We Played News Tower, Here’s Why This Tycoon Game Should Be on Your Wishlist

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We were invited to play the closed beta version of the simulation and management game News Tower, with testing running from November 28th to December 4th. We have to admit that the concept of this game is truly unique, when was the last time you had the chance to create your own newspaper and build your printing empire?

The game is set in the 1930s, following a cliché storyline about our grandfather’s failed publishing company. It is now up to us to restore its glory and turn it into something big. At the start, you have the option to name your editorial office whatever you like, so be creative. In News Tower, you will follow the key moments of this era, with the ability to cover and influence events like the Great Depression.

Visuals and Gameplay Mechanics

Regarding the graphics, I personally enjoyed the overall feel and atmosphere the game conveys. It doesn’t need to be spectacular; on the contrary, it’s almost preferable that it be simple yet pleasing to the eye, which this game achieves. It’s full of different colors; it’s not all just black and white, as we often imagine the era, especially since experimentation with color photography and film was just starting in the 1930s.

Beyond the interesting concept, there are various details, the look of the rooms, great opportunities for personal customization, and the game is backed by an interesting backdrop, featuring the large buildings typical of New York. The design of the people in the game makes them look like dolls, which is fine, but I feel they aren’t that engaging; we’ll spend more time doing other things than perhaps stopping to look at what’s going on.

The history and authenticity of this game are open to individual interpretation, but the informative tutorial that provides all the necessary information about the game’s mechanics is commendable. Still, it would be useful if the game automatically paused during dialogue or introductions to give us enough time to read. The current pace of the game can create unnecessary stress, as you are never sure how fast time is actually flowing, especially since life and the movement of people within it are slower.

What surprised me was the diverse specialization of reporters, such as Crime, Sports, Politics, and Entertainment, which opens up different avenues for investigation. Connecting stories and topics further amplifies the financial gain. Additionally, extra categories for major topics make the whole process challenging.

Sometimes readers will only look for specific subjects, someone might assign you to report on precisely that topic, and all of this is influenced by both old and new news, which demands careful planning and prioritization when publishing them. All of this is very well executed and meaningfully connected. Furthermore, the Mafia, the Mayor, and other factions will be happy to use your influence in New York to print their own “truth.” Of course, there are also legal processes within the game, where different factions can sue you.

Tower Management and News Production

The central element of this game is the construction and optimization of your tower to ensure the well-being of your employees while meeting the Sunday print deadlines. You need to hire and manage various professions to ensure success, including Telegraph Operators, Janitors, Typists, and the crucial Ad Salespeople and Lawyers. Indeed, in News Tower, you manage every step of your newspaper’s production line.

Whether you’re generating your own electricity through the coal machine, upgrading the printing press floor by floor, or providing workers with water, coffee, and restrooms, all of this can affect their morale. What truly surprised me was that each worker has individual needs, that the noise of the machinery can affect them, and that they like their workspace to be pleasantly arranged. It’s interesting how vital a role cleaners, mechanics, and similar staff play, and even more crucial is consistently stocking up on food and paper supplies.

Also, if you ever run out of money, you can take out a loan. It’s important to emphasize that you start small in the game and, over time, develop your distribution network across the city, meaning you’ll unlock new elements now and then. The way you get your news is simple: you have a globe, and the Telegraph Operators are the ones who find the news; the more you have, the more news items will be displayed on the map.

You can also set the focus of your news, for instance, if you specifically need a story about sports at that moment. You can quickly discard news via the trash can, and a new one will automatically be sought. The goal was to make it as simple as possible, and this is further enhanced by the feature that every news item can also have additional stories within it. For example, a crime story might bring information about the mafia or give you some sort of bonus.

Final Thoughts and Early Access Content

Most things in the game operate on a drag & drop principle, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it might not be everyone’s cup of tea. The more you play, the more you will unlock, meaning you’ll never run out of ideas for what to do next. For now, employees didn’t have the ability to upgrade skills (aside from items that grant them) and weren’t very autonomous, but it is expected that this will all function normally in the full release.

Indeed, the Early Access version will feature a portion of the main campaign (up to 6 hours of gameplay), a Sandbox mode that allows you to create your newspaper exactly how you want, 100+ buildable objects from printers to luxurious decorative items, 24 job types, and over 1,000 news stories you can report on, among other things.

We were able to experience a portion of this in the closed beta version. We won’t discuss various bugs and errors; those are all fixable. A huge advantage that News Tower has is its replayability, what if you decide to go a different route for unlocking districts, what if you start building in a different way, or what if you decide to focus on only one topic instead of several?

Beyond that, the simplicity and pleasant graphics are elements you will certainly notice, and the game can definitely boast that it brings a not-yet-fully-explored concept, the concept of newspaper printing, to the management game genre.