Freeways

About

Freeways is a single-player simulation game where you take on the role of a traffic engineer, tasked with designing and optimizing freeway interchanges. The game features good graphics but can be buggy at times. Your goal is to ensure efficient traffic flow and prevent gridlock. Though the plot may be boring, the gameplay is fabulous, offering a unique and engaging experience for players interested in urban planning and logistics.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

90%

Audience ScoreBased on 2,448 reviews

gameplay32 positive mentions

story16 negative mentions

The game is simple yet addictive, providing a fun challenge for players.
Great concept that allows for creativity in designing road systems and interchanges.
The low price point makes it an excellent value for the amount of gameplay offered.

The lack of an undo button is a significant frustration, forcing players to restart levels after small mistakes.
Controls can be finicky, making it difficult to draw precise roads, which can lead to unintended errors.
The game has some bugs and lacks quality of life features, such as the ability to erase or adjust existing roads.

gameplay
132 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
24%
71%
5%
The gameplay is centered around a minimalist mechanic of "painting" roads, which is both simple and addictive, drawing players into its urban landscape design. While the mechanics can initially be confusing, they become more intuitive with practice, though many players express frustration over the lack of an undo feature and the repetitive nature of some levels. Overall, the game offers a casual yet intellectually engaging experience, but some users feel it lacks depth and variety, leading to a limited gameplay lifespan.
- “Amazing how with so few game mechanics one can have such a compelling game.”
- “It draws you in with its minimalist aesthetic and intuitive gameplay mechanics, allowing you to shape the urban landscape at your fingertips.”
- “The basic gameplay is fun, addictive, and extremely simple to understand (but increasingly difficult to master).”
- “The mechanics are confusing and unintelligible, but the more you play, the more they make sense and work.”
- “There is a limited supply of gameplay in this; it runs out pretty quickly.”
- “Building mechanics suck, and you can't undo your mistakes.”
graphics
116 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
26%
67%
7%
The graphics of the game are characterized as simplistic and retro, often reminiscent of 90s or Atari-style visuals, which some players find charming and fitting for the gameplay. While the basic graphics do not detract from the fun and engaging mechanics, they can lead to frustrations with precision in gameplay, and some users express a desire for improved visual clarity and additional features like an undo button. Overall, the minimalist aesthetic is appreciated by many, enhancing the game's appeal despite its graphical limitations.
- “It draws you in with its minimalist aesthetic and intuitive gameplay mechanics, allowing you to shape the urban landscape at your fingertips.”
- “The game's simplistic yet immersive visuals, coupled with its captivating soundtrack, enhance the emotional resonance of the gameplay.”
- “Brilliant, fascinating, surprisingly enjoyable game with a simple concept and an old-school art style.”
- “Seeing the visuals, I was hoping for a game like 'Baba Is You' or 'FTL', which both have low-tech graphics with insanely great gameplay, but it turns out it's a half-assed demo showcasing autonomous driving algorithms.”
- “However, it has extremely basic, maybe even bad, graphics, and there isn't much to it.”
- “I don't mind the 80's DOS style graphics, but precise road placement, which is important, is near impossible.”
story
38 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
5%
53%
42%
The game lacks a story, with multiple reviews confirming its absence. Despite this, players find it enjoyable due to its variety of missions and engaging gameplay, which helps prevent repetition.
- “I find this game to be quite enjoyable; it has a lot of different missions and paths, and it surprisingly doesn't get as repetitive as you may think.”
- “No story, basic graphics, basic sounds but very fun.”
- “☑ no story”
- “☑ story?”
stability
30 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is frequently described as buggy, with issues such as graphical glitches, problematic vehicle collisions, and a lack of an undo feature that can lead to frustrating gameplay experiences. While some players find the glitches manageable and part of the challenge, others report that they can significantly detract from the overall enjoyment, especially with frequent crashes during harder levels. Overall, the stability of the game is considered unrefined and in need of improvement.
- “The game is buggy and unrefined, lacking lots of features.”
- “I regretfully report that this game is fun for a little bit but quickly becomes tedious when the game is as buggy as it is, and you can't undo.”
- “Today, halfway through each of the harder levels, it freezes and crashes every time.”
grinding
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
33%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious, often requiring significant time investment without much reward. The lack of an undo feature exacerbates this frustration, particularly in later levels where players must repeatedly redraw complex designs, leading to a sense of monotony and annoyance. Overall, while the game starts off enjoyable, it quickly becomes a grind that tests players' patience.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “I regretfully report that this game is fun for a little bit but quickly becomes tedious when the game is as buggy as it is, and you can't undo.”
- “Especially in the later levels, having to redraw everything when you're running out of space or have two lanes too close to each other (cars will wait on each other) makes it very tedious.”
humor
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is widely appreciated, with players finding amusement in its quirky design choices, such as the lack of an undo button that leads to comical frustration. The game's aesthetic, characterized by intentionally crooked lines and amusing sound effects, adds to its charm, making it a lighthearted experience that resonates with those who enjoy a playful take on traffic engineering. Overall, players describe it as a "chill funny road game" that is both entertaining and worth playing.
- “Very cool game classic coding but very very good. There's no undo button, but it's funny when people get very mad that they can't undo. XD But I love this game.”
- “A ramp going around (of course they could remove only one viaduct to build another... but the game is really funny the way it is).”
- “The game could even help develop solutions for real life (although the best solution for traffic is not more cars, but public transport, bicycles... maybe that is why it looks so outdated? I am amazed with how funny this game can be...).”
optimization
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
58%
25%
The game's optimization is a mixed bag; while it is impressively lightweight at just 17MB, players report significant bugs and challenging levels that complicate the experience. Despite these issues, many find the game enjoyable for casual play, with optimization becoming a key focus as they progress through the puzzles. Overall, the optimization aspect is seen as both a strength and a weakness, depending on the player's perspective.
- “Nevertheless, this game is optimized as hell, since it is only 17MB, 17MB!”
- “A surprisingly fun puzzle game, with many objectives. First is to just complete a level, and then optimization seems very important to me.”
- “Very poorly optimized”
- “I haven't finished Freeways yet; I'm on the last (and largest) set of puzzles with quite a bit to go, and then a push for optimization.”
- “A surprisingly fun puzzle game, with many objectives; first is to just complete a level, and then optimization seems very important to me.”
music
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
25%
25%
The game's soundtrack is praised for its captivating quality, significantly enhancing the emotional experience of gameplay, with some users rating it a perfect 10/10. However, there are complaints about the in-game audio being unappealing, leading players to prefer listening to their own music, which can disrupt gameplay if the volume is adjusted. Overall, while the soundtrack is a highlight, there are calls for improvements in the game's native music.
- “The game's simplistic yet immersive visuals, coupled with its captivating soundtrack, enhance the emotional resonance of the gameplay.”
- “10/10 soundtrack, many boop bops”
- “Great game, needs better music”
- “If you want to play the game on mute (the sound is lame, so I listen to music), you need to mute it every time you launch the game.”
- “The music and audio effects are underwhelming and detract from the overall experience.”
- “The soundtrack fails to engage and feels repetitive, making it hard to stay immersed in the game.”
replayability
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
20%
20%
Overall, the game offers a mix of replayability, driven by its simple mechanics and the challenge of improving scores. However, some players note that the lack of variety in levels may lead to diminishing replay value over time. Despite this, many find the game enjoyable enough to play for extended periods, especially considering its low cost.
- “Tons of replayability from an extremely simple idea.”
- “For such a cheap and simple game, there's a shocking amount of enjoyment and replayability.”
- “This game is very nice, you can play for hours; not sure if it will have replay value, but it's nice and worth it.”
- “I guess I could try to improve my scores on each level, but that replay value will diminish quickly as there's no variety in redoing the same level over and over again.”
emotional
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game effectively evokes strong emotions through its simplistic yet immersive visuals and captivating soundtrack, creating a profound emotional resonance during gameplay. Players are encouraged to confront the emotional weight of their decisions, making the experience both unique and thought-provoking in the context of traffic engineering.
- “The game's simplistic yet immersive visuals, coupled with its captivating soundtrack, enhance the emotional resonance of the gameplay.”
- “If you're willing to confront the emotional weight of your decisions and challenge the status quo of traffic engineering, Freeways offers a genuinely unique experience.”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The atmosphere of the game is praised for its casual and relaxed vibe, making it an enjoyable experience for players who appreciate puzzles and efficiency.
- “Definitely recommend if you're into puzzles, making things efficient, and so on in a casual atmosphere.”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization model is praised for being very affordable, with no advertisements or pay-to-win elements, creating a positive experience for players.
- “Very cheaply priced and no ads or in-game pay-to-win mechanics.”