Overcrowd: A Commute 'Em Up
- October 6, 2020
- SquarePlay Games
- 23h median play time
Get on Steam"Overcrowd: A Commute 'Em Up" is a strategic management simulation game where you design and operate an underground train station. Optimize layouts, manage staff, deal with emergencies, and ensure passenger satisfaction amidst growing crowds. With procedural generation, each game presents unique challenges and opportunities.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- Challenging and addictive gameplay that keeps players engaged.
- Charming pixel art style and humorous sound effects enhance the experience.
- Active developer support with frequent updates and responsiveness to community feedback.
- Steep learning curve with a confusing tutorial that doesn't cover all mechanics.
- Frustrating micromanagement of staff and tools, leading to potential gameplay frustration.
- Limited building mechanics, such as the inability to build on top of existing structures, restricts creativity.
- gameplay152 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 62 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game is a mixed bag, with many players appreciating its deep strategic elements and charming pixel art, while others criticize its clunky mechanics, confusing tutorials, and bugs. While some find the management and simulation aspects engaging and addictive, others feel overwhelmed by the complexity and lack of intuitive design, leading to frustration. Overall, the game offers a unique blend of tycoon and puzzle elements, but requires a significant investment of time to fully grasp its mechanics and enjoy the experience.
“Balancing the needs of commuters, staff, and infrastructure, the game offers deep strategic gameplay with a delightful pixel art style.”
“The gameplay is highly addictive and it strikes a really good balance between being challenging and rewarding.”
“The game has nice graphics and an engaging gameplay which keeps you always busy doing something.”
“It was an early indication of something I was going to continue to run into while playing, which were the numerous counter-intuitive gameplay elements.”
“Gameplay seemed horrible and hard to understand.”
“Unfortunately, the gameplay depth is lacking in nearly every area.”
- graphics151 mentions
- 44 % positive mentions
- 54 % neutral mentions
- 2 % negative mentions
The graphics of "Overcrowd" are characterized by a charming pixel art style that many players find nostalgic and appealing, reminiscent of classic isometric games. While the visuals are generally praised for their cuteness and detail, some users report performance issues and limitations in design freedom, which can detract from the overall experience. Despite these concerns, the art style effectively complements the game's strategic gameplay, making it enjoyable for fans of management simulations.
“Balancing the needs of commuters, staff, and infrastructure, the game offers deep strategic gameplay with a delightful pixel art style.”
“The graphics are charming, the soundtrack is great, and the gameplay is engrossing and challenging.”
“Overcrowd: a commute 'em up is a top-tier tycoon/sim/management game with some of the best pixel art I've seen in easily over a decade.”
“I also note trying to change the display is next to impossible and leads to some weird graphical hang-ups.”
“I have 32GB RAM, RX 570 graphics card, and Ryzen 5 3600 6-core processor, and even on minimum graphics (which is totally fine for a game like this), performance gets very slow and jumpy once you build enough to open 2 platforms, and that's when it's unplayable.”
“If you get easily distracted by graphics that would have looked old in the iPhone 4 era, this isn't the game for you.”
- music36 mentions
- 39 % positive mentions
- 44 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some praising its catchy and nostalgic qualities, particularly the 8-bit and chip tune styles, while others find it repetitive or lacking. Many players appreciate the soundtrack's fit with the game's aesthetic, though some recommend muting it in favor of personal playlists due to its inconsistency and occasional grating sound effects. Overall, the music contributes positively to the game's charm, but opinions vary widely on its execution and enjoyment.
“The graphics are charming, the soundtrack is great, and the gameplay is engrossing and challenging.”
“Absolutely love the colorful, chunky retro-pixel look coupled with an infectious midi soundtrack.”
“The music is unique and suits the look of the game very well, the hand-crafted pixel graphics make it feel like I'm playing an interactive eboy poster.”
“Music is lacking or non-existent.”
“If I could change one thing, it would be to have the music on a continuous loop; I don't like the period of time where there's no music playing.”
“Cons: the music, sound effects, and voiceovers are abysmal.”
- story29 mentions
- 10 % positive mentions
- 79 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The game's story aspect is minimal, with players expressing a desire for a more developed campaign mode that offers a sense of progression beyond the brief tutorial missions. While some users appreciate the unique personality of individual characters and the challenges presented in the sandbox mode, many feel that the lack of a cohesive narrative detracts from the overall experience. Overall, the game is more focused on gameplay mechanics and management challenges than on delivering a compelling story.
“There was a little more personality there, from the individual doctors and patients, the storyline, and the different feel of each level/hospital.”
“I can say that playing the campaign is really important to really getting an in-depth understanding, so only use sandbox at first to understand little concepts that you're struggling with.”
“Also, I love the backstory on how the game dev got his inspiration from!”
“The one thing I wish for is a campaign mode, something with a storyline that maybe extends the tutorial a bit so you have more of a sense of progression.”
“☑ if you want story, then go read a book.”
“You cannot stack floors, so your station is more or less a pyramid instead of a multi-story thing, making things particularly claustrophobic and making having multiple z-levels just a pain as opposed to something interesting.”
- replayability23 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 57 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
Overall, the game exhibits high replayability due to its procedurally generated levels and varied challenges, allowing players to continuously improve without relying on memorization. While some users noted a decline in replay value after unlocking the full tech tree, many praised the game's mechanics and random elements that keep the experience fresh. Early access content and developer support also contribute positively to the game's replay potential.
“Unlocking new paths and upgrades isn't complicated in the least and creates many variations of challenges, which generously adds to the replay value.”
“Each level is procedurally generated, too, so the replayability is very high and you'll always be able to push yourself to get better without just memorizing the 'pattern' of progression needed to beat a scenario.”
“The daily levels and maps add replayability.”
“Limited replayability as it stands now, but maybe things will expand.”
“I found replayability to suffer once I unlocked the entire tech tree, but in my opinion, it's got a very good price point which reflects that.”
“This drastically reduces the replay value and I can't really find the heart to finish the whole campaign since every map ends up feeling the same.”
- optimization18 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 67 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has been widely criticized, with players reporting significant performance issues, especially when managing large stations or multiple activities simultaneously. Many users experience lag and slowdowns even on high-end systems, indicating poor memory optimization and overall performance that detracts from the gameplay experience. While the game has potential, substantial improvements are needed to make it truly enjoyable and playable.
“Play this if you like sandbox type games where optimization is key and where you'll break a sweat trying to balance everything at once!”
“The game is also rewarding; it's fulfilling to see the whole station run smoothly.”
“Fun little management sim if you like optimization problems.”
“The optimization is an absolute disaster; I played this for 5 minutes on my normal PC, which I also use for CS:GO and Cities: Skylines.”
“I have 32GB RAM, RX 570 graphics card, and Ryzen 5 3600 6-core processor, and even on minimum graphics (which is totally fine for a game like this), performance gets very slow and jumpy once you build enough to open 2 platforms, and that's when it's unplayable.”
“Some heavy performance improvements are necessary before the game can really be playable.”
- stability16 mentions
- 19 % positive mentions
- -12 % neutral mentions
- 94 % negative mentions
The game's stability has received mixed reviews, with many players reporting significant bugs and glitches that detract from the overall experience. While some users note that minor issues are manageable and that the game is improving with regular updates, others express frustration with the buggy mechanics and confusing tutorials. Overall, the game is still considered to be in early access, leading to a varied experience depending on individual setups.
“Updates come regularly, and it's mostly bug-free on my rig.”
“The game runs smoothly without crashes or major issues.”
“I appreciate how stable the gameplay is; it allows me to focus on enjoying the experience.”
“Bad gameplay, buggy mess, too much tutorial that doesn't make sense.”
“Really cool concept with good aesthetics, but ruined by buggy mechanics.”
“Tldr game is a buggy mess and the tutorial is very difficult to follow.”
- grinding14 mentions
- 7 % positive mentions
- 7 % neutral mentions
- 86 % negative mentions
Reviews highlight a mixed experience with grinding in the game. While some players find the station-building and management aspects tedious and frustrating, particularly due to the difficulty in managing staff and resources, others appreciate the balance of challenge and reward, noting that the gameplay remains engaging despite occasional grind-like elements. Overall, the consensus suggests that while grinding can be a significant part of the experience, it varies in impact depending on individual player preferences and play styles.
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
“It is also definitely too hard even on easy; once you get the basics, you're grinding for several in-game days simply to afford a new staff member, as the first two are too busy grabbing rubbish 24/7 to do anything else. I lost a scenario because I couldn't address other issues, and my reputation nosedived. Very frustrating.”
“Overall, everything is very tedious.”
“The gameplay is occasionally fun, but more often tedious.”
- humor12 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is characterized by its charming cartoon-like graphics and witty sound bites, which create a lighthearted atmosphere amidst the challenging gameplay. Players appreciate the blend of dry humor and absurd situations, such as the amusing interactions with blind characters, while also enjoying the comedic frustrations that arise during gameplay. Overall, the game successfully combines fun logic puzzles with a humorous twist, making it an entertaining experience for fans of tycoon games.
“Don't let the simple, cartoon-like (but still utterly wonderful!) graphics and many humorous touches fool you, this game is a real challenge!”
“With simple but adorable artwork - and some questionable, often hilarious, sound bytes - your station comes alive; as you struggle to manage the various demands of your commuters, while balancing the books.”
“I loved the isometric view, the dry humor and the way of leveling and then going back to fix earlier stations with your newfound upgrades.”
- monetization8 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The monetization aspect of the game is characterized by a heavy reliance on advertisements, which can be both a source of frustration and satisfaction for players. While the confusing menu and item listings detract from the experience, successfully implementing ads can lead to significant income, making it a crucial strategy for managing resources and customer satisfaction. Overall, players find the balance between advertising and gameplay challenging yet rewarding as they optimize their setups for maximum profit.
“Having to deal with advertising and profit rates, when you also have to deal with customer satisfaction is frustrating.”
“The winning strategy is to plaster your underground with ads, which would be okay if not for the next point.”
“It's tough at first, but it's oh so satisfying once everything runs like clockwork, and your perfectly designed maze of advertisements and shops drains every last penny from the commuter cattle that flocks into your station every day.”
- atmosphere5 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is characterized as laidback and chill, with appealing artwork that evokes a sense of nostalgia reminiscent of "Theme Hospital." While some players feel it could benefit from a more dynamic progression in busyness, many appreciate the overall vibe and find it enjoyable.
“It's a neat little game with a chill atmosphere.”
“So overall, I really enjoy the laidback atmosphere of the game, the nice artwork, and the overall vibe.”
“I understand this game is supposed to give a commuter atmosphere, but this is just a game.”
“There should be a gradual busy atmosphere as you progress through the game.”
“The atmosphere has a familiar feel and reminds me of Theme Hospital.”
- emotional2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is characterized by its wholesome management theme, where players engage in a thoughtful isometric puzzle experience that emphasizes the satisfaction of efficiently managing mass transit without overcrowding. This creates a sense of accomplishment and connection to the community.
