PC Building Simulator Review (PC Game, 2018)

PC Building Simulator is what you would expect from the title. This is a simulation game where you build and repair PCs. There’s more to it, but that’s the logline.

Claudiu Kiss and The Irregular Corporation put together one of the most realistic simulation games in recent memory. It’s so accurate to the experience of building and repairing PCs that it can actually be used in educational environments. The parts you use are actual PC parts from actual brands. The varying configurations of cases, hardware, and wires are real, as well. Sure, you don’t just click to points with a mouse in the real world to run cables, but every cable you run in the game is an actual cable used in your PC.

The story of PC Building Simulator is typical for the genre. You take over someone’s failing PC repair business. You have to rebuild the company’s reputation and learn from the previous owner’s mistakes. If you never knew about the importance of thermal paste when working on CPUs and cooling systems, you’re going to learn the hard way with this game.

Your computer (which borrows your own PC’s desktop image and runs on your computer’s time, a great touch) is your central hub of operations. You answer e-mail requests for service and choose to accept or reject the job. As your business begins to grow, you gain access to the review website where every client will tell you exactly what went right or wrong on every job to ever pass through your company. You order parts through the online shop, including upgraded software and technology to make your life easier. Soon, you’ll be comparing parts to determine what is an appropriate upgrade, testing graphics through a 3D benchmark, and swapping out cables to the color and style of a customer’s choice. In this world, the customer is always right. They just might not directly tell you exactly what they want.

You control the pace of the game by how many jobs you take on and what kind. You also control your own budget. You can put yourself out of business by taking on more expensive jobs than you can afford. You can also loose customers for providing better quality parts than what their budget allows. What starts as a comparatively simple point and click simulation game becomes an intense resource management and business simulator on top of an accurate PC building/repair sim.

This is the level of detail and challenge I like in a simulation game. PC Building Simulator is as hard or easy as you want to make it. You do not have to take on jobs from people you know are problem customers, but those problem customer jobs can get you a lot more money and experience. That experience opens up more parts for you to do a better job in your shop. Do a good job and your star rating goes up, which allows you to take on more complicated work from more demanding customers. Abandon a job or do poorly and watch your reputation crumble.

My favorite feature of the game is the passage of time. Your work day can be as long as you need it to be to finish everything you’re working on. The calendar does not move onto the next day until you choose to physically leave your office. Some days I can finish in fifteen minutes; other days, I save the game and walk away so I can clear my head and figure out the best strategy. I wish more simulation games worked outside of time. The artificial crunch of sped up days in a simulation game is always is a frustration factor disguised as challenge.

PC Building Simulator is already a huge and expansive experience from the base game. There are a variety of expansion packs that change the aesthetics of the game but aren’t required to play. A new Esports Expansion just came out a few weeks ago that adds an alternate game mode offering tech support and management for an eSports team. You’ll have plenty to do with just the core game, which is still being supported with regular updates that add in the latest real world PC upgrades to the game.

I’m having a lot of fun with PC Building Simulator. I’m big on technology but rarely upgrade anything myself beyond RAM on a PC. This game offers a great variety of challenges and real world knowledge in a way that feels natural to the experience. Maybe I could upgrade my own graphics card some day. I mean, it’s a matter of check what the computer can handle, order the exact right parts within your budget, open the case, clean the case, remove the wires, remove the right bracket(s), remove your graphics card (and anything else in the way of it), put in the new graphics card, attach the correct bracket(s), connect the wires, close up the case, and test to make sure everything works right. It’s easier than it sounds, I promise.

PC Building Simulator is available on PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. It’s also part of Humble Bundle’s Super Simulation bundle through 17 September. Gain access to eight simulation games for $15 and earn a free month of Humble Choice (for another dozen games) at this link.