Meeple Station

About

Meeple Station is a single player and multiplayer survival city builder game. It was developed by Gameclaw Studio and was released on April 10, 2020. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

"Meeple Station is a pixel-art space station management sim, inspired by games like Dwarf Fortress and Rimworld. Build and maintain a thriving station for your Meeple inhabitants, providing them with essentials like oxygen, food, and bathrooms. The game's major Planets Update allows for Meeple to expand across the solar system, with more features to come in future updates."

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61%

Audience ScoreBased on 866 reviews

gameplay20 positive mentions

stability106 negative mentions

The game has a charming pixel art style and engaging mechanics that make it fun to build and manage a space station.
The developers are responsive to community feedback and actively work on bug fixes and updates.
The game offers a unique blend of resource management and character interactions, providing a humorous and entertaining experience.

The game is plagued by numerous bugs, including pathfinding issues and unresponsive AI, making it frustrating to play.
There is a lack of clear tutorials and guidance, leading to confusion about game mechanics and objectives.
The UI is clunky and not intuitive, making it difficult to manage resources and understand the status of the station.

stability
112 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
2%
3%
95%
The game is widely criticized for its significant stability issues, with players reporting numerous bugs that hinder gameplay, such as meeples getting stuck, non-functional doctors, and pathfinding problems. While some users find the game enjoyable despite these glitches, many express frustration over the frequency and severity of the bugs, leading to a consensus that the game feels unfinished and unpolished. Overall, the stability of the game is a major concern, with many reviewers recommending against it until substantial fixes are implemented.
- “A buggy unplayable mess.”
- “The game is too buggy to play, meeples continually get stuck on nothing and can't be reset or unstuck.”
- “This is a game that looks like I should really like it, but in its current state it feels too buggy and unpolished to honestly recommend.”
gameplay
96 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
21%
73%
6%
The gameplay of Meeple Station is a mixed bag, with players appreciating its unique mechanics and relaxing atmosphere, but frequently encountering significant bugs and pathfinding issues that detract from the experience. While the building mechanics are intuitive and the game offers a charming aesthetic, many users report frustration with AI behavior and job assignments, leading to a need for constant oversight. Overall, the game shows potential for fun and engaging gameplay, but it requires substantial improvements and bug fixes to reach its full potential.
- “If you like space base building with a cute aesthetic and relaxing but challenging gameplay, this is your game.”
- “I can say that this game is fun and looks easy but is hard to master; also, behind the cute graphics, there is complex gameplay.”
- “Fun, relaxing gameplay.”
- “This game plays well for the early hours, but the more complex your station gets, the more the pathfinding, UI, and gameplay shortfalls rear their heads.”
- “This game is very buggy, so you can't even really enjoy it in the passive sense because you are constantly having to obsessively monitor meeples who should do their jobs, should be happy and satisfied because the mechanics say so, and they stand there doing nothing because the pathfinding sucks.”
- “Tldr: don't waste your time having 'fun' base building, just to run into multiple bugs and glitches in actual gameplay.”
story
84 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
36%
59%
5%
The game's story is generally described as cute, engaging, and enjoyable, with players appreciating its fun plot and art style. However, many reviewers express frustration with the game's AI and bugs, which hinder the overall experience and make it difficult to progress through the storyline. Despite these issues, the campaign mode is noted for its intriguing narrative and the challenge it presents, making it worthwhile for those who can navigate the gameplay obstacles.
- “I finished the campaign, which tells an engaging, thoughtful story.”
- “The story is good and full of mystery, good enough to make me go through the challenge to see what will happen.”
- “I absolutely love the game; it is fun, good story and all in all well worth the low price.”
- “It was so glitchy that you couldn't progress the story, so I stopped playing.”
- “There is no storyline, campaign, or even a basic tutorial.”
- “I would say the game is still buggy, but I was able to finish out the story mode with frequent saves and restarts (I was restarting about every 15 minutes, also any time there was an injury I typically had to restart at least once per injured meeple).”
graphics
76 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
47%
48%
5%
The graphics of the game are characterized by a charming pixel-art style that many players find cute and aesthetically pleasing, though opinions vary on their overall quality. While some appreciate the retro visuals and simple design, others criticize the graphics for being grainy or unpolished, with issues in clarity and animation. Overall, the art style is generally well-received, especially for a budget title, but it may not appeal to everyone, particularly those seeking high-fidelity graphics.
- “The graphics are deceptively simple and quite well-done.”
- “The planet graphics were also quite beautiful, reminding me of the old after dark Star Trek screensaver.”
- “Absolutely delightful game, the writing is funny and the aesthetic is wonderful!”
- “Grainy pixel graphics, so the old look isn't everyone's cup of tea.”
- “Don't waste your money...the actual gameplay graphics suck, the trailer video is misleading.”
- “Very little animations or movement and the graphics, even for a pixel game, are quite bad and hard to distinguish.”
humor
30 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
93%
7%
The humor in "Meeple Station" is widely praised for its charming and quirky writing, with players enjoying the comedic interactions and mishaps that arise during gameplay, such as unexpected character behaviors and humorous tutorial references. While some find the humor delightful and engaging, others have criticized certain aspects as distasteful or unpolished. Overall, the game's blend of cute graphics and funny antics contributes to a lighthearted experience, making it a unique and entertaining title in the tycoon genre.
- “Absolutely delightful game, the writing is funny and the aesthetic is wonderful!”
- “Good price for it too, great humor, especially when you get new people joining your station because they thought the pirate training was boring, so they brought in real pirates.”
- “Tons of suicides, crapsplosions, and other mishaps make the early game absolutely hilarious.”
- “This is not funny, this is disgusting and has no sense.”
music
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
64%
22%
14%
The music in Meeple Station is generally praised for its relaxing and atmospheric qualities, with a well-crafted soundtrack that complements the game's mood. While some players find the single, spacey track enjoyable, others note that it can become repetitive over time. Overall, the sound design, including the quirky dialect of the meeples, adds to the game's charm, though it may become overwhelming when multiple characters speak simultaneously.
- “The soundtrack is well done and fits the mood of the game.”
- “There's all sorts of sci-fi themed features, awesome cute graphics, chill music, and even some funny interactions.”
- “Meeple Station is a fantastic little game, deceptively simple, with all kinds of hidden depths, adorable pixel art, chilled out and atmospheric music, and addictive yet relaxing gameplay.”
- “Graphics are a cute pixelated isometric view, and music is just one long spacey track.”
- “From there, they will basically have to fight musical chairs as they run through their preference route.”
- “The soundtrack is well done as well and fits the mood of the game.”
grinding
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
75%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious, often requiring hundreds of repetitive clicks, which can feel overwhelming. Additionally, the presence of unskippable tutorials adds to the frustration, making the initial experience feel unnecessarily drawn out. Overall, many reviewers suggest that the grinding demands a significant time investment, likening it to needing a "second life" to manage.
- “You have to click a little trade arrow several hundred times, super tedious.”
- “Having to sit through an unskippable and tedious explanation of the meeple lore at the beginning is unacceptable.”
- “It's a seemingly tedious task that only stops once you have quite a bit of leg room.”
replayability
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
34%
33%
Players find the game to be enjoyable and fun, highlighting its replayability, but note that it suffers from limited progress and replayability options. Despite these concerns, there is optimism about the game's potential for future development.
- “I have full confidence that this game is really going places, and even at this early stage, it's a ton of replayable fun.”
- “Cons: limited progress and replayability.”
- “Cons: limited progress and replayability.”
monetization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization of the game has received mixed feedback, with some users expressing gratitude for ongoing support from the developers, while others criticize it as a cash grab, suggesting a lack of value for the investment.
- “This game is a cash grab.”
- “This game is a cash grab.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players report a generally positive experience with optimization, noting that once they overcome initial challenges, the game runs smoothly and allows for enjoyable progression.
- “I've had fun trying to get past the 'first stage' of the station, and now that I have a station that runs smoothly for 5 minutes, I'm enjoying the progression a lot.”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
150%
Meeple Station creates a charming and engaging atmosphere with its adorable pixel art and relaxing music, drawing players into a unique blend of resource management and comedic crisis simulation. The game's personality-rich characters add depth and humor, allowing for diverse playstyles that enhance the overall experience. Even in early access, the game's atmosphere captivates players, promising even more richness with future content.
- “Meeple Station is a fantastic little game, deceptively simple, with all kinds of hidden depths, adorable pixel art, chilled out and atmospheric music, and addictive yet relaxing gameplay. It is consuming far more of my time than anything since 'FTL' or 'Slay the Spire'. Even in early access with only 20% of the intended content of the full release, it is extremely engaging.”
- “The atmosphere of Meeple Station is enhanced by its charming pixel art and the relaxing music that creates a unique ambiance. The game has a charm all of its own, making it a delightful experience.”
- “The real beauty of Meeple Station lies in its atmosphere and the many ways to play it. The choice on the player's part shapes the nature of the game entirely, leading to a variety of experiences that are both entertaining and engaging.”