Is there an aphorism about how satire is often indistinguishable from reality? If not, there ought to be. Tycoon: India 1981 takes notes from Martin Wallace’s Brass, not only in terms of its interlocking economy and rich-get-richer gameplay, but also by turning choking smog into a whole aesthetic. It’s the inverse of colorful Lakshadweep, the last title we covered by Sidhant Chand, swapping the sustainable fisheries for sky-blotting smokestacks.

In spite of that shift — in spite of a few problems, really, nearly all of them inherited from the Eurogame tradition Tycoon is imitating — I can’t help but be compelled. Can you taste the carbon? That’s the flavor of money.

Read the rest of this entry →