Park Beyond

Park Beyond is a construction and management simulation game from developer Limbic Entertainment and publisher Bandai Namco Entertainment. It launched in June 2023 on Windows PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S. The game’s key feature is “impossification,” letting players build rides that break the laws of physics and gravity. These impossible attractions produce a resource called Amazement, which can then be spent to research even more outlandish ride upgrades.

In the game, players build, design, and run a theme park, focusing on flat rides and roller coasters as main draws, plus shops and restaurants. All facilities can be heavily customized. As a park manager, you must also watch social trends to keep attractions popular. Various advisors present conflicts—for example, one might push a creative but financially risky ride idea, while another warns against it. Players regularly face these dilemmas and make decisions. There are also pitch meetings where you explain your park plans to a board of directors.

Development was handled by German studio Limbic Entertainment. After spending four years on Tropico 6 (2019), the team wanted a new project. Two theme park enthusiasts pitched the idea of a park simulator to management. CEO Stephan Winter said the pitch was welcomed because it felt “fresh enough to excite everyone,” and the team could transfer a lot of know-how from city-building to theme park simulation. While introducing impossification, the developers still aimed to keep the game “grounded in reality” and “believable.”

The game was announced at Gamescom 2021. Bandai Namco became Limbic’s majority stakeholder in October 2022. Originally slated for 2022, the release was delayed to June 16, 2023. A closed beta ran from May 9 to 19. Pre-orders of the standard edition included the “Pac-Man Impossification Set,” while the “Visioneer Edition” added the “Zombeyond Impossification Set”; both packs later became separate DLC. The first major DLC, Beyond eXtreme, was initially set for September 29 alongside an update for sharing creations online, but was postponed on September 18. A DLC themed to Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget launched on December 15, coinciding with the film.

Reception was mixed. On Metacritic, the PC and PlayStation 5 versions received “mixed or average” reviews, while the Xbox Series X version got “generally positive” scores.