PC Building Simulator is the kind of simulator we can really appreciate, because unlike, say, firing up an A-10C, building PCs is something we have experience with and are capable of actually doing (usually) without hurting ourselves. It went into full release earlier this year, although even in Early Access it was a good way for inexperienced builders to get a feel for the process without blowing anything up.
We pointed out in our preview that turning PC building into a PC game was very meta, but now that meta has taken an unexpected twist—because the PC game about building PCs is now available on consoles.
"Uncle Tim’s skipped town, and he’s left you to run his PC repair business," developer Irregular Corporation said, injecting some healthy drama into this game about trying to diagnose a persistent BSOD without beating your monitor to death with your keyboard. "Jump on the office computer, accept jobs by email and wait for customers to drop off their machines. Start simple, clearing out dust-clogged cases, removing viruses and upgrading memory. In no time you’ll be swapping out CPUs like a pro. Thermal paste? It practically runs through your veins."
Naturally, there's also a "free build" mode where you can put together a digital dream rig using more than 1000 real-world parts from numerous licensed partners, ranging from cases to LED lighting. BIOS and operating system functionality are also part of the sim, overclocking is supported (and pretty much mandatory, I would think), and there's even licensed 3DMark benchmarking software, so you can obsessively monitor your fps performance and then spend hours tuning and tweaking to squeeze a few more drops out of it.
"PC Building Simulator on console" is obviously easy to have fun with, but I can see some practical value to it too. For console gamers who are curious about building their own gaming rig but reluctant to take the plunge without some idea of what to expect, it could be a way to get some familiarity with general principles (and frustrations) before fully committing. If nothing else, it's a way to allay fears about the complexity of building your own system: A little knowledge goes a long way.
PC Building Simulator is now available for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch, as well as Steam, GOG, and Humble.
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