Intro
Soft sunrays warm your skin as you gaze out the window on your daily commute home. The leaves have begun to ease into reddish orange, and a chill on the wind will accompany it soon. Shadows of the buildings and trees on the side of the tracks cross your face, as you reach into your bag for something to pass the time. This is the type of atmosphere that comes to mind when playing Mini Metro by developer Radial Games.
The Premise
An excellent way to pass the time or to enjoy on the go, it is simple yet engaging. Mini Metro is a puzzle game involving getting commuters from one stop to another by connecting stops using various colored lines. Each stop and each passenger are a particular shape; the objective is to use a colored line to get a triangle passenger to a triangle stop, for example (it took an embarrassing amount of time to figure out that part out). You have a week in game to get through each stage, and as the week passes by, more and more passengers and differently shaped stops appear, and the more of a challenge it becomes. Should a passenger stay too long without moving, a timer appears around that passenger. If the timer runs out, it’s game over.
The Gameplay
When first starting the game, it gives off an aura of relaxation. Something you would play on the train home, or at a coffee shop while enjoying an afternoon cup o’ Joe. However, as you go on, the gameplay becomes increasingly intense as you have more and more passengers, demanding to be delivered to their destinations. New shapes appearing could also mean having to reroute entire lines to include that new stop or new passengers, adding to the complexity of the game. Playing in handheld mode rather than in docked mode seems ideal, since the touch screen of the Nintendo Switch works really well when drawing lines connecting stops. There is also a pause and speed up feature, giving players control of the pace of the stage they are completing. The stages themselves are fascinating, as they are based on real world locations, such as London.
The game has two modes, the normal mode and the Endless mode, where when a passenger’s timer reaches the limit, the passenger simply disappears and the player can continue. Endless mode can result in overwhelming chaos,
Exhibit A:
Exhibit B:
Exhibit C:
The Aesthetics
Visually, the game bolsters a very precise design. Clean edges and lines, everything from the bodies of water on the map to the map selection screen is in geometric shapes. Because of that, the game has a very modern urban and minimalist feeling to it. Simple and clean.
The color scheme of the game also plays into the idea of calmness. The colors of the rail lines are complimented well by the predominantly white background of the game. The colors are strong enough to be easy to differentiate from one another, but not too harsh against the eggshell background. It creates a sense of balance when looking at the game. Mellow acoustics and pianos in the score reinforce the idea of a laid back game.
Overall
Mini Metro provides clean visuals and stimulating gameplay. Its color palette adds to the calming attitude of the game, and the gameplay requires just enough critical thinking skills to pass the time quickly. Mini Metro is a good addition to the Nintendo Switch arsenal of games, and perfect for taking advantage of the system’s portability.
8/10
Watch the Mini Metro Launch Trailer:
Mini Metro is available for Nintendo Switch. The game is also available via Google Play and iTunes.
Nintendo Switch Review
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Overall Score - 8/108/10
Having spent my entire life gaming, my interests have expanded over to how the gaming industry has grown and developed into a globalized market over the course of my life time, as well as how games can build community and create a sense of belonging for people. I'm also trying to climb ranked in Overwatch so if you want to queue together, let me know
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