At first glance, Station to Station doesn't look like much with its voxel-style graphics and minimalist approach that can make it appear fairly plain. With a closer look, however, it becomes clear developer Galaxy Grove has created a truly enjoyable puzzle game with music that helps players unwind for a bit and puzzles that are challenging yet approachable. It gives a practically Zen-like approach to the genre, perfect for sitting down with a cup of tea while enjoying the music and soothing graphic qualities that it offers.

Despite its obvious theme of railways, Station to Station is ultimately a puzzle game that uses train stations as its beginning and end points. That doesn't mean that trains aren't a major focus though, as they add a lot to the game, and it is often fun to zoom in and watch the trains pulling into their station in all their voxel glory. Thankfully, despite sometimes looking like there could be a collision, the trains are just as peaceful and happy as everything else and magically disappear before running into each other. There is even a custom game mode that provides endless opportunities to keep playing even after the campaign is over by randomizing levels within player-selected parameters.

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The Gameplay Of Station To Station Is A Calming Experience

Station to Station offers a series of six biomes that are each split into about five or six levels of gradually increasing difficulty. On each level, there are a few buildings to start out with that need to be connected. Hovering over the buildings will say what they are, such as a farm that produces wheat and then another building that needs that wheat to turn it into flour. Once players have connected the buildings together correctly, so the resources get to where they need to be, more buildings will be ready to be built. Some buildings will need multiple resources, and therefore it will require some strategy to connect everything together without breaking the bank.

Building stations and laying tracks cost money, so players have to keep an eye on their budget and use techniques to make things less costly, such as turning the track to avoid needing a bridge. As stations become connected correctly, money is earned which can then be used to make the next line. The game also encourages players to get creative with connecting things in different ways and often offers bonus goals for certain achievements in each level. Sometimes replaying levels multiple times just to figure out how to hit the bonus goals can be even more fun, and gives a sense of true accomplishment when the player does solve it successfully.

Station To Station's Voxel Art Is Surprisingly Beautiful

Voxel artwork is a style that uses cubes on a 3D grid, and Station to Station accomplishes using these graphics absolutely beautifully. Even birds and camels, or the wheat and flowers growing around are all adorable in this format. The game uses the lighting and music to its advantage as well, with sparkling water and the glow of the sun in the background casting shadows over the field blending with the music to add a calming sensation to the entire experience.

Failures Happen, But Goals Are Achievable With Strategy And Helpful Aides

Strategy is absolutely necessary in Station to Station, particularly in the later levels. There are many levels that will likely not be solved on their first run, but somehow it doesn't feel frustrating in this game. The level of challenge is often just right to keep people wanting to try again and learn from failures. Additionally, there are one-time use cards that can be used in the levels that offer things such as "Heavy Freight" which gives additional money on the next track that is laid, or "Cheap Bridges" which does exactly what it says by offering a discount for the next track's bridges when selected. These cards can help with strategizing and is another thing to be able to think about while playing.

Custom Games Offer Replay Value For Station To Station

Station to Station has a custom game mode that lets people choose the size, biome, difficulty, and more for a level and then the game will randomly generate an experience for them. This can lead to some interesting challenges that, at least occasionally, felt as though they might not always be possible. Being able to have the randomized level is fun though and adds a lot for being able to replay it over and over.

Ultimately, Station to Station is a very relaxing experience and wonderful for anyone who likes solving puzzles. The style and feel of it all is calming despite sometimes suffering failure and having to restart or reset from a checkpoint. It is a short game, being completed in around 8–10 hours, but then the custom mode helps to add more for anyone who wants to keep going.

Source: GameTrailers/YouTube

Station to Station was released on October 3, 2023, for PC. Screen Rant was provided with a Steam code for the purpose of this review.