Reviews

• gamedeal user

  Dec 12, 2022

  Liked it until I've learned my entire progress and all saves got wiped. No proper use of Steam Cloud??? Seriously???
• CheerKitty18

  Dec 31, 2022

  Very fun game with lots to do like researching drugs and sending out people to different areas and lots of replayability
• gamedeal user

  Aug 28, 2015

  VERY well made game! I had a sneaky suspician that this was going to be a good game (from what I'd researched prior to its launch), but I was surprised to find that it was much better than I had expected. See the TL;DR read section at bottom if you want just the quick notes. I'm trying to keep the in-depth review as brief as possible, but it's very difficult...there's so much to say about this game. [h1]The Good[/h1] [b]1. GAMEPLAY[/b] You start, grow, and manage a pharmaceutical company. You control every aspect of it such as production lines, research and development, budget (purchases, importing ingredients, payroll, cost of production), meeting market demand, etc. This is a pharmaceutical tycoon game and it gives you plenty of options and features to run the business as you please or win a scenario as you please. Designing the production floor is like a puzzle...but I really hate using that word. It's not a puzzle game. You have to make use of the space you are given (which is a lot so far for me) and plan workflow, but it's much more than that. There are options upon options to consider The game can be very complex at times, but it also allows the player to keep things simple if they so choose. There are 8 Scenarios with 5 missions each. Some missions are specific, some are rather broad. There's also a custom game feature and a free build option. Together, they allow the player to really play as they want. You can develop highly sophisticated medications or you can deal with simple production lines. It's entirely up to you! [b]2. THE GAME IS POLISHED![/b] Unlike many indie games, particularly with early access but not exclusive to them, this game is extremely...I mean extremely polished. Everything was very well thought out and organized. Key features were included yet nothing seems to exist that doesn't need to be. ALL the necessary fundamentals you'd expect are here (rare for many games today unfortunately), but many are done exceptionally well and are thus, quite noteworthy. Examples... [olist] [*]One of the best tutorials I've ever seen in a game - it comes in the form of sections and are repeatable (for those of us who sometimes take a hiatus from a game then return later but forget some of the key controls/mechanics). There are also more in-depth tutorial videos by the dev for those who prefer some serious explanation as to what is going on (most probably won't need it though). The tutorial not only gives you the basics and walks you through the steps (allowing you to learn by doing vs reading a wall-o-text in game), it gives you game strategies such as using dual pill printing and options for varying concentration effects). A lot of thought went into the tutorial here. [*]Speed controls - should be standard in every game of this sort...but unfortunately many aren't including it. Pause, play, or speed up time here. [*]Ease of controls - you can hold down key to drag belts and it will auto path and connect where you want. Middle mouse copies an existing machine for further placement, double click allows you to move an existing machine, right click sells a machine. [*]Convenient linking from one page or pop up to a RELEVANT page or place in the game (such as a an alert for new ingredient having a link to take you to the Ingredients page for convenience if you so choose) [*]Animations are very well done and relevant to what is happening (fun to watch) [*]Aesthetic customizer - change colors of belts and floors, you can customize your buildings the way you want. [*]Contemporary design - very well done design with the gui and game assets. Details like in-game notices are done very well too (sliding from the side at top of page vs simply popping up in the middle of the page or displaying on the right hand side which is what most games seem to do). [/olist] Lastly, one of the biggest parts of polish which was noticed...was the lack of any bugs! I am despearately trying to find some. I know some have to exist. But I so far, have failed to discover any. The game runs smooth and there are no bugs that break immersion or stop gameplay. The dev did what most other devs do not do today it seems...he focused on QUALITY. He put a substantial amount of time into the game PRIOR to released. He focused on giving customers a QUALITY project to enjoy by making sure the details were there but also that the game works as it is supposed to. He demonstrated that he actually cares about his own game, his own work. Novel idea huh? Give the players a quality product they expect to have? [b]3. DEV ACTIVITY[/b] First of all, this is the work of only 1 developer. He, like most devs used outside sources for assets (graphics, sounds, effects, voice), but 1 guy is the brain behind this game. Very few games can be pulled off successfully by a single dev and this one was. He also is very active in his communication with customers (his own forum, social media, and here at the Steam forums). [h1]THE BAD[/h1] I am still struggling to find something. I honestly am. I've not experienced anything negative about this game yet. The only thing I can see wanting to change, is a part in the last tutorial which discusses maximum strength analysis and how to implement it to upgrade a medicine's rating. To me, that's a bit fuzzy. I tried to understand what was being described and how to pull it off, but didn't understand it. That could just be me though. Regardless, it does not prevent the mission from being completed. It just means the user, or me anyway, needs to ask for clarification on the forum. [h1]SUMMARY / TL;DR[/h1] High quality game, extremely polished, plenty of options and features, a lot of variation, NO BUGS (so far). This game will probably become one of the standards of quality that gamers will compare other games to (like many compare other ea games to Prison Architect or Kerbel). In a sea of poorly designed games from devs who don't seem to either care about their products or have the knowledge to make them great...and with the current gaming community's frustration level at an all-time high due to the abundance of bad games and ripoffs coming out on Steam...let this game refresh your faith and trust in the industry as it is proof that high quality games CAN be delivered and some devs DO care about their project and their customers. If you enjoy tycoon style games, do yourself a much deserved favor and GET THIS GAME NOW! You will not regret it (especially with Steam's refund policy of course - but you won't need it).
• gamedeal user

  Aug 28, 2015

  I have only played 8 hours of this game so i have not even experienced the entire content the game has to offer but i can say that this game is highly addictive, and highly recommended for all those who are fans of simulation/management games. The aim of the game is to take ingredients and alter them in order to create cures for specific illnesses and then sell them to make money to make more cures etc etc. The game has a very steep learning curve, especially in relation to the later tier drugs that involve mixing. Getting these to work in a fluid manner (maximising profits) is quite challenging and requires a lot of trial and error so i highly recommend after the tutorial loading up the mode which has all the research and drugs unlocked so that you can play around and learn how to create a fluid setup of the machinery and adapt to the different building structures (there are only a few so even though its completely random you will get familiar with each one eventually). I did read alot of reviews before purchasing this game and a few mentioned the randomness of the drugs you recieve at the start of the game and size of the building being annoying/limiting the ability to play the game. However i dont think this is as much of an issue, the game seems fairly balanced and gives you plenty of time to complete scenarios regardless of the spawn. I can see the spawns being an issue if you are an achievment hunter who wants to complete all the levels on master (the time limit is much much less), however this can be worked around if you just restart the mission a few times so in my opinion the randomness is not a big deal for those who read those reviews and got worried that the game is broken. I also especially like the addition of a "global economy" aspect in relation to the competing companies whereby you need to ensure that the drugs you make are better than theirs by fine tuning them or you will not sell as many units loosing you money or manufacture ones that the ai have not considered thereby creating your own monopoly of the drug (can also be done by patents). Also a must have are the mods for this game, only ones i have found so far are the ones supplied by the actual Big Pharma website, they are very useful (example free conveyor belts). Overall, great game, very challenging and i can see many hours of my life being eaten by it.
• gamedeal user

  Aug 29, 2015

  It's a good game, but I can't give it a positive review. The concepts are awesome and they're off to a good start, but the gameplay just doesn't deliver enough enjoyment. The game's systems are very complex, and the main problem the game suffers from is the interface. The information you need to find out in order to make effective choices is arranged in a very arcane and dispersed fashion. This leaves you with two choices: 1) Play the entire game alternating between Play and Pause, and spend most of the game looking for information while Paused, or 2) Discover all the information you need AND engage in critical thinking while Playing, at which point, the situation will have changed so much that you need new information and a refinement of your original plan. What this means is, the gameplay just doesn't deliver enough of a hands-on feel so that you feel real control over the game's systems, and over your chosen outcomes. But it's one of those games that gives you enough tiny little dopamine-buzzers (Dings, music, sounds, green profit text, etc.) to fool you into thinking you're having a good time and keep you hooked. But after you play for 4 hours, you're just left with kind of a "blah" feeling. If they made the interface more concrete and less arcane, the game would have a better feel, ie. Player Input -> Logical Outcome. Then I'd give it a better review. 6/10.
• gamedeal user

  Aug 29, 2015

  A profoundly pleasurable game where ingredients travel through a series of cunningly placed machines and belts towards their inevitable destiny as medications with (hopefully) as few side effects as possible. You know, since side effects lose money. Not because you care. Sociopath.
• gamedeal user

  Aug 30, 2015

  Since 2010 there has been about six or seven playable business management sims. Only two are at the level of fun and playability of Big Pharma. First and foremost, the game manages to somehow make sense when explained as both simple and complex. It takes a very complex concept (manufacture from origin to completion) and makes it manageable from a single manager's perview. The game is both easy to understand and succeed and challenging to master and dominate. I recommend this game as both fun and challenging. It may not have the same level of replayability of a Diablo 2esque game, but with the number of scenarios/challenges built in, it has a few hundred hours easy. Two: Game Dev Tycoon, Tropico 4/5
• gamedeal user

  Aug 30, 2015

  This game was a little bit of a surprise.. I don't usually get much into tycoon type games, though I have fond memories of Theme Hospital from a few years back, and I guess Rollercoaster Tycoon, so my experience isn't great to compare this to others in the genre. That being said, I find this game a great deal of fun. There are two core elements to the game; a Logistical puzzle, and, a decent strategic/business simulator. I'll cover these separately. The first part is what you mostly see in the pretty screenshots - you need to construct assembly lines that transform raw biological substances (insect parts, plants, etc) into finished pharmaceuticals. There are a good number of different medicines you can manufacture and each one has vastly different requirements. You need to purchase a variety of machines to transform the product as it moves along the belt from the 'in window' to the exit. Some machines strengthen effects and some dilute them. Other machines are used to combine two ingredients, to analyze a finished drug, to modify or rearrange effects, and to package the final product. All of these machines have different 'in' and 'out' slots that will need to be matched up via conveyor belts in the correct order. At first this can be a little daunting and frustrating, especially when you attempt to 'upgrade' a drug to a more powerful version, and some trial and error is required. That said, it's great fun once you learn the basics, and quite rewarding when you smooth everything out. The second part of the game is the business sim. This is probably standard fare for these types of games, but again I'm not experienced enough to provide a good comparison. In order to succeed you'll need to carefully manage your expenses - buildings and expansions, machines, drug ingredients, research, and exploration all require money, and while you can take out loans, this will quickly sink you if you don't have steady cashflow coming in. There are competitors who are trying to make a profit as well, and deciding which drugs will provide the best returns can be a challenge. You must invest time and money into research in order to unlock better machines and make your existing ones more efficient. You also must send explorers out to discover new substances that can be transformed or combined into new types of drugs. Random events can have impact on supply and demand as well, so it pays to keep an eye on news popups. There is a good tutorial, which introduces you to game concepts as you play so you don't get overwhelmed. After that, a series of 'missions' of advancing difficulties keeps the game fresh. I can't speak to the replayability of the game as I'm nowhere near completing the core missions yet, but I believe there Is a sandbox mode once you've mastered all the basics. The missions themselves can take from 15 minutes to a couple hours, depending on the difficulty and how focused you are. Big Pharma's art style can be described as cartoony and colorful. It really reminded me of a less silly version of theme hospital, but aside from the graphics (and upbeat music) there aren't may other similarities between these two games. One nice feature is the ability to 'paint' your factory - with various primary hues and patterns. This could be useful to customize different product lines or processes on each line, or just pretty things up to your own tastes. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys casual business sims and puzzles. Big Pharma succeeds well at both, and I found it well worth the price of 24.99, though I was fortunate enough to get it on sale.
• gamedeal user

  Aug 31, 2015

  I wanted this game to scratch the same itch as games like Infinifactory and Factorio, but I found the game to be a bit of planning and then a whole lot of waiting around. The goal of maximising your profits meant that I would pause the game as I planned out each build chain, and then when I finally unpaused, all I could do is sit and watch for a long time as either my Scientists or Explorers gathered more progression for me, or I earned enough profit to pause the game and build something else. Also the lack of a planning mode/phase meant that I would waste money after I build most of a production line, only to find out that either I miscalculated or ran out of room. If you place a conveyer it costs you $100, and if you then destroy it you only get $50 back, even if you did it right away! If perhaps the game only charged you upon unpausing the game, then perhaps you could go nuts building everything without fear of going broke due to mistakes. I felt like the random elements in the game did not offer enough variability in how you play the game. It's just a matter of looking at the few incredients you have available via the unnecessarily clunky interface, mixing them in the same ways, and producing a product that you then proceed to forget about because it is time to move on to the next product. Then you run out of sockets and just spend the next 30 minutes watching the timer count down and your bank balance go up. This game simply is not for me. I gave it a fair shot but found myself pushing myself to give it more, in hopes that something would change or get better.
• gamedeal user

  Aug 31, 2015

  I want to recommend this game, I really do. But it's sadly just not worth $20. It needs more content! Upgrades, ingredients, different corporation aspects, etc. It just needs a lot more than what is currently in game. Amazing concept, decent game as of now, but with some more meat on it's bones this game could be great!