Station to Station Review (Haedia)
Right off the bat: This game is a puzzle game. If you come to this looking for a train management game or something similar, you're probably going to be disappointed. Would it be neat to have a train/transport management sim in this kind of style? Absolutely. But Station to Station is not that experience.
With that out of the way, let's get to the meat of it. This game is a relaxing, cozy, overall-chill experience with a touch of brain-twisting when it comes to getting the bonus objectives on some levels.
Most of the time, the objectives are satisfying to hit and aren't too obnoxious. There are a couple so far that have been a bit frustrating but in my case, it's been a sleep deprivation issue making me less than optimal at solving the puzzle aspects, rather than the structure of the puzzles themselves being bad.
I'm trying to pace myself so I don't tear through the entire game in one day. There are generated maps, which I've only kind of explored so far, but there's a definitely love present in the handcrafted levels that's enjoyable to experience and I'm already more than a third of the way through them.
I have a feeling that I'm going to want more of the handcrafted ones when I reach the end, and I do hope they have an idea for future content at some point. But that's just how I am with all delightful cozy games: I want more.
But this game has a lot to offer. Great art and design, great music, and just overall style. There's a delightful reactivity of the world when connections are made and resources are satisfied. It's not just that the landscape gets more lush and filled in with each connection, the music also reacts to your actions. So the game sounds get more depth as well. It's just like, everything in this game is tooled to push that serotonin button in your brain. And I mean, this is a pretty wholesome way to get those kinds of feels.
If you like cute art and chill puzzles and TRAINS, then definitely check this game out. I'm excited to see where this studio goes from here (even if it's something other than more of this).