Game info

• Title Turmoil
• Developer LT Games Global
• Publisher LT Games Global
• Year 2015
• Platforms iPad, iPhone
• Genre Simulation

Turmoil+ offers players a visually charming, tongue-in-cheek take on the simulation genre inspired by the 19th century oil rush in North America. Get a taste of the rush and rivalry of the time as you earn your way to become a successful oil entrepreneur. As you make money digging up and selling oil, the town will grow along with you. Lease land at the town auction and search for oil. Build a rig, create an efficient pipe network and bring up the oil to store it in silos. Sell the oil at the best times to maximise profits. Then buy essential upgrades in town to cope with rock, gas and ice. Acquire more town shares than your competitors in a bid to become the new mayor.

Player Select

I like a good simulation game and this popped up as a new/old game available on Apple Arcade. It’s pretty basic game about drilling for oil in the 19th century and whilst that kind of thing is always fun to dive into - developing a town through the money you make being a shrewd businessperson - the oil aspect of it feels a bit out of touch these days. I know it’s just a game but still…

It’s in the Game

The graphics are clear and the visuals pretty cute, but the gameplay is surprisingly slow. On the one hand that’s better than some simulation and strategy games where there is so much complexity straight away that you just give up, but on the other hand, it really felt like a slog to get through the tutorial. And maybe I was being an idiot but the tutorial showed you dig and find oil straight away, once gameplay started, you didn’t and it took me ages to figure out you just have to keep digging.

I did find it a bit buggy in places, and if you flip to another app and then back again, it seemed to lose your place completely and reboot. I played the second level of the tutorial at least three times. And I’ve read some reviews of players getting very far through and losing progress which is not great. But if you can be casual about the game, or perhaps wait for a stability update in future, then it may be worth a look.

Thoughts

If you’re looking for a super casual game that you can dip in and out of and progress at your own pace then this could be the perfect game. The graphics are crystal clear and the tutorial thorough, but the oil content and the few existing bugs mean I’ll probably pass for now.

Rating: 2 / 5