The Station (PC) Review

By Athanasios 19.02.2018

Review for The Station on PC

"Popcorn" science fiction is certainly great, yet it lacks what makes this fantastic branch of fantasy so awesome. Simply put, science fiction is at its best when it asks questions, and when it lets the audience ponder on the answers. The Station is exactly like that, and while Cubed3's journey through its futuristic corridors made it obvious that there is a lot of room for improvement, it's a journey that every sci-fi fan is highly advised to try out, as it examines the concept of first contact with a violent alien civilisation, and in a pretty impressive manner. Sure, this is basically more like a story-driven, walking simulator, and less like a typical adventure game, but few will actually care.

They expected to discover a bunch of microbes, or some simple vertebrates. Instead, the crew of the Espial, the most advanced space station ever conceived, now orbits a planet inhabited by intelligent life; intelligent life that is in the midst of civil war, but intelligent life, nonetheless. Should the tiny crew pay a visit to them while they are blasting each other? Well, this question can wait, as a more imperative one has reared its head: why had the Espial gone silent? The protagonist is the recon specialist tasked with providing an answer, and the very beginning of their journey will offer a taste of the level of attention to detail that The Station has been given.

Screenshot for The Station on PC

From the way that the machinery operates and the various technological advancements available on-board, to the realistic approach, to the futuristic decoration, or the planet underneath the Espial, this is truly a world that totally immerses you in it, forcing you to explore it, and poke all around while at it - and to tell the truth, that's what you are basically here to do. Although some puzzle-solving is involved, it's actually a small part, and, even worse, not as challenging as most adventure fans would want. Make no mistake about it: this is mostly concerned with telling a story rather than posing a challenge to your analytical skills.

Your task will be to find what happened to those who worked here. This will be done through searching for clues and solving puzzles. It's all similar to Event[0], another space adventure that was more about the story than the gameplay - although it was more innovative in its mechanics, and creepier with its atmosphere. Oh, and, by the way, like Event[0], this is also an untweaked system hog that will make that GPU fan go haywire for some reason *cough*Unity*cough* Sure, this can become spooky, too, at times, but these occurrences are pretty rare, and, to be honest, pretty light, so those in need of their daily horror fix are advised to look elsewhere.

Screenshot for The Station on PC

Of course, as mentioned before, this is mostly about the narrative. This means that most of your time on the Espial will be spent looking all around, trying to figure out what happened, reading memos left by the crew, or listening to some recordings of the conversations between them that the ship has made. This tiny and "faceless" crew is magnificent, in the sense that all three feel real, mainly due to how they can be likeable and unlikeable at the same time. Similar to the cast of Alien, it's easy to sympathise and care about these folk, exactly because they are not stereotypical caricatures, but actual people with flaws.

Screenshot for The Station on PC

Note, however, that this will be a pretty short investigation, as most will get to lay their eyes on the credit roll in less than three or four hours. Furthermore, this could definitely benefit from more things to interact with in order to acquire more bits of lore, or at least more puzzles to fiddle with, even if they were entirely optional. Finally, this is one of those adventure games; games that, once the mystery is resolved, there's little reason to revisit it at all. The weird thing is that witnessing the awesome ending twist (even if it's slightly easy to predict) actually makes you want to instantly give it another go…

Yes, the, otherwise, perfect, Shyamalan-esque ending answers everything, and sort of spoils further tries, but a second play-through can actually be very enjoyable, since this time you will get to observe the many, and, generally subtle, pieces of information that hint towards what will happen in the finale. Oh, yes, there's little room for any additional replays, but this was never meant to be experienced in such a manner. Therefore, the conclusion is simply this: unless not a fan of heavy-on-story, light-in-exposition walking sims/adventures, be sure to check the wonderful corridors of The Station.

Screenshot for The Station on PC

Cubed3 Rating

7/10
Rated 7 out of 10

Very Good - Bronze Award

Rated 7 out of 10

The Station is one of the best narrative-driven sci-fi adventures, and while its walking simulator-like gameplay, low replay value, and tiny length, will annoy those who wanted something meatier, the story and its fantastic conclusion provide enough reason for fans of the genre to give it a go.

Developer

The Station

Publisher

The Station

Genre

Adventure

Players

1

C3 Score

Rated $score out of 10  7/10

Reader Score

Rated $score out of 10  0 (0 Votes)

European release date Out now   North America release date Out now   Japan release date Out now   Australian release date Out now   

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