Subway Midnight

About

Subway Midnight is a single player puzzle game with a horror theme. It was developed by Bubby Darkstar and was released on October 28, 2021. It received positive reviews from players.

"Subway Midnight" is a surreal, atmospheric first-person exploration game. Players navigate a mysterious and constantly shifting subway system while uncovering cryptic messages and avoiding otherworldly creatures. The game features a haunting soundtrack and a striking, monochromatic art style.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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84%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,334 reviews

graphics210 positive mentions

grinding68 negative mentions

The art style and visuals are exceptional, creating a unique and captivating atmosphere.
The game offers a compelling narrative experience through environmental storytelling without dialogue.
The character designs are charming and memorable, adding depth to the overall experience.

Gameplay is primarily a walking simulator with tedious puzzles that often rely on trial and error.
The movement speed is frustratingly slow, making navigation feel tedious and drawn out.
Some puzzles lack clear instructions or hints, leading to confusion and frustration for players.

graphics
444 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
47%
52%
1%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their unique and charming art style, blending 2D character designs with 3D environments, creating a visually stunning experience. Many reviewers highlight the game's aesthetic appeal, noting its effective use of lighting and diverse visual styles that enhance the atmosphere. However, some players express frustration with the gameplay, feeling that the beautiful visuals do not compensate for the lack of engaging mechanics and tedious puzzles.
- “The art style is blended perfectly into the 3D environments and you can just tell it was fun to make.”
- “The visuals are amazing, the puzzles are well thought out, and the story has a mad beauty to it.”
- “The oddly charming yet uneasy ambiance created with the linear and confined setting of a subway, the narrative conveyed through the creative aesthetics of each car, and the visuals that blend quirky 2D character designs and smooth 3D environments are all simply astonishing.”
- “Still, I did not have a good time with Subway Midnight and I encourage anyone that is considering purchasing this game on the basis of its aesthetic to strongly reconsider.”
- “The graphics are charming but become such an eyesore after a while and no save features; I really had high hopes for this game as I paid full price for this but ended up with an unremarkable experience.”
- “The game uses elaborate visuals as a shallow substitute for actual gameplay, and the only gameplay it does provide is basic and unintuitive guessing puzzles; meanwhile, the story is almost entirely locked behind frustrating and unintuitive side puzzles that can easily go unnoticed.”
story
294 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
64%
7%
The game's story is primarily conveyed through environmental storytelling and visual cues, with minimal dialogue, leading to a mix of interpretations among players. While some appreciate the unique art style and the challenge of piecing together the narrative, others find the plot confusing, lacking depth, and at times, incoherent. Overall, the storytelling approach is seen as both a strength and a weakness, with many players enjoying the atmospheric experience but feeling frustrated by the unclear objectives and convoluted narrative progression.
- “The art style and story are absolutely mesmerizing!”
- “Incredible story, perfectly presented through visuals and ambience, a masterclass in environmental storytelling.”
- “Subway Midnight's storytelling is all done through the environment and character reactions, allowing several backstories and chains of events to unfold in silent yet effective ways.”
- “The story is borderline incoherent without going out of your way to google context and the context is limited.”
- “It's really frustrating that the story is just so nonexistent and needs background supply to make any sense, because it really damages the rest of the game.”
- “The story doesn't make much sense and the way you unfold the story is convoluted, and without a guide I don't think I could have done it and got all the endings.”
gameplay
258 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
19%
68%
13%
The gameplay of "Subway Midnight" is primarily a walking simulator with minimal interaction, often described as tedious and repetitive, featuring simple puzzles that rely heavily on trial and error. While the visuals and atmosphere are praised for their artistic quality, many players find the gameplay lacking in depth and engagement, making it more of an interactive art piece than a traditional game. Overall, it appeals to those who prioritize narrative and aesthetics over complex gameplay mechanics.
- “The gameplay is actually perfect for these kinds of puzzles, as it allows you to explore without too much risk.”
- “The art is extraordinary, the environments are captivating and interesting, and the gameplay, while simple, never bored me.”
- “Gameplay-wise there're a few frustrating puzzles due to like trial-error type stuff or just not being super clear but there're some really fun tense parts!”
- “Unfortunately, its charming art style and creativity were not enough for its incredibly boring and tedious gameplay.”
- “The gameplay is very simplistic and while many of the puzzles are fun, the game could definitely have benefited from having a bit more thought put into that element.”
- “The game uses elaborate visuals as a shallow substitute for actual gameplay, and the only gameplay it does provide is basic and unintuitive guessing puzzles; meanwhile the story is almost entirely locked behind frustrating and unintuitive side puzzles that can easily go unnoticed.”
atmosphere
86 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
65%
32%
3%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its strong visual and auditory elements, creating a captivating and often unsettling experience that enhances the horror aspects. Many reviewers highlight the art style, soundtrack, and unique environments as standout features, contributing to a memorable and immersive atmosphere. However, some players note that the slow movement and occasional confusing puzzles can detract from the overall experience, despite the atmosphere remaining a consistent strength throughout.
- “The atmosphere in this game is top notch the whole way through!”
- “It has one of the best atmospheres in any game I have ever played by a long shot.”
- “The music and sound effects make the atmosphere very eerie and disturbing, which honestly complements the game a lot.”
- “The game starts off as a slow walking sim with a neat atmosphere and some very simple puzzling, but as it carries on the puzzles and rooms start to become a bit random, requiring you to retry things a lot, which especially sucks when you move so slow.”
- “The slow movement contributes to the atmosphere for sure, but it gets pretty annoying when you have to redo the same room/puzzle multiple times and have to slowly waddle your way back.”
- “Movement is slow and awkward, basically all of the gameplay has been holding W, and the lack of possible other paths really undercuts any tense atmosphere they're trying to build.”
grinding
68 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The grinding aspect of the game is widely criticized for being tedious and repetitive, with many players expressing frustration over slow movement speeds and poorly designed puzzles that rely heavily on trial and error. While the art style and atmosphere are praised, they are often overshadowed by the lackluster gameplay that feels more like a chore than an engaging experience. Overall, players recommend using guides to navigate the more tedious sections, as the gameplay can become overwhelmingly monotonous.
- “Almost every challenge in this game is born out of tedious game design as opposed to genuinely well-crafted difficulty.”
- “This game's puzzles are boring, tedious, and straight up not fun.”
- “The puzzles only got more and more tedious from there and I ended up more annoyed than anything else.”
music
66 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
58%
9%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players praising the soundtrack for its creativity and ability to enhance the atmosphere, while others note a lack of memorable tracks and instances of overwhelming sound effects. Many appreciate the ambient music's role in creating an eerie and immersive experience, though some feel it could have been more prominent. Overall, while the soundtrack has its highlights, it seems to fall short for a portion of the audience, leading to a varied reception.
- “The characters, the story, the music, the gameplay, everything is just... wow.”
- “I love this game, great story, animation, and music 10/10!”
- “Both the music and sound effects fit beautifully.”
- “There's three main things I really didn't like about this game though, the first being the unnecessarily loud sound effects and music at certain points in the game.”
- “To be clear, I'm not saying the music is bad; I just can't remember it.”
- “I never got any of the really jamming music from the trailer, as there was almost no actual music at all up until the point I stopped playing.”
character development
46 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
74%
19%
7%
Character development in the game is primarily conveyed through its stunning art style and memorable character designs, which are frequently praised for their creativity and charm. While the visuals and cutscenes effectively showcase the characters, many reviewers note that the depth of the story surrounding these characters is lacking, leaving a desire for more substantial narrative engagement. Overall, the character designs are celebrated for their appeal, but the accompanying story does not fully capitalize on their potential.
- “Its charming, eclectic style paired with the fabulous character designs, gorgeously simple environments, and fun little ditties make for an iconic and memorable experience.”
- “Game was beautiful, even without dialogue, it manages to tell a story of a billion words, the art style is so unique and memorable, the jumpscares are perfectly spaced to make them actually scary, and the character design is great!”
- “The cute character design really suckered me into a game with no substance at all.”
- “The character designs and their interactions are simple but adorable, and the real reward in this game is seeing all the cutscenes.”
- “The character designs are cute, and once you get into it, you do really want to save each one.”
humor
44 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game effectively blends humor with horror, offering players a surreal experience filled with funny moments and charming characters, such as a humorous computer girl and amusing ghosts. Reviewers appreciate the balance between genuinely scary elements and lightheartedness, making it a unique and entertaining experience. Despite some gameplay frustrations, the humor remains a standout feature, enhancing the overall enjoyment of the game.
- “Love the art style and the humor.”
- “High recommend for whoever likes horror, not only is it genuinely scary normally, but it's a very surreal and surprisingly funny experience if you go for all the endings.”
- “The kind of horror game that is funny while being super unsettling.”
emotional
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game effectively blends emotional depth with humor, creating a unique experience that resonates with players. It features heartfelt moments that transition seamlessly into darker themes, enhancing its overall personality. While some players feel a strong attachment to the characters, others believe the multiple endings lack emotional payoff, limiting replay value.
- “This game oozes with personality and has an incredible ability to have a nice heartfelt scene transition right into a dark, grim and twisted nightmare and it never feels jarring.”
- “Help, I'm emotionally attached to everyone in the cast!”
- “A visually beautiful game that made me feel uneasy and made me laugh!”
replayability
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
50%
21%
Overall, the game's replayability is mixed; while some players appreciate the different endings and engaging story that encourage multiple playthroughs, others find the lack of achievements and shallow gameplay detracts from the experience. The visual design is praised, but frustrations with gameplay mechanics may limit the desire to replay.
- “It's an entirely different experience that has a bit of replay value to it.”
- “The story is easy to digest, fun to unwrap, and encourages replay value for the other endings.”
- “ infinitely replayable”
- “You're better off paying $9.99 for a way better game with genuine replayability.”
- “And the last being that there's no achievement, so there isn't that much replay value.”
- “This game is like if an artist wanted to make a video game; it's visually amazing and the art design is polished and cool, but the gameplay is shallow and frustrating (especially when you have to replay the game to get the other endings - it is not suited for replayability).”
stability
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game has been frequently criticized for its stability, with multiple users reporting various glitches and bugs that detract from the overall experience. While some players still found enjoyment in the game's style and atmosphere, the consensus indicates that the gameplay suffers from significant stability issues.
- “As a game though, slow, monotonous, not well thought out, and really buggy.”
- “The cons show up in the buggy, soulless gameplay that you're subjected to.”
- “There were also a few bugs/glitches I noticed.”
monetization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization strategy of the game appears to heavily incorporate merchandising, potentially serving as a subtle advertisement for Aggro Crab, the small fashion and sticker merchant that published it. This approach suggests a blend of gameplay and promotional content, which may influence players' perceptions of the game's value.
- “It feels like the game is more focused on monetization than delivering a quality experience.”
- “The constant push for in-game purchases really detracts from the overall enjoyment.”
- “I can't shake the feeling that the developers prioritize profit over player satisfaction.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Users express a strong desire for a performance update, suggesting that such an improvement would significantly enhance the game's value, making it worth the current price.
- “If they ever did a performance update, it would be, in my opinion, well worth the 10 bucks.”