THRILLING DRILLING
I F GAMING helps you escape the stresses and strains of everyday life, then no other title has helped me achieve a zen like state as quickly as Turmoil.
Don’t let the name of this 2016 underground hit fool you, this isn’t a hundred player battle royale, it’s about the more sedate and, as it turns out, highly addictive, world of digging for oil. Bear with me here.
Set in 1899, Turmoil is a delightful simulator which sees you working your way through procedurally generated levels to make as much money as you can.
The graphics are quirky, the humour is genteel and while the gameplay is simple, it gets under your skin and stays there.
Starting with a modest budget, you buy a plot of land and pay a dowser to find you an oil deposit.
You set up a rig, drill down to the oil pocket and start to bring it up – choosing to sell or store the oil as its price fluctuates.
With a timescale set for each expedition, it’s easy to make and lose a fair bit of cash in a short space of time.
You can then spend that cash on upgrades and fancy new equipment which allows you to drill deeper, drain faster and set up multiple wells to increase your profits.
The game’s beauty is in its simplicity, and realising they’d struck liquid gold, developer Gamious has released a new DLC to up the stakes.
The Heat is On upgrades and improves the game’s core mechanics, introduces some interesting new elements and offers a whole new campaign.
There’s a new mayor in town, and he’s flogging off new plots of land which could be dripping in the black stuff.
Settle on a patch, get your dowsing dude out and find yourself an oil pocket to plunder, but this time you’re just as likely to hit a magma vein, which doesn’t always spell disaster.
While it takes a while to dig through the molten menace, it has the effect of heating up the pipes, which in turn speeds up the rate at which the oil can be pumped from the well.
Draining an oil pocket faster obviously means you can explore for more deposits, and you’re laughing all the way to the bank – or you could drain the only bit of oil on the land you’ve bought and be left with nothing. Such is the fickle nature of prospecting.
The new campaign is surprisingly big, with three new areas to explore and new equipment and upgrades to be bought and earned.
To add an extra element of fun, a treasure system has been introduced with nine very rare and shiny items to keep an eye out for on your digs.
If a hard day’s rigging has taken its toll, you can now mosey on up to the card table at the saloon and double your money in a simple game of higher or lower – or lose it all, as I did when I got overly cocky.
The Heat is On is a glorious addition to a fabulous game.
Gamious has played it cleverly, listening to fans’ feedback and making tweaks here and there that serve to polish the experience even further – and at just £3.99 for the DLC, it won’t break the bank.
BUY IT: Turmoil and Turmoil: The Heat is On bundle for £8.78 at store.steampowered.com. If you already own Turmoil, The Heat is On is priced at £3.99, also from the same site.