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As you may have heard already, the Park Beyond Closed Beta has come and gone, and we're positively full of impressions to share about the game! If you were quick about it, you could've grabbed over half a dozen Park Beyond beta keys via the 2Game Twitter, so do stay tuned for more such events in the future.
For those who weren't quite so lucky, though, the odds are that you're wondering what Bandai Namco's got cooking for us this time. The studio is primarily known for its awesome anime-themed titles and - of course - FromSoft games. For it to start working on a high-profile AAA spiritual successor to Rollercoaster Tycoon is... surprising, to say the least. Yet, from what we've seen so far, we're on the right track! Let us explain.
READ MORE: What is 'Impossification' in Park Beyond?
Closed Beta Impressions for Park Beyond
Though it's certainly a bit early to add Park Beyond to the list of Bandai Namco's best PC games, we clearly saw its potential while playing the Closed Beta. This is, without a doubt, the evolution of the Rollercoaster Tycoon formula that genre fans have been waiting for. Quantifying its upgrades to such an old and storied niche isn't going to be easy, however. In fact, we're going to wait for actual reviews before even attempting to do that!
In the time interim, we're going to present you with our very own findings. Having spent almost a dozen hours playing Park Beyond, we've got some solid insight to share, and anyone interested in the game will want to see what we've got to say!
Pre-order Park Beyond at 2Game for a sweet pre-release discount!
A Solid Start
Being a construction and management sim at its core, Park Beyond gives players everything they need to do precisely just that: construct and manage. These items were shown off via three separate mini-campaigns and the dedicated sandbox mode, via the Exploration Park. In true management fashion, the majority of the game's objectives centre around a need to either build a new park up or to restore an old park back to its former glory. The game's not necessarily breaking any moulds in this respect, granted, but it doesn't need to.
Instead, the missions successfully build up Park Beyond's unique aspects. Its concept of Impossification, for one, is a wrap for sure. As discussed by Anna in a previous article, Impossification is the game's ability to go far, far beyond the scope of an actual, realistic theme park.
From what we can tell, these missions will - in some way - be featured in the full game once it comes out on June 16, serving as a sort of intro to the game's quirks. It's a decent way of getting players acquainted with the core of the game, we felt, and with just a few small tweaks, it should set players up for success with Impossification.
Impossification: A Superior Gameplay Loop
It's hard to overstate how important Impossification truly is. As you'd expect, every new feature of your theme park adds to its Amazement meter, but you can't really crank it to the max until you begin Impossifying your rides. There aren't any real limits on what you can do with your rides, either. Customization is positively crucial here, and as you slowly break down physics and gravity over time, you'll figure out how to really get the most out of your setup. From what we can tell, most things can be Impossified, and doing so unlocks improved stats and/or superior functionality, depending on the feature in question.
The thing that sets Park Beyond apart from any of its tycoon-niche competitors, then, is the fact that it embraces its ridiculousness. That's really the gist of what we've gotten out of our time in the closed beta: reality isn't a hard limit in this game. The gameplay loop stays true to the game's title in the best way possible, and though tycoon fans will have an adaptation period as they unravel all the possibilities, the game is set to be a huge success if that gets sorted out.
Expect to have your creativity tested - that's all we're going to say so far!
Will Devs Fix The Park Beyond Closed Beta Bugs?
Being a closed beta, this build of Park Beyond wasn't bug-free at all. On top of an arguably shoddy control scheme, the process of designing actual roller coasters could've been better. To say nothing of all the visual glitches we've come across in our time with the game.
These, however, aren't a huge deal, we feel. This was a true beta - unlike what we've seen in the AAA space as of late - and it's clearly a work in progress. We've no doubt that many, if not all, of the bugs we've encountered, will be resolved before the game's release. And, with a comprehensive set of post-launch updates, even the worst bugs should be brought in line.
Excited About The Next Big Tycoon Game? Stay Tuned!
The bottom line from our time playing the game is that Park Beyond embraces its ridiculousness. Customization and Impossification - these are the core principles that inform everything else to do with the game, and we're positively sure that micromanagers will adore this game from the moment it comes out.
More so than any other tycoon title, it allows players to tune into the content they're creating. Sure, there are visual and mechanical bugs that ought to be sorted out by mid-June, but fixing the game up from its closed beta state seems more than feasible to us. We'll also have more hard info to share in the coming weeks, so stay tuned!
Get in the Game ! 
