Games worth discovering

Run a casino for animals in this relaxing tycoon sim - Blooming Business Quick Review

5K View2023-05-24

PLAY IT OR SKIP IT?

Play it if you like management games and aren’t looking for anything overly challenging. Blooming Business: Casino is a cute, cozy game about getting scammed into building a gambling empire. You play as an unlucky animal that’s tricked into taking ownership of a debt-riddled casino. The mob is on your tail, so you decide to make the most of it and turn your casino into a success. Over the course of the game, you’ll have the chance to run a variety of casinos in a city inspired by 1950s Las Vegas. Whether you keep things clean or choose to go crooked, your goal is to make money and keep your animal clients happy.

TIME PLAYED

I spent around seven hours with Blooming Business, which was enough time to get through the main campaign and mess around in sandbox mode, where I could build a casino without any rules or restrictions. There were times when it felt like I was completing campaign objectives a little too quickly, but the game never forced me to move forward, and I could keep working on my favorite casinos for as long as I liked.

WHAT’S AWESOME

• Relaxing gameplay. Some tycoon games can get pretty intense, but in Blooming Business, I always felt free to play at my own pace. There were moments when things got a bit chaotic, like when my fluffy customers started fighting over winnings, but it was never too overwhelming, and I could always hit the pause button while I figured things out. While there are bills to pay, the campaign objectives aren’t timed, so I could take things slow, spend hours decorating, and enjoy the colorful scenery.

• Charming characters and story. Blooming Business may be about the seedy world of gambling, but it’s absolutely adorable. Not only are the characters animals, but most of them have goofy names, like “Athena Overquill” and “Nat Kidden.” The overarching narrative isn’t overly complicated, but it’s playful and fun, with quite a few chuckle-worthy jokes. One of my favorite details was the character bios, which gave me more information about my VIP clients. My favorite was Knuckles Rheeves, an immigrant rhino who fought in the Irish War of Independence. After the rest of his family was killed by the mob, he became a party animal. That might seem like a lot for a silly tycoon game, but he also has the quirk “dark origin story,” a detail that genuinely made me laugh out loud.

• Freedom to play your own way. Not every management sim lets you play as a crook, but in Blooming Business, I could rig machines, get cozy with the mob, and scam innocent critters out of their hard-earned cash. For the most part, I played things straight, but I still appreciate having the chance to be the bad guy, especially in a game as cute as this one. Blooming Business isn’t particularly challenging, but there’s a surprising amount of depth to its simulation mechanics, and I’m eager to keep experimenting in sandbox mode.

• Lots of upgrades. Unlocking objects and completing skill trees gives me a much-needed hit of dopamine, and Blooming Business gave me lots of opportunities to do both. Over the course of the game, I unlocked all kinds of objects, including tiki-themed furniture and Greek pantheon-inspired blackjack tables. I also had the chance to build a research room, where I could spend points to add new features to my casino. Earning upgrades was incredibly motivating and made it tough to put the game down.

WHAT SUCKS

• Frustrating bugs. I ran into a few bugs during my playthrough, and while these issues were mostly minor, they were still pretty aggravating. There were a few times when a quest didn’t clear after I completed an objective, and I could only resolve the issue by returning to the main menu and reloading. I also ran into some issues while upgrading my casino. Rooms have beauty ratings, and for some reason, I couldn’t get the rating for my employee break room above 6.2, no matter how many amenities or decorative items I added. I played an early version of the game, so it’s possible these issues have been resolved, but it’s still something to watch out for.

• Awkward controls and UI. Blooming Business isn’t very complicated, but it still took a while to adjust to its controls and interface. The UI isn’t very intuitive, and basic tasks, like moving and rotating objects, were a little more difficult than they needed to be. This wasn’t a big problem once I got into the swing of things, but I’d occasionally forget which menu I had to click on to complete a specific task.

💬 Are you feeling lucky enough to dive into the world of animal casino management, or will you be leaving your cards on the table? Let us know in the comments!