News Tower, a pre-war tycoon game where you become a media mogul in 1930s New York, hits 1.0 to a rave reception

I'm clicking the 'Add News' button on our site's back-end to write a news story about a game all about posting news the old-fashioned way, and I couldn't be more excited to see the Steam reviews for News Tower coming in hot off the presses, signaling the release of what's shaping up to be one of the best tycoon games of the year.

Launching after a lengthy two-year early access stint and six years cooking in the oven, 2D management simulator News Tower has landed to excellent user reviews on Steam. It sits at a 96% 'overwhelmingly positive,' with players rightfully praising the decision to roll with real headlines instead of some Two Point Hospital-esque goofiness. And given this one apparently works on an "old ass mac" as per one Steam user , I'd be lobbing keys for this one through the windows of every retirement home in the area if I could. It was the style at the time!

News Tower lets you "manage your newspaper from printer to toilet;" so says its Steam description. And whether the comment about the john alludes to the long-passed tradition of guys reading the sports section on the can or the idea of running your rag into something only suited to a whole other purpose in the bathroom is presumably up to you. It's a management sim after all.

Set in the 1930s, you can imagine the sort of headlines you'll print; the hot scoops you'll land, and the stories that might arrive on the desk of your section editors, ready to be chucked at the nearest journo to take a swing at. There was a lot going on around the world in that decade, after all. You only need to look at the best strategy games to get where I'm trying to say here. Sure, you're headquartered in the Big Apple, but the rumblings of political upheaval across the pond were too loud to ignore along the Pacific, and the people need to know!

Anyway, running a newspaper is more involved than just sourcing stories, chasing leads, and interviewing the locals of New York. News Tower shows you just how fast-paced a 1930s newsroom could be. Starting from a scrappy magazine to a bustling tabloid, you build up your team of reporters, editors, photographers, and typesetters, manage the needs of the office, and pull whatever strings (and potentially sketchy practices?) you can to hit your weekly deadlines and score a front page scoop that will pry readers from the established papers whose heels you're gnawing.

Print media is a cut-throat industry, and you have to do whatever it takes to keep the lights on. That includes keeping your key advertisers happy amid tight political pressure, and even dodging costly lawsuits. With sources that won't stick around forever, you need to nail every aspect of your publishing house and its people to stay on top. Though, given the state of print media (and online, who are we kidding now), at least you can go into this knowing the days of your paper are almost certainly numbered. Do what you can, while you can, I say. Maybe mod in some pictures of Spider-Man?

With over a thousand potential stories for your writers to work on, and with a demo available alongside the full game enjoying a 20% launch discount, now's the time to try your hand at a job I have absolutely no idea how my bosses manage to do without going absolutely insane. Thanks, Google!

News Tower is out now on Steam, priced at $19.99 / £15.99, thanks to a 20% launch discount. This disappears after Tuesday December 2, bringing the price of running the show to $24.99 / £19.99. Grab it on Steam to try your hand at topping four different leaderboards as you climb to become the most-subscribed newspaper in the city.