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Have you’ve been thinking about your daily commute via the subway lately? In these current times we can’t go out and do it, so it’s kind of the right time to step back and appreciate the little things.

STATIONflow comes out of Steam Early Access in quite the time the world is right now. But this little metro station builder/sim by Tak Fujii and the team at DMM Games is brilliant in highlighting the many things required in making people in metro stations go to point A to point B without much fuss.

STATIONflow – FREE DOWNLOAD Here you can download STATIONflow for free! On this page you will find information about STATIONflow and how you can download the game for free. Here you get the direct link (from different filehoster) or a torrent download. Title: STATIONflow Original Soundtrack. Developer: DMM GAMES. Publisher: DMM GAMES. Release Date: Feb 26, 2020. View update history Read related news Find Community. This is the 'bug fixed' + level condensed version of The Bank and Monument Map. The original map had a glitch and also it was very slow on the progression, so I fixed both of them now the Lv ranges only up to 20 instead of 40 Bank station on the Lon. STATIONflow is a game about controlling the flow of thousands of passengers by building and managing an efficient underground train station. Manage the flow of thousands of passengers with different needs, stats and targets, simulated in real time. Build complex 3D layouts in a multilayered map. STATIONflow Review: Become The Commuter Commander. The premise of STATIONflow definitely doesn't scream fun, but fans of sim/management games will find a lot to love.

Presentation

Interestingly, STATIONflow has a rather simple, minimalist aesthetic. All the people are simulated in barely animated blobs, with the stations you build doesn’t show walls- it’s like a diorama or a building plan at times. It misses just a bit from being charming, but at least it’s not out of the way.

What’s out of the way sometimes, is, disappointingly, the UI. Some elements like closed station icons are hard to read (the opacity drop makes it hard to read the icon station number is, for example). And it’s very easy to have multiple UI elements layered on top of each other if you place some items to close to each other. Making sure the corridors connect properly, and items rotate and align just the way you wanted, can be a doozy. Corridors sometimes look connected but if there’s no dashed lines when you built it won’t connect.

I wish that there’s also a feature that snaps to a floor grid- not just snapping onto walls or next to existing plopped items.

But when you’re not wrestling with the cumbersome UI, it works like a dream. Plopping items and making the corridors in irregular shapes to your liking works fine.

A cool touch is the soundtrack. The beats are reminiscent of a turn-of-the-century, Dreamcast-era electronica. Simple, subdued, minimalist, and great as heck to have in the background. I love it.

Gameplay

STATIONflow’s goal is simple- make sure your commuters travelling in and out of the metro stations are as happy as possible. The happier they are, the more score you get to unlock more complicated items, and stations stops to connect to make it bigger and serve more people. You have a budget to work with too, so more people getting in and out quick means more moolah. It’s your classic city builder gameplay loop- and it works brilliantly here.

What amazes me is how the escalation of each unlock makes you more considerate of your commuters. Not only do you have to make corridors to connect the train platforms to the many exit points, but you also need to put signage. Ever felt lost in a subway because of little to no signage? Now you get a birds-eye view of how many people share the same frustration. And now you too have to be considerate on where you place your signage. It’s easy to only place signs that works for people who’s going to one specific stop, but not the rest.

And then, you get the many different commuters you need to cater to. Students and regular salarymen and women are fine most of the time. But then you have tourists that needs signage, as explained before. And later you start to get elderly people coming in, who can’t use stairs.

Now if you’ve been saving budget and forcing people to exercise (which is not a bad idea on its own), now you have to reconsider that view. And then later you have to serve people with disabilities that needs lifts. Now you start to panic that you didn’t plan ahead and now you need to spend time figuring out where to squeeze those in.

And then the station expands and now there’s another two train platforms. And then four more entry/exit points. It keeps on continuing. More and more.

What captivated me so much about STATIONflow is it manages to make you realise that, despite a metro station having a smaller scale than a city, there’s still so much that you need to consider in making your station flow well. Seeing the sea of blob flowing like water, in and out of the corridor without much fuss at x3 game speed feels like an amazing accomplishment in and of itself.

And stepping out and looking at the marvel of your well-planned station, or your messed-up labyrinth that somehow people seem to get used to, is satisfying. Even if it’s just floor plans with blob people moving around.

Content

In terms of content, there’s not too much- but this game isn’t about the breadth of content. There are several maps you can take on, each with a different challenge that requires a different approach to your station building. The good thing is there’s a map editor mode where you can create your own maps, and then share on the Steam Workshop. So the amount of levels you can play is not an issue.

It’s a matter of taste. Do you like to keep on building, improving and optimising your station on hours upon hours? It’s the sort of game that definitely let you do that. But it doesn’t take long to unlock all the progression and unlocks and if you play the game as intended. But you can have all unlocks from the get go too. So if you’re here for spectacle or a cool story, this is not the game for you.

Personal Enjoyment

STATIONflow definitely scratches the builder/management sim I’ve been having. It’s satisfying to see your planned route works as intended. And the “oh no” moment when I unlocked elderly people but have no room for escalators was a great wake-up call feeling to have. STATIONflow can be both overwhelming and soothing as you hustle through the days. Even when you have no major constructions, you still need to watch if there’s any area needing more signage.

What hampered me a bit is the learning curve needed with the UI. It’s a curveball that can be overcomed, but I wish it was not hill to climb in the first place. But at least the music kept me in the zone, and seeing those blobs ebb and flow through the rush is mesmerising. I enjoy my time with the game despite some faults.

Verdict

STATIONflow has its rough edges. But at its heart is a competent metro station builder/management sim. You will learn to appreciate the complexity and work of having a well-design station. It may not be for everyone, and it can be a struggle to make the UI work with you. But once those kinks are ironed out (or get used to it), it’s a competent builder/management sim worthy of your time.

Review copy provided by DMM Games. Reviewed on PC

STATIONflow

STATIONflow has its rough edges. But at its heart is a competent metro station builder/management sim that captures the complexity of running one so well. It may not be for everyone, and it can be a struggle to make the UI work with you. But once those kinks are ironed out (or get used to it), it's a competent builder/management sim worthy of your time.

Pros

• Provides enough challenge and satisfaction for a builder/management sim
• Bopping soundtrack

Cons

• UI can be a struggle to work with at first
• Very limited scope- it's not for everyone

STATIONflow is an indie game about building an underground train station. As your station grows, you’ll have more train platforms and entrances funneling more and more travelers through your corridors. As your station rank increases, you’ll have to deal with new needs that your passengers develop, and build new areas in your station to satisfy them. Keeping all of those little virtual people happy is very important, unless you like being bankrupt! How long can you keep your station running successfully?

This is a standard station platform. There is also a split variant, where the two rail lines run down the middle, rather than along the outside edges.

Stationflow Download

Early on, your main goal in STATIONflow is to connect all entrances to the initial train platform so travelers can get where they need to go. You can see above that there are two rail lines in a station platform, in this case lines P1 and P2. Then you’ll need to add some directional signs at intersections and must set them up to tell the travelers how to navigate your station. You can copy and paste settings from one directional sign to another with a pair of shortcut keys, which is super handy later when your station is much bigger. Once you get things set up, the money will start rolling in.

The two red entrances to the left are connected to the next floor above by stairs, as is the train platform to the right.

As time passes and your station rank increases, you’ll periodically unlock more things to build. This includes escalators and elevators. There are also special rooms you can build as your guests develop new needs. Very early in the game, the first needs you’ll have to start dealing with are hunger and thirst. Later on you’ll have to add ticket booths, as passengers getting off one train and going to another one at a different platform will need to get a ticket first. You’ll also eventually need to deal with elderly guests who need escalators or elevators, and handicapped travelers who require elevators. These aren’t the only obstacles that await a growing station, though.

Later in my station’s life, some corridors were becoming pretty crowded.

STATIONflow doesn’t just give you more to worry about in terms of passenger needs and facilities in your station. As the game gives you more entrances and train platforms to contend with, you’ll have ever more virtual little people in their colorful outfits running around in your creation. Some of your corridors will inevitably become crowded and they will start running into each other and getting clogged up a bit. You can plan ahead for some of this by building wider corridors. Stairs come in several sizes, while corridors can be built more free-form. One place in particular where you will be likely to see traffic jams is at your stairs/escalator/elevator areas. You may need to build more of these in the area to allow for more passengers to get through at a time as the station expands.

Here we see several directional signs, and each elevator/stair/escalator has its own pair of directional signs at the top and bottom.

Some of the icons in the images may look a bit confusing, but they’re not at all. The yellow boxes are the contents you’ve set in directional signs, and you can toggle HUD overlays on/off by categories. Each stairway/escalator/elevator has its own built-in pair of directional signs (at the top and bottom). These signs can also guide people to facilities like food, drink, bathrooms, etc. A letter in a circle refers to a train station. An icon that looks like a letter on a door refers to an entrance. In either case, it may also have a number after it to refer to a specific one in a set. For example, entrance A2. If the sign just has A with no number, then it tells your passengers that all entrances in group A are in this direction. Stations can also have a number. P1 would refer to the first rail line at station P. In the image above, there are three train stations (P, Q, and R), which you can see on the HUD on the right.

Escalators are nice, but the drawback is that they are single-file.

The HUD in STATIONflow also shows your station rank, number of active rail lines and entrances (you can enable/disable them at will), your money, number of passengers in the station and their happiness. You get a summary at the end of each in-game day that shows how you did budget-wise, and in other ways like happiness level and daily rating. Some HUD elements can be clicked on for more detailed information, like your budget. You can also take out loans if you get into some financial troubles. Various facilities have upkeep costs, and may be a net drain on your budget. As your station grows and reaches higher ranks, you have to be more careful with placing more facilities, as they get more expensive to build and run. You can run your finances off a cliff into the red easily if you’re not careful! Trust me, my first station went bankrupt at station rank 16. Healthcare facilities are expensive!

Oftentimes the entrances in a given set are not all on the same floor. This makes them a touch trickier to connect to the rest of your station.

The gameplay of STATIONflow is fun, though certain aspects of it can be a bit tedious on occasion (like managing directional signs in larger stations). Other times it may seem all heck breaks loose, as lots of people in your station start getting bent out of shape about some problem all at once unexpectedly! Then you need to figure out what’s going on. Oftentimes this is because you messed up a directional sign so people can’t figure out how to get to their destination, which makes them understandably cranky! You can pause time if you need to, and there are three speeds you can set it at when it’s not paused. Navigating the station is very quick and easy. You can use the F and C keys to jump up or down a floor, and pan/rotate with the mouse. You can also click on the HUD to do so, but who wants to do that? Another minor gameplay issue is that during construction corridors do odd things sometimes, like snapping where you don’t want them to.

Things like elevators have a GUI you can open during construction. It can change the direction of stairs/escalators/elevators for example.

STATIONflow has a very nice soundtrack that is upbeat and relaxing, while fitting the game very well. The sound effects are also well done and bring the world to life a bit more (especially since the graphics are on the minimalist side, though that’s not a bad thing).

STATIONflow also has a level editor with Steam Workshop support so players can make their own maps to play on.

STATIONflow is a fun little indie game that can keep you entertained for a lot of time. While the game comes with seven maps to play on, there is also a level editor so you can make your own maps. These can also be uploaded to Steam Workshop for others to play. The tutorial level is really only a tutorial early on, and then plays like a normal level after that. You can easily spend lots of hours on one station, so there’s more gameplay there than you may think. It also depends on how you play. For example, it’s affected by which time speed you prefer to have the simulation on and how well you run your station. It is an open-ended simulation game after all, not a win/lose kind of thing. The level editor and player-generated content can add infinite playtime as well.

Stationflow Wiki

Just realize this is not the most polished game in existence. It’s just a bit rough around the edges as I mentioned. I ran my station for a little over 15 hours until it unfortunately went bankrupt! This is a game over for you if that happens, but you can always jump back to one of your recent saves and try to rescue your station from reaching that fate again. STATIONflow is available on Steam for $17.99, and the soundtrack is also available to purchase if you wish. Can you juggle facilities and keep all of your guests happy to run a successful underground station?

Stationflow Review

Review copy provided by publisher.