Genre: Pet Simulator
Developer: NimbleBit
Publisher: Mobage

Tiny Tower uses a pixel-art aesthetic that clearly pays homage to the 16-bit era, and like other games making an attempt at "cuteness", uses the same type of "big headed small people" theme other titles with similar intent have utilized-- Sega's "Virtua Fighter Kids", for instance. The character art and the backdrops for the various building modules the player can create are universally pleasing to the eye. Overall art direction is very consistent as well.

The visuals immediately tell the player that this is a title that does not take itself too seriously-- as such, a non-serious soundtrack was required. The game's creators opted for a selection of light funk-fusion songs, that are both silly and non sequitur in nature. The various chimes and bells that sound through gameplay are of high quality, and lend the game its own sense of style.

Tiny Tower involves spending money to build new floors in a building, and then filling those floors with either an apartment complex, each of which can house five units, or one of five types of business establishment. The mechanics are overly simplistic: the player spends his time directing an elevator in order to move newly-arrived people to the correct floor, stocking shelves as in many Facebook games, and assigning the building's denizens to jobs they would enjoy.

A glimpse at screenshots of the title might make the game appear to be a simulation title, like Sim Tower. But between the ultra simplistic mechanics and the fact that the game is played in such a "touch and go" style, with sessions lasting no more than thirty seconds or a minute, Tiny Tower is not a simulation game: it's a pet simulator, like a Tamagotchi. But instead of a player feeding his pet, the player restocks his tower. As a sort of non-game, Tiny Tower isn't half bad. But it has a rather low engagement ceiling as well.