《Car Park Capital》评测：讽刺汽车文化的复古模拟经营游戏

Car Park Capital is a satirical, tycoon-style, city-building and business simulation game. Visually and in terms of gameplay, it strongly resembles classic economic simulations such as RollerCoaster Tycoon and Transport Tycoon. It humorously critiques car dependency, lobbying, and modern urban planning, particularly as practised in the US. Rather than building a sustainable city, the aim of the game is to do the opposite and create a place where cars take centre stage. Cars need one thing above all else: parking spaces – naturally paid. Players buy plots of land and demolish residential areas and parks to transform them into gigantic, tarmac-covered car parks, either flat or constructed using 3D tools, and later with futuristic upgrades. But that’s not all. Players take capitalism to the extreme by making the population dependent on cars.

More infrastructure is also being built for motorists. To maximise revenue, players can set up drive-through restaurants, drive-in cinemas, and neon-lit valet parking areas. At the same time, the car-brain mentality should be encouraged. Players can influence the thoughts of bald-headed citizens through propaganda and targeted disinformation. The more convinced citizens are of the benefits of cars, the more willingly they will pay exorbitant parking fees. This can be achieved through statues, billboards or megaphone trucks blasting pro-car propaganda through the streets. Citizens have their own thoughts, levels of happiness and opinions about the automotive world around them. Food, drink, petrol, entertainment and toilets all matter. If players keep citizens satisfied, they’ll be willing to pay more for parking, fuel, cars, and drive-through services. These include drive-through toilets and even Ferris wheels for cars.

Environmentalists, trains and local public transport stand in the way of building a thriving 'car-centred' empire, so they must be fought – either politically or directly with riot police. At the same time, players must keep an eye on their finances and can even drill for oil themselves because traffic only flows when tanks are full. The oil must, of course, be processed further. Players can also manufacture cars for their car vending machines, which are then bought by people who have been convinced of the benefits of owning a car. Furthermore, plastic trees can be produced, cows can be raised and sent to meat grinders, so that hungry motorists can enjoy hamburgers without leaving their vehicles. The entire cycle feeds directly into the game’s progression system. As soon as players sell the cars they’ve produced via the vending machines to brainwashed Carbrain citizens who then park their cars in expensive areas, their business empire levels up. This unlocks new, even more absurd buildings and upgrades. However, behind the satire lies a real-time strategy and management simulation in which hundreds of citizens and vehicles interact across interconnected systems of traffic, production, needs, public opinion and profitability.

Car Park Capital has charm as both a classic tycoon game with bustling residents and a game in which players can embody the 'evil' side of the car lobby and scan citizens' thoughts to raise fees. However, the number of scenarios and maps is still fairly limited at this Early Access stage, as is the number of available buildings and upgrades. The introduction to the game could also be smoother and more detailed. Nevertheless, as an Early Access retro tycoon game, Car Park Capital already makes a very good impression.

The whole game is accompanied by a soundtrack by Kent Kercher, whose previous work includes projects such as Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, Justice League, Watchmen, and The Grinch.

Behind Car Park Capital is Hilko Janssen, an independent game developer based in the Netherlands and the founder of Hilkojj Interactive. He developed his own game and rendering engines. "Thanks to the techniques used in this engine, I can create games with nostalgic mechanics and retro-styled graphics. Inspired by well-known games from the 90s and 2000s. An example is the automatic Blender to 2D spritesheet pipeline I developed, which is currently being used in Car Park Capital," says Janssen. The game started as a "silly hobby project" around four years ago, but it has turned into his full-time job thanks to the support from the community. At the end of July 2025, it was announced that MicroProse had signed the game. Janssen said at the time: "The one behind great classics like Transport Tycoon, Civilization, and that game where you build rollercoasters and drown people for fun: It's MicroProse! Considering my game is inspired by some of their classics, MicroProse feels like the perfect match, and so I'm very honored with this partnership."

The game is being published by MicroProse, a company with a long history. Founded in 1982 by Bill Stealey and Sid Meier, it is renowned for its vehicle simulations and strategy games. This American developer and publisher is renowned for its vehicle simulations and strategy games, including Falcon, B-17, F15 Strike Eagle, Silent Service, Highfleet, and the original XCOM and Civilization games. However, in 1993 MicroProse became a subsidiary of Spectrum HoloByte, and key personnel left before the company was acquired by Hasbro Interactive. MicroProse ceased to exist in 2001 when Hasbro sold the intellectual property rights to Infogrames Entertainment. Since then, there have been several unsuccessful attempts to revive the brand, and ownership has changed hands again. In 2018, David Lagettie, an Australian former developer at Bohemia Interactive, bought the brand from the Cybergun Group. In February 2019, MicroProse returned with simulations featuring military vehicles, as well as strategy games such as Sea Power: Naval Combat in the Missile Age, Carrier Command 2, HighFleet, MechEngineer, Urban Strife, and Cleared Hot. With this focus, MicroProse primarily competes with Hooded Horse and Slitherine (Matrix Games). The company's publishing portfolio is specifically aimed at small studios.

Car Park Capital was released on Early Access on 9 October 2026, priced at €16.49. The Early Access version includes three maps/scenarios with different challenges: American City, the Pyramids of Giza, and Florida with boat cars. Players can level up in each scenario to unlock new cars, building options, drive-thrus and production chains. Early Access is planned to last ten months, after which the game will transition to version 1.0 in the summer of 2027. Regarding updates, they wrote: "We plan to have more maps, more building and customization options, more strategic depth to features like Oil Drilling and add events and disasters. Building options may include objects to build custom malls, different forms of parking and/or Movie and Restaurant Drive Ins. We also plan to improve existing features based on feedback and add Quality of Life features where needed. More music tracks are in the works, and a scenario set in Paris. If the desire is there, we hope to integrate Steam Workshop, allowing players to share creations. These plans and the direction may change based on Player Feedback." They plan to gradually raise the price as new content and features are shipped.

Conclusion

It's been a long time since a tycoon game like this came along. Car Park Capital is a satirical game full of witty ideas, and a proper tycoon game in the classic mould.

Features

• Classic tycoon game with a classic tycoon look
• Biting satire about a world where cars are king
• Creatively absurd ideas and good building tools