Station to Station
- October 3, 2023
- Galaxy Grove
- 4h median play time
Station to Station is the train themed puzzle game you've been looking for! Build stations in this ever growing world and test your forward planning skills.
Get on Steam"Station to Station" is a soothing and engaging game that lets you build and manage transportation networks to foster growth in colorful, voxel-art worlds. Connect rural structures, optimize routes, and solve puzzles to expand your area into a thriving, vibrant environment. The game also offers strategic gameplay to earn high scores, making it a delightful blend of relaxation and challenge.
Reviews
- The game features beautiful voxel graphics and a charming aesthetic that enhances the relaxing experience.
- It offers a mix of puzzle-solving and strategic planning, with optional challenges that add depth without being overly stressful.
- The soundtrack is calming and complements the gameplay, making it a perfect game to unwind with.
- The game lacks significant depth and complexity, making it feel simplistic and repetitive for some players.
- There is no undo function, which can lead to frustration when mistakes are made during track placement.
- Many players expected a more traditional train simulation experience, but found it to be primarily a puzzle game with trains as a theme.
- graphics110 mentions
- 59 % positive mentions
- 38 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their charming voxel art style, creating a cozy and visually appealing atmosphere that enhances the overall experience. Many players appreciate the beautiful and colorful visuals, which are complemented by a relaxing soundtrack, although some have noted that the game can be demanding on GPU performance. Overall, the aesthetic is described as delightful and immersive, making it a standout feature despite some gameplay criticisms.
“The visuals are an absolute standout—captivating, cute, and beautifully crafted.”
“A fun and relaxing game with absolutely gorgeous visuals.”
“The voxel graphics look lovely and the puzzles are solid.”
“Visuals make the game look like some kind of coffee table model train diorama, though they are surprisingly heavy on the GPU.”
“For some reason, the 'state of the art' voxel technology used to create this game is melting a 4070 Ti if played on higher than medium graphic settings.”
“While the graphical style is cute and innocent, it is a bit GPU heavy and there are ways to cause lag (like planning a very long rail line).”
- music77 mentions
- 58 % positive mentions
- 38 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its calming and beautiful qualities, enhancing the overall relaxing experience. Many reviewers appreciate the progressive arrangement of the soundtrack, which evolves as players progress through levels, adding depth to the gameplay. While the music is generally well-received, some players noted that it can become repetitive over extended play sessions, suggesting a desire for more variety in the tracks.
“Props to the composers for using a progressive soundtrack arrangement that becomes more complex as you progress through a level - gotta be one of my favorite genres.”
“The soundtrack is superb and it's honestly fantastic to sit back and watch the trains after completing a level.”
“The visuals are stunning and the music is not only relaxing but also has the magical ability to transport you to another reality.”
“I need fitting music and sounds; I need graphics that are a little extra. I need something stimulating right away, before I lose interest and my brain wants something completely different.”
“The music is for sure pleasing, and the visuals are very nice. It's pretty great to see the world light up and become more 'alive' as you progress in the levels.”
“The soundtrack and music reactivity just really gets me every time.”
- gameplay64 mentions
- 28 % positive mentions
- 64 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized by its simplicity and accessibility, allowing players to connect stations and build train networks with ease. While some find the mechanics too straightforward and lacking depth, others appreciate the relaxing nature and the challenge of optional objectives that add replayability. The introduction of new mechanics and biomes keeps the experience engaging, though opinions vary on whether the gameplay feels repetitive or offers enough variety throughout its duration.
“While the gameplay is relatively straightforward, it understands the fundamental principles of clean and structured game design -- things that impatient and self-entitled players often fail to appreciate in games today, complaining about anything that requires thought or causes the smallest degree of frustration.”
“The constant addition of new mechanics, new industry chains, and new biomes all keep it challenging and engaging throughout.”
“It's the perfect way to soothe frazzled nerves and indulge yourself in some gorgeous gameplay that tickles some brain cells but gives just enough challenge that you'll truly enjoy starting over and creating your perfect little train network.”
“As others have commented, it is not the most complex train building game and there are some mechanics that are not great which makes you build rather ugly tracks just to make the most money.”
“The gameplay seemed extremely simple: you just put stations and connect them without much thought, that's it.”
“The gameplay challenge is more akin to 'connect the dots' than to a puzzle or a management type of game.”
- atmosphere12 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is consistently praised for its beautiful visuals, charming voxel worlds, and immersive soundscapes that create a serene and engaging experience. Players appreciate the combination of detailed environments and soothing music, which enhances the chill vibe and encourages exploration and puzzle-solving. Overall, the game's atmosphere is described as impeccable, making it a perfect choice for relaxation.
“Sold as a chill atmospheric puzzle game, Station to Station delivers on its promise.”
“There's a great atmosphere where the colorful block graphics combine with a soundscape and track that draws you in, making you want to get those tricky achievements by trying again and again.”
“The soundtrack adds to the atmosphere, and it all comes together to form a truly enjoyable experience.”
- replayability6 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's replayability is highlighted by its custom game mode and various challenges that encourage players to revisit levels for different experiences. While some users noted limited replay value in certain aspects, the combination of evolving maps, easter eggs, and the "cards" feature adds depth and variety, making it enjoyable to play multiple times. The balance of relaxing gameplay with puzzle challenges further enhances its replayability.
“You really get thinking about how to connect everything - great game with lots of replay value.”
“The custom game mode is awesome with tons of settings which provides huge replayability.”
“In addition to the maps visually evolving as you play, the gameplay itself has a great balance of relaxing gameplay and puzzle challenges and presents great replayability due to the star and fund challenges within the levels.”
“Gameplay is easy, with some replayability through each level's challenges and budget goals.”
“The game's 'cards' feature brings an added dimension of replayability.”
- optimization6 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with players experiencing significant FPS drops during complex track layouts and underwhelming performance on high-end systems, such as the Steam Deck and RTX 3060 Ti. While the gameplay mechanics encourage strategic station connections, the technical performance issues can detract from the experience, leaving some users disappointed despite the game's engaging puzzle elements.
“The goal of the puzzles is to connect stations in an optimized way, which means you need to connect as many stations as possible that do not affect each other until you can connect a station that will result in a 'combo' of effects to grant bonus income.”
“I've played for 70 minutes, following the basic principles of rails optimized for combo stacks, and grabbed every challenge in the 1st world, along with 2 levels in the 2nd.”
“Steam Deck performance isn’t perfect but it’s turn-based and runs well enough.”
“It's not very optimized, though, with heavy FPS drops while laying complex track.”
“The game also seems to be poorly optimized, which is not a deal breaker, just a little disappointing.”
“Expected better performance on a wide 2K screen with RTX 3060 Ti; to get stable 90 FPS, I had to run it on medium settings with resolution scaling.”
- emotional4 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of "station to station" is characterized by its touching purity and elegance, evoking feelings of warmth, joy, and calmness in players. While some may find the gameplay tedious at times, the overall experience is described as heartwarming and moving, making it a favorite for many.
“There is a kind of touching 'purity' and 'elegance' in Station to Station's design that you rarely find in games anymore, and having nearly completed all the levels and optional challenges, I think it is now one of my all-time favorites.”
“It is heartwarming, calming, moving, joyous; I truly love it.”
“And I mean, this is a pretty wholesome way to get those kinds of feels.”
- grinding3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Reviews indicate that the grinding aspect of the game is generally well-received, with players appreciating the challenge of the puzzles without them becoming tedious. While some may find the levels simple, the overall experience is enhanced by exceptional art and music, making the grinding feel rewarding rather than monotonous.
“The art style is exceptional, the levels are simple yet tedious, and the music is just the cherry on top of a cake of perfection.”
- story3 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 67 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The story is engaging and complemented by cozy music and visuals, creating a stress-free environment where players can enjoy solving puzzles and managing train operations. Players appreciate the balance of challenge and accessibility in the story missions, which provide satisfying rewards and a sense of accomplishment. Overall, the narrative is well-integrated with gameplay, enhancing the overall experience.
“Love the art and endless puzzle/train business. Managing the story missions is fun and provides challenges too, but they are not too difficult. I love this game and trains and puzzles!”
- humor1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players find the humor in "Unrailed!" stems from the immediate and often comical consequences of mistakes, enhancing the overall enjoyment of the game. The lighthearted nature of these mishaps contributes to a fun and engaging experience.
“In 'Unrailed!', making a mistake is quite funny, and you feel the consequences immediately.”
“The humor in the game keeps you laughing, even when things go wrong.”
“The quirky characters and absurd situations add a delightful layer of comedy to the gameplay.”
Critic Reviews
Station to Station Review
Station to Station is a fairly novel puzzle game that has some charm to it, and will appeal most to players who enjoy freeform path optimization and experimentation through repeated attempts.
75%Station to Station review
Station to Station is an enjoyable, likable railway builder with a beautiful art style and a charming soundtrack.
80%Station to Station [PC] | REVIEW
Station to Station is a delightful puzzler that kept me hooked in with its addictive gameplay loop and charming vibe. It was always a lot of fun to plot out my railway networks and bring colour to the world along the way, whilst the introduction of additional mechanics as you progress ensures that there’s always a new challenge to face. It’s never a hard game, but you’ll still have to think things through carefully – especially if you want to complete the optional objectives. The game wasn’t even on my radar before I started playing it for this review, but now, it easily stands out as one of the most charming and enjoyable puzzles I’ve played this year. If you’re looking for an easy-going puzzling experience that’s as pretty as it is enjoyable, you needn’t look any further than Station to Station.
85%
