I’d be ashamed to tell you how much glee a 12-year-old me once derived from an afternoon trapping dozens of anthropomorphic pandas in a large pit in the middle of a rapidly decaying amusement park. The opportunity for such delightful lunacy is part of what made RollerCoaster Tycoon such a treat for oddball preteens like myself. Not only could you exercise creativity, strategic reasoning, business acumen, and a universal love for roller coaster rides, but you could also delight in raining chaos upon the whole ordeal. At long last, we can know those pleasures once again: the eagerly awaited RollerCoaster Tycoon World is officially on its way. And with great haste!

Atari is bringing us RollerCoaster Tycoon World via Steam Early Access on March 30—just a few days away at this point, though a good two years after initial announcement of the project. Adding in the factor that the last two RollerCoaster Tycoon games, RollerCoaster Tycoon 3D and RollerCoaster Tycoon Mobile, were colossal disappointments, the imminence of World is as exciting a prospect as any series devotee might hope to hear about.

Granted, the March 30 release won’t be a complete product—World will be updated incrementally over the course of the months to follow. Polygon reports that the earliest version of the game will include features like roller coaster construction (naturally), campaigning, Steam Workshop functionality, among others. (If the game doesn’t live up to your expectations, you’ll have until March 31 to accrue a complete refund.)

We’re surely hoping that RollerCoaster Tycoon World, whether upon initial publication or after a few necessary updates, will revive the spirit of the ’99 original—a tour de force in joyful, imagination-filled time wasting. Let us know if you’ll be checking out the game when it launches next week!

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HT: Polygon

IMAGE: Infogrames Entertainment/Atari