Mini Motorways - Review

Dinosaur Polo Club’s puzzle strategy game, Mini Motorways, has recently been released on the Nintendo Switch. If you were a fan of their previous game, Mini Metro, you’re definitely going to love the developer’s latest game. Not only have they refined the visuals but they’ve expanded on it. And yes, this game isn’t new and had been released on other platforms a few years back, but the port to the Nintendo Switch is definitely welcome.

While Mini Metro was stronger in its colours replicating the look and feel of a real train or metro map with specific colours for train lines, Mini Motorway uses a more stylised, soft pastel colour palette that’s pleasing to the eye. Not only that, but the game itself focuses on exactly what the game is called… building and expanding upon motorways. Similar to the old Sim City where you build up roads, highways and have to deal with traffic congestion, the game is beautifully created. Each level, or in this case, city around the world, has its own distinct palette to differentiate one from another. The minimalist design choices of each shadow building colour to each car traveling is quite mesmerizing to look at when you’re immersed in the game.

Coupled with the soft background music with the pleasant sound effects of each pop, dings and clicks amongst many other noises used throughout the game are some that suit the visual style. Mini Motorways have also integrated the noise of traffic from car horns during build up as well as just the subtle sounds of motor vehicles traveling through roads, proving the game developers really thought about everything in detail without forcing down the player’s throats. The visual and sound design absolutely complement each other extremely well.

In terms of its gameplay, Mini Motorways is not as simple as it seems. Building the most direct roads to each building isn’t necessarily the smartest option; you’d quickly become faced with traffic which slows down the rate that each car is able to get to their designated location and back to home. The more you experience and play the game, the more you realize it’s a game of strategy. Not only that but you have to manage the limitations of how many roads you can create at one time, how many highways, roundabouts and traffic lights you have before having to wait a whole week to attain more and expand your miniature city. All of this while the game adds in extra houses and buildings for you to link together. To say that it gets extremely hectic is an understatement.

The various levels doesn’t necessarily make it easier or more difficult but gives you different challenges in its geographic landscapes. For example, Mexico City has mountainous regions where you’d have to consider tunnels to go through and join buildings and houses, whereas Wellington or Chiang Mai have rivers or a moat you have to consider building bridges over to keep the traffic flowing smoothly.

Mini Motorways is an absolutely gorgeous game visually, however, it can start to feel repetitive after a while. Apart from the slight variation in landscapes depending on each city, it’s more or less the same. If you were ever a fan of Sim City, or want to scratch that OCD itch, Mini Motorways is definitely a game you won’t want to pass on. It’s extremely creative, fun and keeps your mind ticking as you get more experienced and know how to plan a city in advance. For people who’d like a little more out of the game, there are weekly and daily challenges that have certain rules to restrict what you can and can’t build. Each level also has a leaderboards that you can check how well you’re doing amongst your friends and/or globally, by giving you a percentage of where you sit.

Lastly the only call out is clear that the controls were made for a mouse and keyboard type game, so the port to the Switch in terms of control might not necessarily be the best one due to its joystick. That being said, it doesn’t deter away from the amount of fun the game has to offer, oh, and did we mention the visuals are gorgeous? This is one that’s definitely worth picking up for some light hearted fun.

The Score

8.0

Review code provided by Dinosaur Polo Club

The Pros

+Fantastic minimalist visual design and color palette

+Satisfying gameplay and achievements, especially for people with OCD

+Fun leaderboard to compare how well you’re doing against others

The Cons

-Could feel repetitive after a while

-Game feels as though it’d be better on (created for) keyboard and mouse

-Wish there were more levels or more to the game as it feels short-lived