Beacon Video Game Review: HOA Simulator '24

By Gaming Correspondent Mashes Buttons

The much anticipated 2024 installment of the popular video game franchise HOA Simulator is finally here, and we at The Beacon couldn't wait to get our hands on it. Full of new features and upgrades, the latest installment in the series is sure to please fans with the attention to detail we've come to expect from this developer. 

Like its predecessors, HOA Simulator '24 tasks players with creating and managing its own homeowners association. Players have the freedom to manage the association in any way they see fit. Want to run a lean, smooth operation that makes responsible use of HOA funds? Go for it! But if you're more of a "watch the world burn" kind of player, you can make an absolute mess of your role and run the association into the ground. 

If you enjoyed performing drive-bys in the Grand Theft Auto franchise, you're sure to love HOA Simulator's own take on this activity. HOA Simulator '24 lets players get behind the wheel of one of the HOA's mundane fleet vehicles and canvas the neighborhood looking for covenant violations. Issuing citations is more fun than ever, as the game allows players to rubber band violations around a brick and throw it through residents' windows. In one of my favorite moments of gameplay so far, I issued a citation in the manner described above, then immediately issued a second citation for the broken window. It was absolutely glorious.

I especially appreciate the lifelike rendering of the non-player characters, or "NPCs" in gaming speak. In HOA Simulator, the NPCs are primarily residents of the neighborhood you're managing. I loved seeing the disappointment on a resident's face when I closed the pools for emergency maintenance, or the anger when I tacked on an obscure fee to their already oppressive HOA dues. There's nothing quite like it.

Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of HOA Simulator '24. You won't be disappointed. You might be surprised to find that the best escape from the reality of living in a suburb is creating and managing a virtual suburb of your own.