If being eighteen is mostly about waiting around and feeling awkward, then Perfect Tides: Station to Station realizes that idea in the best way possible. If you’ve ever said the wrong thing at a party, then you know exactly what we mean. It actually hurts to play sometimes because the writing feels so real. That’s exactly how a game about this messy time in life should feel. Perfect Tides: Station to Station is one of the best and most refreshing surprises that we’ve experienced, and we can’t recommend it enough. Take a deep breath and be prepared to have another go at life.
Collecting words and concepts instead of physical objects. Then using them on people to open up new conversations.
Using an in-game subway system to travel between the 60+ locations
Moving through seasonal acts, offering different choices and outcomes based on what you do.
Thinking on the Train
We hope you like riding trains because that’s exactly what you’ll be doing here. Like, a lot.
As is the way, Mara just finished high school and is trying to figure out a huge city. We help her in a quite unique way: by collecting ideas and nudging them in her direction. The twist on the classic point-and-click formula is how the inventory works. You aren’t just grabbing physical items like keys or coins. You collect ideas, and you literally drag a thought from your menu, then drop it onto a character to start a specific chat.
It’s a neat trick. We really liked treating topics like puzzle pieces. It never gets cluttered, and we embraced the opportunity to experiment with different thoughts just to see the outcome or what the best option would be. This is a double-edged sword, and we can totally understand that there will be people who wouldn’t like the feeling of digging through a messy bag while someone is watching.
We did mention a lot of traveling by train. There are over 60 spots on the map, and they are all linked by a public transit system that needs to be learned. It’s a slow endeavor with a lot of waiting and transfers. Again, some will not like the pacing, but we couldn’t help but admire the effort the devs put into perfectly mimicking the dragging, broken reality of commuting.
Hey there, youngster, lemme tell you this too:
The game was funded by a very successful Kickstarter campaign in 2023, hitting its initial goal in just a few days.
It is a direct sequel to the 2022 game Perfect Tides. This time, the main character moves from a fictional island (based on Fire Island) to a massive city.
The developer completely dropped the Adventure Game Studio engine used for the first game. They moved to Godot to build a better interface and support higher resolutions.
Troubles of the Youth
The pace in Perfect Tides: Station to Station is slow. It makes you sit through awkward silences. It might even make you cringe remembering your own teenage years. You really need to be in the right mood for this. We loved every single moment of it, primarily because it magically captures the messy reality of being young in a big city.
Score: 9 / 10
ID Card
- Developer: Three Bees
- Publisher: Three Bees
- Engine: Godot
- Platforms: PC, Mac
- Genre: Point-and-Click Narrative Adventure
Leave a comment