Galaxy Pass Station Reviews

[h1] A cute and creative riff on Papers Please with a builder/business aspect. Recommended. [/h1] Papers, Please was one of those games that created a new genre. A niche genre, for sure, but it was creative and opened up a new field. Galaxy Pass Station (GPS) is another entry in the field, and rather than being a copy, it takes the original formula and expands on it, breathing a lot more life into the concept than the original managed. [h2]Come visit Galaxy Pass Station![/h2] This is a game with a lot of flavor, texture, and heart. [h3] Papers, Please with building and management [/h3] Papers, Please was about checking documents and only that. Which meant that apart from the increasing complexity as new elements were added in later levels, it really didn't have much variety on its side. Check the elements against each other and see if everything adds up. GPS fixes that by adding an entire parallel game which sees you building, outfitting, and managing what amounts to a hotel resort in space - with passport control. You need to manage visitors' needs, make sure they don't get [i]too[/i] frazzled, keep them fed and hydrated, give them a place to rest and shop, and process them through the bureaucratic stuff quickly and efficiently. It's a fairly full docket of tasks, yet good design keeps them from being tiresome. [h3] Cute graphics, cute execution [/h3] There's a fine line between "endearingly cute pixel graphics" and "nauseatingly jagged mess." Fortunately, GPS is solidly on the correct side of that line. A lot of care went into the design and visual style of the game, and it comes together right on the sweet spot. It's businesslike enough to be a capable builder/management game, but still has a cute feel to it that isn't over the top. The sheer variety of items you can unlock and acquire means you have a lot of latitude when it comes to equipping and customizing your station. Layout, outfitting, decor - it's up to you, your budget, and your research department. [h3] Document checking is creative and meaningful [/h3] Checking passports and papers is simple enough to be approachable and complex enough to be fun. Better still, you get meaningful rewards. Yes, you can have clerks do it for you, but they're slow - good for help, but not ideal for front line work. Doing the checks yourself nets you resources to reinvest in research and speeds up your path through the game. [h2]Watch where you step.[/h2] Okay, it's good, not perfect. [h3] Tasking and pathfinding are troublesome [/h3] The algorithm for assigning drones to tasks and getting them there is weak. Deliveries of batteries and parts in particular has problems, and having swarms of worker drones distributed across your station somehow doesn't solve the delivery bottleneck problem. It's in the game algorithms themselves. It's not a showstopper problem, but it can be annoying. [h3] More casual than challenging [/h3] With dedicated effort, you can largely sidestep the money and resource limitations. With a little practice, you will easily outpace your expenses for the most part, meaning the challenge is minimal; this game is more for fun. [h3] Progress whether you want it or not [/h3] You can't stop the game from getting more complex, so there's no halting at a comfortable level and playing there. The game requires you to accept more responsibilites and tasks, and that removes some player agency. [h1]The Bottom Line[/h1] This is a good game - fun, fairly casual, creative, and rewarding - and it has replayability to it, giving you more value for your gaming money. If you like a more relaxed management-and-puzzle type game and were a fan of Papers, Please, then this one is likely to scratch a bunch of itches for you. [h2]Recommended[/h2]

A bit challenging to figure it all out, but this game is super fun. Own a giant space station that you get to be in charge of. Weird aliens and stupid conversations with rude robots. I love it.