Back to the lab again
The original Drug Dealer Simulator offered players a small but functional limited world. Set in an urban environment, the streets felt more like sets in a movie than a breathing, living world like GTA. The people that ended up being customers just kind of appeared and the cops, well no, the cops were a problem. The developer Byterunners certainly leveled up for the sequel, Drug Dealer Simulator 2 changes almost everything about the original, most for the better.
The biggest change from DDS to DDS2 is the setting, the sequel takes players to a sunny archipelago setting. Using a ferry to get between islands at the start but late game players will have access to a speed boat to help move about the world. The cities are bigger and more vibrant, each island has a distinct personality and the NPC’s have routines that they follow; it feels like a living, breathing world this time.
MSRP: $24.99
Platforms: Xbox (reviewed), PlayStation, PC
Price I’d Pay: $24.99
DDS players could quickly mix their various drugs and get them ready to sell. The management side of things was less intense and even the police could be evaded by jumping over a few fences. DDS2 breaks from that approach, opting for deeper, more strategic gameplay. This time when mixing there are more steps required, more items needed for each recipe. This is in the players’ favor when it comes to cutting other substances into their products, players can make it more addictive but should be careful as you can ruin a whole batch.
DDS2 is more than just making and selling drugs though, in fact players will be starting their own cartel. A boss’s desk will help to show things like territory controlled, drugs preferred and more. Players will also be able to hire dealers to work for them, this was a GOD SEND! I was able to assign up to 6 of my regulars to the dealer which freed me up for other boss type activities that needed to be done, namely cooking the product. Players will find a variety of drop spots around the city, here you will leave the product for your dealers to pick up and sell. I will say that the game does a lot of things the same way its down in the real world when it comes to this business, the problem is in how it controls while doing it.
Listen, you are going to spend A LOT of time in the various menus, from crafting product, assigning dealers, making deals, and more. And well, the console UI is pretty mid to terrible. For as much complaining as I do about the ‘Destiny’ style UI that has the mouse cursor like pointer, I really wish DDS2 had something like it. Having to navigate the various boxes and options by scrolling through is made worse by the fact that the game barely highlights what’s selected. I made lots of mistakes breaking down materials and I lost some money because I thought I was trashing some other item but instead it was $200K. This is by fair my biggest gripe with this game so far, the good news is the developer said they are working on a fix but as of this writing it hasn’t materialized.
Drug Dealer Simulator 2 is actually a prequel to the original which is wild because it’s so much grander than the first. Everything is bigger and bolder; players will have more options to expand their drug empires and in more meaningful ways. While there is some jank when it comes to combating other gangs and police, the simulation part of the game really shines and is a lot of fun to play. I just really hope they drop the UI patch sooner rather than later because it is by far and away the most frustrating thing about the game in its current iteration.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
