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!"
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game offers a unique and engaging crafting experience, allowing players to build everything from scratch and manage their own store.
- Regular updates from the developer keep the game fresh and add new content, enhancing the overall gameplay experience.
- Despite being in early access, the game provides a lot of content and activities, making it addictive and rewarding for players who enjoy grindy gameplay.
- The game suffers from poor translations and confusing controls, which can lead to frustration for players trying to navigate the mechanics.
- Many players have reported bugs and technical issues, including problems with saving and item interactions, which detract from the overall experience.
- The tutorial is lacking in clarity and can lead to players feeling lost, as it does not adequately explain the game's mechanics or objectives.
- grinding18 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, mining, and building activities. While the grinding can be tedious and time-consuming, many players find it rewarding and relaxing, despite some frustrations with controls and the game's lack of guidance on upgrades and structures. Overall, it offers a rich experience for those who appreciate layered simulators, though it may not suit everyone due to its demanding nature.
“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 get 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.”
- gameplay13 mentions
- 31 % positive mentions
- 46 % neutral mentions
- 23 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized by a lack of content and excessive grinding, which can detract from the overall experience. While some players appreciate the mechanics and find the game addictive, they also note issues such as problematic controls and a need for better energy generation accessibility. Suggestions for improvement include adding a statistics menu and enhancing the user interface to streamline gameplay.
“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.”
“There's not a lot of gameplay content here and what content is here is hidden behind a ton of grind and waiting.”
“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.”
- optimization5 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
The game's optimization is a work in progress, with users noting that significant performance improvements are necessary, as it struggles with slowdowns even on high-end systems. There is hope for better optimization, particularly for platforms like the Steam Deck.
“I hope in the future this game is optimized for Steam Deck.”
“The optimization is clearly in progress.”
“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.
“There is no in-game music; it's currently only available 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, and a commitment to quickly fixing bugs while continuously adding 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.”
