Impressions: Mini Metro

October 1, 2015 Ailingforale

Mini Metro capitalizes on the beauty that can be achieved with a minimalist approach to game design. While it’s basically a game about drawing lines, the approach is both simple and challenging at the same time. It’s because of this that I’ve fallen in love with the pause button.

This is not one of the prettiest setups I've had, but it worked rather well. It's time to make more progress! — This is not one of the prettiest setups I’ve had, but it worked rather well. It’s time to make more progress!

As you progress, you’ll get access to different cities to help them build a metro system to assist their citizens from one location to the next. You’ll need to build both for speed and efficiency as you’ll meet patrons that want to travel from one side to the other and you’ll need to build a system where that’s possible. You’ll understand how to build more efficient railways as you get more familiar with how the game works.

Decisions decisions, which one to pick. Can I fit two more cars or should I get the super fast Shinkansen? Wait... I needed another tunnel, Nooooo! — Decisions decisions, which one to pick? Can I fit two more cars or should I get the super fast Shinkansen? Wait… I needed another tunnel, Nooooo!

As time goes by in any given city, you’ll be given choices on regular railroad fixtures like tunnels and extra cars for alternate directions. (Side note: you can only have four cars for each track… don’t make my mistake!) This is an interesting approach to progressing through a level as this happens after every week. Sometimes you’ll get enough tunnels and not enough extra cars. Sometimes you’ll be on an Island map and not get enough tunnels. You’ll have to plan ahead and figure out what your needs will be so you won’t end up freaking out due to a lack of some option you may have skipped.

Oh mother Russia... why does you achievement cause me so much grief? Can't we just be friends? — Oh mother Russia… why does you achievement cause me so much grief? Can’t we just be friends? Oh yeh, it’s because I either can’t read or that they changed the achievement recently. I could have just been making this a lot harder on myself then I needed to.

Speaking of freaking out: those achievements… good golly! You know how some achievements in games can be a little challenging? Well, some are just down-right mean! I’m looking at you Saint Petersburg! Come on now. 1500 passengers with one track with tunnels and you won’t give me more tunnels for a month or so at times? That’s just not nice at all. At the same time, I love the challenges posed to me. In other games it’s a progress thing where you would have gotten X achievement had you progressed enough. Mini Metro’s achievements feel more like “I bet you can’t do this level with one tunnel!” You know, the voice of that friend that sits behind you and backseat games and keeps egging you on? Good times, good times…

What? You never wanted to play a game about building a subway system to help passengers get from one part of town to the next? Well, neither have I and I’m very happy that I’ve come across Mini Metro! I was here before audio was introduced and now that it has come I can only tell you that the developers have this game’s heart and soul down to a T from what I can gather and they are doing a great job creating this to be the best a game about drawing and redrawing lines could ever be. This game strikes a chord in me that I didn’t know I had.

More Mini Metro info: Facebook / Official Page / Steam / Twitter