Schedule 1‘s been out for a couple of weeks now, and it has somehow skyrocketed straight to the top of Steam Charts’ rankings as one of the games with the highest number of concurrent players. Why exactly is it in this spot though? Well, I can only speculate, but the answer seems pretty simple…
Insane Levels of Luck & Word of Mouth
As far as I can tell, the game never really had some sort of marketing push beyond simply putting out a demo, seeing as how it was seemingly made by a single person. Part of why Schedule 1 found immediate success is due to large content creators (such as CaseOh) picking up the “Free Sample” (demo) version of the game.
I’m sure other social media platforms helped as well. Between YouTube Shorts and TikTok, there’s no shortage of places for the masses to spread the word. You don’t even have to look far if you follow just a bit of gaming content.
Of course, just being played by some prominent streamers isn’t enough. They go through a ton of games, both good and bad, on a regular basis. So what makes Schedule 1 so special?
It’s A Good Game
Like the stuff you peddle in the game, it’s just extremely addicting. It basically lets you live out the fantasy of being Walter White without any of the consequences that come with… well, actually breaking bad.
It has a simple gameplay loop. Build up your initial lab, make some “substances”, and then sell them to random people roaming around a small town. Along the way, you’ll unlock new mechanics that increase your profits and various ways to pump up your production efforts.
That’s really all there is to it. You’re basically just making money to make even more money. If you get bored, you can cook up some weird versions of your “meds” and subject NPCs (or even your co-op partners) to various wacky status effects.
With a fairly inexpensive price tag and its very low system requirements, it’s such an accessible title that pretty much anyone can just grab it and start playing.
The only downside is that it definitely still feels incomplete in many ways, though that much should’ve been obvious as the game isn’t even at version 1.0 yet. On that note…
The Cycle Continues
Although the game itself is enjoyable, it does eventually run out of content for one to actually do. As an early access title (with heavy emphasis on early), you can experience everything it has to offer within just a few hours worth of gameplay.
Sure, there are different types of “products” to make and larger properties to set up your farm and/or lab in, but at its core, the gameplay loop doesn’t really change much whether you’re two hours in or twenty. I’d argue it even gets a bit boring once you can automate everything.
That’s obviously more of a subjective thing, though. Having a repetitive gameplay loop can mean tens of hours of fun for one person, but not for somebody else, and that’s okay. I personally don’t find it fun manually setting up employee assignments one by one, but I’m sure there are plenty of other people who find it fulfilling, especially when everything ends up working smoothly.
Schedule 1 is honestly just your typical simulation game, but with a very amusing theme. It isn’t the first of its kind to find success, and it won’t be the last. Remember TCG Card Shop Simulator? What about Supermarket Simulator and Gas Station Simulator?
Heck, if we wanna look at completely different genres, do you remember viral stuff like Lethal Company and Content Warning, or even… Phasmophobia? Well, move along, because people are already on R.E.P.O. nowadays.
Mellowing Out
I’m happy for the dev as the game has been selling insanely well for what it is, and I just hope they can keep up with the demand for new content and fixes. Surely it’s been overwhelming, especially with players quickly exhausting everything it has to offer by min-maxing the hell out of it.
I’m personally done with it, and it’s mostly cause I don’t find myself enjoying the gameplay loop again even if some of the QoL additions or entirely new mechanics in the developer’s roadmap on Trello eventually get patched in. Definitely a lot to look forward to if you’re a huge Schedule 1 fan though!
You’ll probably see me post a few more pieces about the game throughout the next few updates, since I do still have friends playing it (I’m susceptible to peer pressure lol).
Only time will tell whether or not the game will see a successful 1.0 release or end up like BattleBit Remastered, which is a pretty deep cut that I only remembered while writing this. Anyways, that’s enough rambling from me, as my roguelike addiction has been reignited and I’m working on reviewing some over the next couple weeks…