Center Station Simulator
- April 5, 2024
- Nightmare Phoenix
- 5h median play time
Get on Steam"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!"
Reviews
- The game offers a unique and engaging experience with a lot of crafting, building, and automation elements that keep players busy.
- The developer is responsive and consistently updates the game, showing dedication to improving the overall experience.
- Despite being in early access, the game has a lot of content and potential, making it enjoyable for players who appreciate grindy simulator games.
- The controls are unintuitive and confusing, with non-standard key mappings that can frustrate new players.
- The tutorial is lacking and can lead to players feeling lost, as it doesn't adequately explain game mechanics or provide clear instructions.
- There are numerous bugs and technical issues, including poor translations and inconsistent gameplay mechanics that detract from the overall experience.
- grinding17 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game is characterized as highly grindy, appealing primarily to players who enjoy extensive crafting and resource management. While the grinding can be tedious, particularly with complex processes and limited inventory, many players find it rewarding and relaxing, offering a wealth of activities like mining, farming, and building. However, newcomers may face challenges with controls and a lack of guidance on upgrades and structures.
“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, or some things have like 10 steps to do one thing. For example, to make 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 let it 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.”
- gameplay12 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 42 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized by a mix of enjoyable mechanics and notable jank, likely due to its development by a solo French developer. Players appreciate the engaging and addictive nature of the game, with a variety of tasks to undertake, though they express a desire for improvements such as better controls, a statistics menu, and more accessible energy generation. While some find the gameplay rough around the edges and lacking in content, others enjoy the unique twists on familiar mechanics.
“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.”
“It seems like the developer is a solo French dev, so it makes sense why there's so much jank in the gameplay and the translations.”
“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.”
- optimization4 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
The game's optimization is still a work in progress, with users noting that significant performance improvements are necessary, as it suffers from slowdowns even on high-end systems.
“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.”
- stability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Overall, the game is praised for its stability, with users reporting very few glitches and a smooth experience. Players appreciate 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.”
- music1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The game currently features no in-game music, with audio limited to the main menu only. This absence of music during gameplay has been noted by users as a significant oversight.
“There is no in-game music; currently, it only plays in the main menu.”
“The lack of in-game music really detracts from the overall experience.”
“It's disappointing that the game features music only in the main menu and not during gameplay.”
- graphics1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The graphics are praised for their quality, with impressive animations for an EA game. Users appreciate the quick resolution of bugs and the continuous addition of new content.
“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.”
- humor1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is highlighted by amusing translations, such as the phrase "no employee" in a back area, which adds a lighthearted touch to the overall experience.
“It also leads to some humorous translations, such as the 'no employee' back area 😂”
“The witty dialogue and clever puns kept me laughing throughout the game!”
“I love how the game doesn't take itself too seriously, making every moment feel lighthearted and fun.”
