Center Station Simulator

About

Center Station Simulator is a single player simulation game. It was developed by Nightmare Phoenix and was released on April 5, 2024. It received positive reviews from players.

"In Center Station Simulator, you inherit a shopping center in a desert and must renovate it, manufacture products in your expandable underground laboratory! Manage resources such as electricity, water, and oil, and build your laboratory, shop, and parking lot. Create and sell products, automate payment checkouts, and continuously improve your facilities. The possibilities for expansion are endless!"

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

85%

Audience ScoreBased on 176 reviews

gameplay8 positive mentions

grinding34 negative mentions

The game offers a unique and engaging experience with a lot of crafting, building, and automation elements, making it highly addictive.
The developer is actively updating the game, showing dedication to improving the gameplay and fixing bugs, which gives it great potential for future success.
Despite being in early access, there is a substantial amount of content to explore, and the gameplay can be very rewarding for those who enjoy grindy simulator games.

The controls are unintuitive and confusing, particularly for players accustomed to standard key mappings like WASD, which can lead to a frustrating experience.
The tutorial is poorly designed and often leaves players feeling lost, with many mechanics and features not adequately explained, leading to a steep learning curve.
There are numerous bugs and technical issues, including inconsistent translations and performance problems, which detract from the overall experience.

grinding
34 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is heavily focused on grinding, appealing primarily to players who enjoy grindy experiences, with extensive crafting, mining, and building mechanics. While the grind can be tedious and time-consuming, many players find it rewarding, especially when they see the results of their efforts. However, the game’s complexity and lack of guidance can lead to frustration for some, particularly with its intricate crafting processes and control setup.
- “Secondly, this game relies heavily on crafting and grinding, so expect to spend a lot of time crafting materials, etc.”
- “The game is very grindy; there is so much to do but not enough time, and some tasks have like 10 steps to do one thing, like planks of wood. First, you grow the tree, then collect the log, then process the log 5 times on the sawmill to get planks. It should just let you put the log on the sawmill and do its thing, but no.”
- “Game doesn't tell you what upgrades do, how structures work, etc., so you have to guess by yourself after building one, and then regret having invested 5 hours into ore farming to build useless stuff.”
gameplay
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
54%
13%
The gameplay is characterized by a mix of enjoyable mechanics and significant jank, likely due to the solo development effort. Players appreciate the variety of tasks and the potential for expansion, though they note issues with controls and a lack of essential UI features. While some find the gameplay addictive and engaging, others criticize it for being rough and lacking content.
- “I have thoroughly enjoyed the mechanics and expanding the machinery and improving my center.”
- “Always, and I mean always, something to do in the game which is a cool concept if you enjoy that kind of gameplay; at the same time, it can be as relaxed as you want it to be.”
- “Rough around the edges but addictive gameplay.”
- “Problematic controls: even with customization options, there are times when the item pickup mechanic is confusing, requiring the use of multiple buttons.”
- “It has no content, gameplay is terrible, basic UI elements are missing, etc.”
- “Energy generation: making energy construction more accessible early in the game could better balance the gameplay mechanics.”
optimization
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
49%
38%
The game's optimization is still a work in progress, with users reporting significant performance issues, including slowdowns even on high-end systems. Improvements in optimization are deemed essential for a smoother gaming experience.
- “The optimization is clearly in progress.”
- “Overall performance: improvements in performance are essential, as even on high-performance computers, the game experiences slowdowns.”
- “Overall performance: improvements in performance are essential, as even on high-performance computers, the game experiences slowdowns.”
- “Overall performance: improvements in performance are essential, as even on high-performance computers, the game experiences slowdowns.”
stability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Overall, the game is praised for its stability, with users reporting very few glitches and a smooth experience. Players have expressed satisfaction with the lack of bugs, contributing to their enjoyment and addiction to the game.
- “Very few glitches, and fairly stable for the most part.”
- “Its such a good game, had no issues with bugs and glitches, I like the fact you have to build everything literally from scratch, maybe at some point there could be a farm too where you can get meat, I'm so addicted to this game.”
music
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
150%
The game currently features no in-game music, with music only available in the main menu. This lack of in-game audio has been noted by multiple users.
- “There is no in-game music; it's currently only available in the main menu.”
- “The game lacks in-game music, which is only present in the main menu.”
- “In-game music is absent; it can only be heard in the main menu.”
graphics
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The graphics are praised for their quality, with impressive animations that stand out for an EA game. Users appreciate the quick resolution of bugs and the continuous addition of new content, enhancing the overall visual experience.
- “The graphics are very nice, and the animations are really good for an EA game. Bugs are fixed quickly, and new content is constantly added.”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is highlighted by amusing translations, such as the phrase "no employee" in a back area, which has garnered laughter from players.
- “It also leads to some humorous translations such as the 'no employee' back area ”