Tutorial and Learning Curve (weight 0.64): The game includes a well-done tutorial and has a pleasant learning curve. Players find it easy to get into and appreciate the helpful tooltips and explanations provided.
- Comparisons to Other Management Games (weight 0.15): The game is often compared to other management and simulation games like Prison Architect, Rimworld, and Theme Hospital. These comparisons highlight the game's strengths and appeal to fans of the genre.

Common complaints:
- Technical issues and bugs (weight 0.96): Frequent crashes, savegame corruption, and various bugs plague the game. Players report issues with AI pathing, builder bugs, and general lack of optimization, making the game frustrating to play.
- Lack of strategic depth (weight 0.83): The game is criticized for its lack of strategic depth and complexity. Players find the research tree underdeveloped and the overall gameplay too simplistic, lacking the depth found in similar games.
- Lack of content and depth (weight 0.68): The game is criticized for its limited gameplay options, lack of advanced features, and repetitive tasks. Players find the game shallow and underdeveloped, with not enough variety in store types, items, and customization options.
- Poor user interface and mechanics (weight 0.64): The game's interface is described as clunky, confusing, and not user-friendly. Mechanics for building, staff management, and product shelving are criticized for being tedious and non-intuitive.
- Lack of updates and support (weight 0.54): Players feel the game has been abandoned, with no significant updates since 2021. This lack of continuous updates and improvements has led to a sense of neglect and frustration among the player base.
- Poor graphics and audio (weight 0.44): The game's graphics and audio are described as subpar, with poor graphics quality, basic sound effects, and a lack of atmosphere. These elements contribute to a less immersive gaming experience.
- Limited language support (weight 0.44): The game lacks support for certain languages, such as Chinese, and has poor localization with translation errors. This limits the game's accessibility and enjoyment for non-English speaking players.
- Economic imbalance (weight 0.1): The game's economy is criticized for being too easy, with money piling up with little effort. Conversely, maintenance and salary costs can multiply out of control, leading to an imbalance in financial management.
- Tedious and repetitive tasks (weight 0.1): Players find many tasks in the game to be tedious and repetitive, such as manually selecting items for shelves and managing employee schedules. This repetitiveness leads to a lack of engagement and enjoyment.
- Lack of special events (weight 0.04): Players note a lack of special events, promotions, and unexpected occurrences, making the game feel predictable and monotonous over time.

Gameplay feedback:
- Comprehensive management simulation (weight 0.62): The game involves a wide range of management tasks including hiring and managing workers, building and designing stores, managing logistics, and financial management. It also includes elements of city-building and business development simulations.
- Diverse gameplay mechanics (weight 0.34): The game features various mechanics such as grinding, achievement systems, visitor behavior simulation, and an employee skill system. It also includes research systems, economic simulation, and customer satisfaction mechanics.
- Sandbox and modding support (weight 0.14): The game offers a sandbox mode with a huge map size and various scenarios. It also supports mods, allowing players to add new items or change the game's appearance, enhancing replayability and customization.
- Detailed customer and staff mechanics (weight 0.12): The game includes detailed mechanics for customer pricing, salary increases, and traffic systems. It also features staff hiring and management, with options for employee schedules and traits.
- Research and unlocking system (weight 0.1): Players can research new technologies and products, unlocking new content and enhancing their stores. This system adds depth and progression to the gameplay.
- Similar to other tycoon games (weight 0.09): The game mechanics are similar to other popular tycoon games like Mall Tycoon and Prison Architect, offering familiar yet unique gameplay experiences in building and managing stores and other businesses.
- Event and calendar system (weight 0.07): The game includes an event calendar and weather patterns, adding dynamic elements that affect gameplay and customer behavior.
- Customization and mods (weight 0.05): The game supports various info graphs, alerts, and different art styles through mods, allowing for extensive customization and enhanced gameplay experiences.
- Progression and economic systems (weight 0.04): The game features a rewarding progression system with research and tech tree advancements. It also includes a loan and repayment system, adding economic depth.
- Variety of items and stores (weight 0.04): There are many items and different types of stores available in the base game, providing a wide range of options for players to sell and manage.
- Building and facility management (weight 0.03): Players can build and place various facilities, managing everything from small stores to large malls, with a focus on strategic placement and optimization.
- Target audience and story (weight 0.03): The game is suitable for kids and teens, offering an average story that keeps the audience engaged with its management and building mechanics.
- Potential for future development (weight 0.03): The game has significant potential for future updates and additions, with clear areas for improvement and expansion.

Performance notes:
- Frequent game crashes (weight 0.07): Many players report that the game is unplayable due to frequent crashing. Issues include crashes on first click, during gameplay, and problems with reopening the game after a crash.
- Lag with high customer numbers (weight 0.03): The game experiences lag issues when there is a high number of customers or with larger stores, affecting gameplay performance.
- Bugs with pricing and parking (weight 0.03): There are potential bugs related to pricing mechanisms and issues with underground parking functionality.
- Small game size (weight 0.02): The game has a very small file size, noted to be around 200 megabytes, which is comparable to the size of a floppy disk game.
- Game speed and optimization (weight 0.02): There are mentions of game speed and the need for optimization, indicating that these are areas of concern for players.

Recommendations:
- Worth buying on sale (weight 0.28): Many reviewers suggest that the game is worth purchasing if it is on sale, especially at a deep discount. Some recommend waiting for updates or buying it only when it's significantly reduced in price.
- Recommended for strategy and management fans (weight 0.26): The game is highly recommended for those who enjoy strategic thinking, planning, building, and managing. It is particularly suitable for fans of city-building, economic simulations, and business management games.
- Potential for future updates (weight 0.23): The game is recommended based on its current strengths and potential for future updates. Reviewers suggest that the game has potential and expect more content and improvements in the future.
- Add public transportation and camera rotation (weight 0.03): Reviewers suggest adding public transportation options and the ability to rotate the camera to enhance gameplay and provide more control and variety.
- Not for those averse to bugs (weight 0.02): The game may not be suitable for players who dislike bugs and crashes, indicating that there might be some technical issues that need to be addressed.
- Good for short distraction (weight 0.02): The game is seen as a good option for a short distraction, providing entertainment for about half an hour.
- Add a button to skip a day (weight 0.01): Reviewers request an additional button to pass to the next day, which would help in managing time within the game more efficiently.
- Make the game 3D (weight 0.01): Some reviewers suggest that making the game 3D would improve the visual experience and potentially make the game more immersive.

Other player notes:
- Frequent updates in Early Access (weight 0.04): The game is currently in Early Access and receives constant updates, which players appreciate for continuous improvements and new content.
- Texture change guide creation (weight 0.01): There is a request or mention of creating a guide for changing textures, indicating players' interest in customizing or modifying game textures.

Emotions:
- Disappointment (weight 0.25): Players feel disappointed due to the game's lack of depth, repetitive gameplay, and various missing features. The game is often perceived as unfinished, with many players noting that it lacks content and feels shallow. Additionally, frequent crashes and performance issues contribute to the overall dissatisfaction.
- Frustration (weight 0.24): Players are frustrated by the game's frequent crashes, bugs, and lack of content. The game's slow progression, high costs, and limited customization options also contribute to this frustration. Translation issues, poor localization, and clunky UI further exacerbate the problem.
- Satisfaction (weight 0.09): Players find satisfaction in building and managing their malls, enjoying the gameplay despite its imperfections. The game's relaxing experience, enjoyable management aspects, and good value contribute to this positive emotion. Cute characters, simple graphics, and fluid gameplay also enhance the overall satisfaction.
- Hopeful (weight 0.09): Players are hopeful due to the potential for future updates and improvements. They see the game's potential and are looking forward to added complexity and content. The anticipation of tighter gameplay and continued development fuels this hope.
- Excitement (weight 0.06): Players are excited about the building and managing aspects of the game, as well as the potential for enjoyable sandbox mechanics. The variety of shops, extensive mod support, and efficient gameplay contribute to this excitement. The enjoyable gameplay loop and the potential in their builds also add to this feeling.
- Hope (weight 0.04): Players have hope due to the game's potential and the responsiveness of the developers. They anticipate improvements and updates that will enhance the game's current state. This hope is driven by the belief in the game's potential for future development.
- Boredom (weight 0.04): Players experience boredom due to the lack of goals, competition, and repetitive gameplay. The absence of interesting mid or endgame content contributes to this feeling. The game's repetitive tasks and lack of depth make it monotonous.
- Joy (weight 0.03): Players find joy in the detailed management system and creative freedom offered by the game. The enjoyable gameplay loop and the potential in their builds contribute to this positive emotion. The fun and legitimate trophies also add to the joy.
- Nostalgia (weight 0.02): Players feel nostalgia from playing the game again and seeing numbers trending upwards. The detailed narrative of their experiences and the warm feelings from past gameplay contribute to this emotion. The familiarity and memories associated with the game evoke this nostalgic feeling.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.02): Players enjoy the game's graphics and the deep, strategic experience it offers. Building their own commerce area and the overall gameplay contribute to this enjoyment. The engaging and visually appealing aspects of the game enhance this positive emotion.
- Disappointed (weight 0.02): Players feel disappointed due to the lack of depth and repetitive gameplay. The game's current state and lack of features make it not worth the price for many players. The overall feeling is that the game does not meet their expectations.
- Engagement (weight 0.01): Players are engaged by the constant activities and pacing of the game. The complex sales and mall traffic simulation keep them involved and interested. The dynamic and interactive aspects of the game contribute to this engagement.
- Excited (weight 0.01): Players are excited about the final release of the game and its potential. The anticipation of the game becoming a gem and the positive elements and hints present in the current version contribute to this excitement. The belief in the game's future success fuels this emotion.
- Amusement (weight 0.01): Players are amused by watching the mall turn into chaos. The entertaining and sometimes unpredictable aspects of the game contribute to this amusement. The humorous and enjoyable moments in the game enhance this feeling.
- Stress (weight 0.01): Players feel stressed by managing various aspects of the mall. The complexity and demands of the game's management tasks contribute to this stress. The challenging and sometimes overwhelming aspects of the game evoke this emotion.
- Empathy (weight 0.01): Players feel empathy towards the challenges faced by indie developers. Understanding the difficulties and efforts involved in game development contributes to this empathetic feeling. The appreciation for the developers' work and struggles enhances this emotion.
- Hopefulness (weight 0.01): Players are hopeful about the game's potential and future updates. The anticipation of improvements and new content contributes to this hopeful feeling. The belief in the game's future success and development fuels this emotion.
- Frustrated (weight 0.01): Players are frustrated by the slow game speed and poor loan system. The game's pacing and financial mechanics contribute to this frustration. The challenging and sometimes unfair aspects of the game evoke this emotion.
- Satisfaction (weight 0.01): Players feel Zufriedenheit (satisfaction) due to the game's enjoyment and active developers. The fun gameplay and the developers' responsiveness contribute to this positive emotion. The overall satisfying experience and the developers' engagement enhance this feeling.
- Anticipation (weight 0.01): Players enjoy the game's shop design and the movement of the Sims. The fun and engaging aspects of designing and managing the mall contribute to this enjoyment. The entertaining and visually appealing elements of the game enhance this positive emotion.}