

You’re initially presented with a small map with one house and one business. GAMEPLAY – SLEEK AND SMOOTHĭue to its history as a mobile title, the actual moment-to-moment gameplay is clean and uncomplicated. We understand our role as city planners, and the tension of failing our citizens is just as real as it would be if they had names and faces.ĭifferent maps have different obstacles. Mini Motorways does a fantastic job of avoiding the need for a plot while giving us the framework of the real world, and I think that’s more effective than spending time on a storyline. No longer are extensive mobile narratives a constant news item it’s now commonly understood that story isn’t always what pushes a title along. If the gameplay is solid, storylines rarely mean much, especially when it comes to titles designed originally for mobile platforms.Īfter a decade of will they/won’t they, it seems like mobile games have finally become successful and accepted enough. None of this was something that I expected to find in such a straight-laced puzzle title. In addition, the team was able to showcase the challenges of transportation that we encounter with different population densities across geographical locations. By showcasing the differences in cities around the globe, Dinosaur Polo Club has managed to make things easier for themselves when it came to level design. But the Los Angeles level really does get riddled with traffic jams, just as it does in the real world.
#MINI MOTORWAYS ANDROID OFFLINE#
The way that the developers decided to base scenarios on offline cities was a really great addition, and one they definitely didn’t need to include. Manila, “the most densely populated city in the world”, will see homes spawning closer together, resulting in much more neighborhood management. For example, the Zürich map will require running tunnels through the mountains and bridges over the Limmat river in order to keep the traffic moving. Each level is modeled after a real-world city, each with its own milieu and methodology. But, I was impressed to discover the well-designed world-building. Mini Motorways is a simple puzzle game, so it’s fine that there isn’t a deep storyline. Each office space has a timer mechanic that will alert you when there’s a problem with a certain color getting across the city. However, there aren’t any instances of road rage the worst that can happen is that cars may be late for work. The little cars follow their little routes and stop in their little parking spaces, doing their best.ĭuring moments of traffic congestion, the tiny cars will honk aggressively at each other, just like in real life. As discussed above, houses, cars, and businesses are color-coded, providing an easy-to-understand objective for players. The simple narrative framing that does exist is implied, in the way that one understands that people leave their homes to go to work (something that has changed during the COVID-19 pandemic). Let’s get this out of the way: this game doesn’t have a story. It is currently available on iOS devices as part of an Apple Arcade subscription.ģ) GRAPHICS/AUDIO – A LITTLE LOVELY LAYOUT STORY – NO PARKING Mini Motorways will launch on Steam on July 20, 2021, for your regional pricing. But if blue or green cars are causing a traffic jam, you might need to lay some alternate routes between neighborhoods. If all of the red houses can make it to the red office, you’re golden. In this procedural sim, players are tasked with laying road and traffic obstacle tiles across the expanding map in order to connect houses with their matching workplaces.
#MINI MOTORWAYS ANDROID PC#
But for those of us who don’t wish to stare at our phones all day, Mini Motorways is being released on PC via Steam, and the move to a larger screen has highlighted the care and quality of the title. A stylish and minimalistic city-building simulator, perfectly executed on your phone. Among the small pile of puzzle and arcade titles, one that stood out was Mini Motorways from Dinosaur Polo Club. When Apple launched the Apple Arcade program in 2019, there was a lot of coverage about the individual games on the service as players went through all of the offerings with a fine-toothed comb.
