REVIEW : Weedcraft Inc (XBOX Series X)
Weedcraft Inc is a game that starts with a simple idea: what if someone made a tycoon game about the cannabis industry? Sure, classic simple games like Drug Wars have been around for a long time. Nothing on the scale of Weedcraft Inc has ever been seriously attempted. Devolver Digital specifically commissioned Vile Monarch to create this game, marking the first time as a publisher that they have done so. Needless to say, it’s been a long road.
Weedcraft Inc currently lacks a standalone free play or sandbox mode; instead, the experience is divided into two distinct story scenarios. Each of these takes you on a narrative journey through the mechanics and both sides of the cannabis industry. In the first scenario, an MBA student dropout turns to illegal cannabis sales to survive. The second scenario involves a recently released ex-convict finding work in the Colorado cannabis industry with the assistance of a friend.
In each of Weedcraft Inc’s two scenarios, players visit three different cities. In the first scenario, your character is depressed after his college funds run out. He is unable to finish his degree, his father has died, and he has returned home to live with his brother. He then discovers that his brother has been growing marijuana in the basement of their family home. You start a business by growing and selling marijuana on your own, and then you hire your first employees.
Surprisingly, the beginning of Weedcraft Inc feels more difficult than the later sections. Money is tight, and the need to hide from the police reduces your efficiency. You’ll need to use special equipment to mask the odour. Perhaps you’ll need to scale back operations to save energy and avoid suspicion. You’ll need to set up front businesses to explain who is coming and going from the buildings you rent. You’re also learning the ropes, which makes the situation even more difficult. Once you’ve mastered the situation, you’ll relocate to another city where medical marijuana is legal.
Soon after, you relocate to a third city, and the money begins to flow. You will be able to complete the scenario if you manage your employees and your business wisely.
The second scenario gets a new player off to a better start. You live in a state where cannabis is legal, so you don’t have to go through the hassle of selling illegally. In some ways, selling both legally and illegally is more profitable. However, it also necessitates jeopardising your efficiency by concealing your operations and occasionally bribing the police.
One of the minor issues I have with Weedcraft is how the mechanics gradually become available. It’s understandable at first, but you’re easily spending three-quarters of a campaign without access to anything useful. I would have liked to see a challenge where you weren’t shackled from the start. Making use of all of your available tools would be a game-changer.
Growing cannabis, in terms of tools, appears to be a fairly simple process. Rent a structure, lay some dirt, plant your seeds, and wait.
Trim the plants to encourage faster growth and water them to increase yield. You’ll end up with some pretty bad weed, and this is where the fine-tuning comes in.
Nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, temperature, and humidity are the five distinct elements that must be adjusted in each plant. You can try to figure these out through trial and error, but it’s a tedious process. Unlocking research halfway through the first campaign simplifies things significantly, requiring only the expenditure of research points to find the correct values. Then it’s just a matter of balancing these elements while trying to produce as much product as possible.
By far my favourite aspect of Weedcraft Inc was cannabis breeding. You spend research points in a slot machine-style mechanic to try to unlock new effects. Each customer group has specific outcomes in mind. By tailoring your product to their requirements, you will ensure market dominance. You’ll frequently have a few extra slots to fill with bonuses like higher quality, faster growth, or increased yield.
Employees play an important role in the process at Weedcraft Inc. There is simply too much to do for any one man, no matter how skilled he is at cow clickers and/or tycoon games.
Employees can be taught to grow, sell, and spy. Those who have received weed cultivation training will be more capable of working in your grow houses and researching product. Employees who have been trained to sell do so, while employees who have been trained to spy can dig up dirt on anyone and smuggle marijuana across state lines.
Employees and others in both scenarios have four distinct motive measures: relationship, motivation, integrity, and cannabis acceptance. These are all fairly simple to comprehend. Someone with whom you have a positive relationship value will be more likely to do you favour simply because you are friends.
A motivated employee will be more efficient, and a politician with high Integrity will be resistant to bribes.
Politics is also an important aspect of Weedcraft Inc. About halfway through the second scenario, you can lobby to change the laws, and this is where things get interesting. Proposing a new law costs $100,000 right away. The changes you make will influence whether Democratic or Republican politicians vote for the bill. If you want to keep things honest, slow, gradual change is possible. You can bribe politicians to increase their likelihood of voting or outright blackmail them if you’re willing to get dirty.
I discovered that blackmail was the most effective method of getting things done. I just need to gather dirt on politicians so that they will support the bill I want. Then blackmail them for their vote and reap the benefits of my (and my spy’s) labour. A second attempt at blackmail fails, and the politician flees town, but the process can be repeated with no ill effects.
Weedcraft’s preview build used to allow you to buy votes outright, which I think is a good thing. However, once you’re set up to do it well, it’s far too easy to blackmail politicians. I believe there should be some element of risk for the player here, but there isn’t.
If you tried to blackmail a politician, wouldn’t the state police or FBI get involved?
Overall, I enjoyed Weedcraft Inc, but that doesn’t mean it was without flaws. There were a few bugs here and there, some of which were repeatable, but the situation was vastly improved over the preview build. I believe Vile Monarch will smooth out the rough edges in the days leading up to release and for a short time afterwards. During my time playing, I encountered no serious or deeply troubling issues.
There were, however, many “wish I could” scenarios.
I wish the game would continue to run in the background while I was breeding new strains, checking my finances, or sorting through my inventory. I wish inventory management were easier; it’s difficult to move all of the different cannabis strains around on the hot bar. The breeding system is one of the worst offenders in this regard. There should be a notification when you unlock an effect that you don’t have in any of your existing weed strains. You should be able to highlight the specific effects you require on a menu.
Instead, you must switch back and forth between your inventory and the menu, double-checking and rechecking everything before confirming or discarding what you’ve researched.
Finally (and perhaps most importantly), I wish I knew how I lost. My money goes into the negative and I get a game over screen, but this doesn’t seem to happen regularly. I’ve been at -$10,000 in one game and lost, and -$20,000 in another with no issues. Is there a problem with the profit trend? I’m not sure, and there’s no warning.
Weedcraft Inc has a distinct cel-shaded aesthetic. It has a grungy and gritty feel to it, which I like. Whoever is creating the art is knowledgeable, and the team at Vile Monarch is also amusing. (It took a few passes through the title screen before I realised they were imitating Lady Liberty!) In terms of sound, the effects are certainly adequate. The music, on the other hand, is fantastic and one of the highlights of my playthrough. I loved the story elements and thought both scenarios had compelling narratives.
I finished the first scenario in Weedcraft Inc in 7 hours and the second in 8 hours. When you include my time with the preview, I’ve spent a total of 32 hours playing. So, what’s the final word?
REVIEW : Tales of Tomorrow: Experiment (PC)
