When it comes to simulators of various kinds, more often than not I’m not a fan. Whether the issue is stepping into doing a job that’s simply too dull, the chore of walking around or performing simple tasks being too prevalent, or just the whole package being poorly implemented, the space has far more misses than hits. I was dreading Building Simulator a bit since I’ve played a few variations on this before that were all a mess, but I’ll admit that in this case I was pleasantly surprised with the play it offered.

Starting with the game’s pretty extensive tutorials I was pleasantly surprised that, I kid you not, at no time did I run into bugs or practically have everything come to a screeching halt. Truly, it’s sad the number of simulations of this type I’ve played where even the tutorial itself has failed to put the title’s best foot forward, but by contrast not only was this one seemingly bug-free, it was also quite helpful. Considering all of the steps supported in constructing a house, from the foundation to the framing to the various aspects of finishing, that was a good thing. I think even if you understood the steps you’d get lost in terms of the mechanics for getting through each phase without some guidance.

Once you’re past the tutorial it is then on to exercising your creativity and gumption to go and first design and then build your own dream home. What I appreciate here is that the developers have generally found a balance between having you mechanically perform loads of tasks and keeping anything from getting too dull. Once you’ve bought what you need, you’ll be able to very quickly complete most tasks, usually just holding down a button and moving along the correct path to keep working on your current step. That helps it feel hands-on and satisfying to see go from nothing to something you’ve made, but it tries to keep everything from proceeding at a snail’s pace, risking you losing interest whether it's more realistic or not.

While I’ll admit that these realistic job simulators aren’t typically my cup of tea, there’s something endearing about Builder Simulator. Whether it’s the upbeat and energetic spirit of your tutorial assistant, the attempt to streamline tasks so you’re getting involved without wasting too much time, or some of the interesting results your efforts can produce, it shows a great deal of care in its design. Granted, the space for this sort of thing tends to be pretty niche, and ultimately you’ll only be able to get out of a game like this what you’re willing to put into it. But if you enjoy designing buildings or interiors this may be a fun way to flex your creative muscles a bit in those areas as well as others.