Blooming Business: Casino Review (PC)

Knuckles Rheeves is a big hippopotamus with Irish origins and filled-down horns. He likes high-end cocktails, cheese, and the company of bikers and he can cut a rug when the mood is right. And he’s the guy I need to keep happy in my casino to make progress in the story-driven mode. He isn’t exactly the easiest guy to please but I have money to put down all the decorations he likes and get him that much-needed strong cocktail.

The roulette tables are filled with customers, spending their hard-earned money with a drink in hand and the option to get a few burgers in the lounge area. I also have an arcade room and some blackjack tables, for those who want variety in their gambling. My bathroom might be a bit on the small side and I need to decide whether I will simply expand it on put another one up on the second floor.

My basement is filled with a research center that draws a ton of power, a vault, a security room, an employee break space, and a very important maintenance center. I’ve hired only the best people for their jobs, making sure that my casino is in the best possible shape. It will only take a few tweaks to this setup to accommodate Mister Rheeves and his biker friends.

Blooming Business: Casino is developed by Homo Ludens and published by Curve Games. I played it on Steam on the PC. The title features classic tycoon game mechanics, with a theme that mixes classic casino movie inspirations with aliens and more.

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Players will take charge of casinos in a city inspired by old Las Vegas, with desert all around and plenty of people ready to enter these establishments to spend money and have fun gambling. The campaign starts players off as a broke visitor who’s suddenly offered a management opportunity, introducing the core ideas while telling a classic tale of corruption, mob influence, and larger-than-life characters.

Most missions are built around VIPs and their levels of satisfaction. Each has a different personality, with clear preferences for certain types of decor, a drink, and a favorite gambling activity. The game is decently written but doesn’t offer anything new or emotional. It exists to give players info and give them reasons to build the best possible casino.

The tycoon approach will be familiar to anyone who’s previously played a representative of the genre. Gamers gain full control over the casino, able to decide how it’s laid out, what kind of gambling happens on the premise, and who should be hired for the most important jobs. Slots need to be placed, gambling tables managed, bars stocked, lounge areas supplied, and all areas require places for people to sit, light sources, and decorations.

The interface makes it easy to choose an area type and fill it with all it needs to work. Once customers start streaming in, it’s safe to push the game speed to its highest setting and watch the carefully built machine casino machine at work, bringing in the money. Small changes and improvements are needed here and there but a well-designed business almost runs itself.

Blooming Business: Casino’s story missions throw curve balls by introducing VIPs. They are the high rollers, major gamblers with mob connections who have very specific tastes. They want a casino to look a certain way, offer their favorite drink, and feature the game they are most likely to win at. Players will have to unlock new options (put a big Research center in the basement as soon as possible) to satisfy their needs and make narrative progress.

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The mechanic will make gamers re-evaluate their choices and then edit rooms and areas to accommodate the big guests. I like the variety of archetypes the developers created and their often weird mix of tastes. I actually wanted the VIPs to have a bigger impact on the casino and their fellow gamblers when they show up.

Blooming Business: Casino also offers a full sandbox option. Players get to decide the difficulty, amount of starting cash, and other options before they start. Then they can simply focus on creating the casino of their dreams, without having to worry about narrative elements. It’s a much more relaxed experience and fans of the tycoon genre will love the freedom.

All the game’s core ideas are solid and well-implemented. My biggest criticism is the very classic approach, which works well with the theme but makes it harder for the game to become a leader in its genre. The VIP concept has the potential to power some innovative mechanics and bigger narrative moments.

Blooming Business: Casino uses a visual style that blends cartoon influences with real-world elements. Everyone working in the casinos or gambling is an animal and all the VIPs have unique and interesting designs. Decorations and objects are built around a range of themes, like classic or science fiction, and the game looks pretty good from the zoomed-out perspective that players will spend most of their time in. Zoom in a lot and a relative lack of detail becomes apparent.

The sound design captures the hustle and bustle of a working casino pretty well and there’s a pleasant soundtrack to accompany players as they create rooms and deal with customer needs. But the theme would have been better paired with something more retro, like some jazz and blues from the real world 50s.

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The Good

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