this isn't the most compelling sim/tycoon style game in the world (openTTD is also a favorite of mine) but it does have a special place in my heart as one of the earliest games i ever played. it is still pretty fun: i could never get the hang of building coasters, but it's enjoyable to just see them move around.

there's something deeper, though, with this games art and scenery. it's weirdly charming in a way i'm bad at describing. the maps are often larger than the park space you can build on or buy - in the out-of-bounds, little dioramas often litter the map. setpieces like abandoned mines, highways, and forests... there is a real lonely quality to them that makes the game feel a bit mysterious.

i remember playing on "bumbly beach" and zooming out to see rows and rows of identical, 90s-style american suburbs, with polished dark blue windows. it was a very strange scene to me back then.