STATIONflow

STATIONflow is great management content, not just because it makes the player feel like they’re learning something fascinating, but because it’s generally so easy to get into. The virtual ant farm that pours out from each arriving train is a pleasure to simply observe, and being able to optimize their journeys and make their virtual lives a little simpler feels like a bonus.

I can't say I've ever been fascinated by or even remotely interested in the day-to-day operation of a subway station. Yet, there I was, pouring hours into this game deciding on the best place to put my escalators and pointing elderly passengers towards ticket machines. The premise of STATIONflow definitely doesn't scream fun, but if you're big into simulation and/or management games, then you'll find a lot to love about making the trains run on time.

STATIONflow is a fun and colorful management simulation of a subway station, with no high ambitions. The artificial intelligence is unfortunately mediocre and a profound management of economic resources is lacking.

Keeping your station running isn't easy, especially as more and more needs build up, but doing it over and over can get a bit repetitive. None of this gets in the way of the core gameplay here being very solid and addicting in the way that the best simulation titles are. I had a good time with STATIONflow and if you're into simulation games, I think you will, too. I just wish that a lack of variety and a few less than intuitive gameplay choices didn't keep it from being something truly special.

STATIONflow is an interesting experiment in urban space design, with an eye for the utilitarian and an ultimately sympathetic outlook on the bureaucracy. All in all, meeting the demands of thousands of commuters is difficult, and the game is effective in teaching the player why inefficiencies tend to occur. It’s a very particular kind of person who would enjoy this – they’d need to like thinking on their feet, and coming up with practical (if a little boring) solutions to complex problems, only to be rewarded by the reassurance that nothing’s gone wrong. But as with most games which target a niche audience, there’s bound to be a dedicated following eager to enjoy what DMM Games have to offer.

STATIONFlow delivers a fantastically engrossing dilemma. Starting from a simple platform, you'll build and maintain a single metro station. Sounds easy, yet it really isn't. An astonishingly deep experience that plays like Mini Metro from another perspective, STATIONFlow is on track for a successful launch.

Even if STATIONflow is about as dull as can be visually, and feels a bit rough around the edges mechanically, the rewarding gameplay often shone through, engaging me for hours on end.