Mini Metro is a 2D top-down minimalistic and casual strategy game...

And it is quite relaxing to play. In this game you manage railway lines and the service that each one brings. The goal is to get as much score as possible, where people delivered to the correct station grants points. Chop and change the shape of lines on the fly and add or reduce the number of locomotives to match the demand across lines. Every weekend get an upgrade or train to help your railway serve all passengers because when the days go by, more stations are built and more people crowd around wanting to get somewhere.

Gameplay

The gameplay is simple and intuitive, clicking and dragging with the cursor sums up most of the game's input. Lines will bend or align symmetrically at a junction or boundary automatically which is neat but can sometimes look off. There are speed controls if you are comfortable building at a faster pace, and achievements too which offers challenges to reach a high score. There are different gamemodes like endless, extreme, creative mode and the daily challenge for gameplay variety and novelty. Some levels have twists like the high-speed Shinkansen trains in Osaka, or trams in Mumbai. There is also Steam workshop support for downloading user-created maps.

Audio Visual

The game is very thoughtful in its interface and colour schemes; the art style is derived from Harry Beck's mapping theme of the London Underground. The game is very pictoral rather than textual and shows basic shapes for passengers and stations, making objectives conducive. The soundtrack morphs based on each metro system which is always soothing to listen to. There is a night mode and colourblind mode which is good for accessbibility, and many audio cues for events that happen in the game. There are many levels, often quite empty but they populate quickly. Even lonely rivers become obstacles the railway must be designed around. One cool feature is that you can save timelapse GIFs of a railway's construction which could be cool to save and share.

Pros

• Casual game
• Relaxing music
• Lots of maps and gamemodes

Cons

• No multiplayer?
• No story
• Repetitive gameplay

Conclusion

Mini Metro is a relaxing puzzle game that enables you to create railways of your design. I score it 7/10.

Information

• Release date: 2015
• Developer: Dinosaur Polo Club
• Platforms: PC, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, Mobile