PewDiePie’s Tuber Simulator looks a lot like one of Kairosoft’s simulation games. That might immediately sounds tantalizing but, unfortunately, looks can be deceiving. Instead, PewDiePie’s Tuber Simulator owes more to the likes of Glu’s Kim Kardashian or Katy Perry games, …
PewDiePie’s Tuber Simulator looks a lot like one of Kairosoft’s simulation games. That might immediately sounds tantalizing but, unfortunately, looks can be deceiving. Instead, PewDiePie’s Tuber Simulator owes more to the likes of Glu’s Kim Kardashian or Katy Perry games, yet somehow isn’t anywhere near as appealing. If you like your games full of waiting for things to complete and not a lot else, you might find some reward within PewDiePie’s Tuber Simulator …but I doubt it.
The aim of the game is to follow in the footsteps of PewDiePie, starting out as a lowly and forgettable YouTube star before gradually working your way up to fame and fortune. This is done through the logical means of attracting more subscribers. More subscribers means more income, which means more money to spend on items which inevitably leads to more subscribers. It’s as simple as it sounds.
You delve into a choice of videos to start making, each with a different set of themes, before hitting the ‘make’ button and waiting a few minutes for the video to be completed. Once you upload it, you earn some money and the cycle continues. Money opens up a wealth of different items that you can purchase to make your room look a bit cooler. It feels like there’s a never ending supply of items here. You can opt to create a particular theme and style for your room, or you can do what I did and just dump items all over the place. Bizarrely, such placement doesn’t actually make a difference to your subscriber numbers.
Each item takes a little while to acquire. Some items might only take a minute or two, but soon enough, you’ll have to wait 20 or 30 minutes for items to be delivered. You can speed things along by playing a game of Puggle, which is a kind of Pachinko with PewDiePie’s beloved dog. It’s simple and costs some money, but it makes you feel more in control than simply waiting for a timer to complete.
Outside of item purchases, you can boost your abilities and how certain video themes reward you through a leveling up system. It’s simply done, but its RPG nature means you feel like you’re making some kind of step forward as you improve certain skills. Aiming things specifically at different categories is a nice move in ensuring you can tailor your path to YouTube fame in a way that appeals to you.
There are quests too, enticing you into following particular routes or buying certain items. Again, it’s simple stuff, but gives you a sense of purpose.
That’s needed, because PewDiePie’s Tuber Simulator lacks a lot of purpose. Early on, it might be fun to work towards new items on a regular basis, but it’s not long later that you realize PewDiePie’s Tuber Simulator never really changes. You’re still constantly working on expanding your room, buying new items, and making more videos. Those videos have amusing names with more than a few in-jokes in there, but it’s not enough to draw you in for the long term. It’s all eventually quite monotonous, and that’s not helped by the steady supply of timers, and moments where you feel almost (but not quite) tempted to spend real money to get ahead.
Ultimately, if it wasn’t for the PewDiePie name at the start of the game, this would be a fairly forgettable experience from beginning to end.
