Sports: Renovations – Zamoran, ali ugodan simulator renovacije

• DEVELOPER: Goat Gamez
• IZDAVAČ: Dear Villagers
• PLATFORME: PC
• ŽANR: Simulator
• DATUM IZLASKA: 27. ožujka 2025.
• POČETNA CIJENA: 24,99€
• RECENZIRANA VERZIJA: PC

Sports: Renovations is a first-person renovation simulator with a sports twist, placing it in the same cozy niche as titles like PowerWash Simulator and House Flipper. Your job is to bring run-down gyms, basketball courts, pools, and soccer fields back to life. You’ll pick up trash, scrub away grime, paint walls, fix broken gear, and set up sports equipment, turning forgotten spaces into top-notch facilities again.

I’ll be honest and subjective; I have very mixed feelings about this game. It’s nothing like PowerWash Simulator or House Flipper, and unfortunately, it ends up feeling more tedious. Those games have a satisfying “before and after” payoff, but Sports: Renovation doesn’t really encourage creativity. The first few areas are fun and engaging, but the longer you play, the more sluggish and repetitive it gets. The game clearly tries hard to impress, but with so many bugs and questionable design choices, it just doesn’t deliver enough to keep me hooked.

Relaxing Yet Flawed Simulator

The game has two modes: Campaign and Free Play. Campaign Mode takes you through a series of levels with a light storyline (more on that later) as you progress, earn money to upgrade your tools and expand your headquarters. Free Play Mode lets you redesign your own gym and headquaters as well as a basketball court however you like. While there are no specific missions here, you’ll still need to clean and repair everything before the eventual inspection. Your tools, such as brooms, paint rollers, sledgehammers, and more can be upgraded to work faster and better. With no time limits or pressure, the game stays relaxing, making it perfect for unwinding after a long day.

However, the gameplay has some odd quirks. Tasks are simplified to avoid frustration, for instance, cleaning doesn’t require pixel-perfect precision, and you can automatically paint walls once you’ve covered 50%. While this keeps things moving, it can sometimes feel too forgiving. The cleaning mechanics quickly become repetitive, you’re constantly dealing with identical dust particles and generic trash items. Even stranger are the questionable environmental details, like the bizarre amount of random trash (rather than ashes and debris) after a fire at the climbing center for example. It’s particularly odd that you don’t even clean up actual ashes from the fire.

The demolition mechanic is fun but oddly implemented, why smash perfectly good lockers and chairs when selling them would make more sense? This feels like a missed opportunity for a more logical economic system. The game suffers also from numerous bugs that frequently hinder progression. One particularly frustrating example occurs when cleaning the main basketball court, sometimes required trash items fail to spawn, forcing you to exploit the system by collecting random trash from the entrance area just to advance.

Quirky Puzzle Mechanics with Bugs and Brooms

Other progression-blocking issues include unreliable ladder placement mechanics that prevent you from completing essential tasks like installing steel beams just because you can’t reach that spot without trying to jump. The bugs range from minor annoyances (like trash mysteriously respawning in freshly cleaned areas) to major functionality problems (such as being unable to properly dispose of large objects in the designated bins). These technical issues significantly disrupt what should be a smooth, relaxing experience.

The game introduces some creative mechanics, like the ability to throw trash like basketballs, a fun way to challenge your own high scores. However, it’s also full of weird choices. For instance, despite having plenty of money, you can’t purchase a power washer early on, forcing you to clean everything with what looks like a sponge taped to a broomstick. While you eventually unlock better tools, the cleaning mechanics often feel unrealistic.

The puzzles woven into the story add variety but are hit-or-miss. Though they’re introduced clearly, many are needlessly frustrating. Take the pool pump task for example: you must activate five pumps by positioning levers in exact spots, a tedious process that involves spinning wheels endlessly until you luck into the right alignment. These moments undermine what could otherwise be a satisfying gameplay loop.

Nostalgic Fight for the Court

Probably the main reason what’s going to keep you on playing Sports: Renovations is the narrative and story. You play as an unnamed protagonist returning to their hometown of Laketown, Illinois, where the local basketball court, a place of personal nostalgia and community pride, faces demolition by a greedy real estate developer intent on building a shopping mall. To save it, you take on renovation jobs at various sports facilities, earning funds to eventually restore the court and prove its worth to city inspectors.

The story is simple but effective, framed as a classic underdog tale. Your assistant provides commentary and context, hinting at fond memories tied to the court, though the protagonist’s backstory remains vague. The developer antagonist is a looming threat, but the game makes it nearly impossible to fail unless you actively avoid progress, resulting in two endings: one where you save the court and another where you don’t (though the latter feels more like a non-outcome). Radio DJ commentary and snippets of sports history uncovered during renovations enrich the atmosphere, giving each facility a sense of place and past.

The voice acting is inconsistent in quality. While some performances work well, like the Ukrainian swimmer character and your assistant, others fall flat. The radio DJ’s commentary, while informative about different sports, has an unpleasant, overly crisp delivery that makes it annoying to listen to. Surprisingly, it’s the story that ends up being the main motivator to keep playing, not the gameplay itself. As mentioned, what’s marketed as a cozy experience often feels more tedious than relaxing, with moments of frustration breaking the intended chill atmosphere.

Ending Thoughts

Sports: Renovations adopts a clean, practical visual style that complements its simulation gameplay. Facilities showcase thoughtful environmental storytelling, peeling paint, scattered debris, and broken equipment effectively sell the “before” state, making their restored versions genuinely rewarding. The color palette pops with vibrant gym floors, sun-bleached soccer fields, and sparkling pool areas, though the graphics remain comfortably within current-gen expectations rather than pushing limits.

To conclude, Sports: Renovations is a solid addition to the cleaning simulator genre, blending busywork with a sports-themed twist and a cozy narrative. Its gameplay loop is addictive for those who enjoy methodical tasks, however, inconsistent mechanics and minor frustrations with multiple bugs might keep you away from it. If you love transforming spaces and don’t mind a few rough edges, it’s a worthy pick, best enjoyed in short sessions.

Recenzentski primjerak ustupio izdavač

3.6