If I ever wanted to recommend a game that was purely for winding down and not doing anything, it would be Mini Metro. It is a very simplistic subway simulator, linking up new stations with lines and making sure everyone gets where they want to go.
It couldn’t be easier to play; when you start a level, there are some shapes and nothing else. Draw a line between two, another line between the other two and you’re immediately qualified for the job. Keep watching and passengers will appear by stations, loudly declaring their destination. A train will swoop by, collect them and glide them over there.
However much it may ease you into a calm sense of mind, with quiet music and simple prospects, don’t be fooled – it will get tough. As more stations pop into your world, with tangling lines running between them, the background music will be added to as well. It’s like the world’s slowest EDM track, with chimes going off close together as more people start using your railway.
Mini Metro is fascinating because everything is building up to a crescendo, with new tracks spreading out across the screen, then being torn up and simplified to a straight line through the middle, new shapes and colours are popping up all over the place, trains are trawling dutifully back and forth as you drop a new carriage here or an interchange there…
Then it all falls away, because one of the stations smack bang in the middle of everything didn’t have a direct connection to the rugby ball on the left side of your screen – overcrowding caused your unplanned and haphazard system to come crashing down.
Simplicity is beautiful and Dinosaur Polo Club have done an excellent job in being simple. Here’s hoping I’m able to drown out the chimes in my ears before bed tonight…
Jyn Reviews 