Mini Metro

It hints successfully at tackling modern, everyday issues in an absorbing way.

Developer: Dinosaur Polo Club
Publisher: Dinosaur Polo Club
Release: 2014
Platform: PC (played), iOS, Android, PS4, Switch
Genre: Strategy

At times Mini Metro looks/sounds too trippy for such a mundane RTS premise; but even if it occasionally fails communicating so, it deals with good old solid numbers—little angry ant-like symbols accounting for citizens of the biggest cities in the world, but still solid numbers nevertheless.

Same goes for the minimalist overall approach: simple, touch-friendly controls and geometric shapes as tokens for stations—as much as levels’ gentle starts—can hide its potential to quickly escalate to overwhelm a player.

Screenshots never do it justice, but they're still pretty to look at.

It’s true that many of the game’s tough moments stem from the roll of a dice instead of some particularly thoughtful decision—stations (and resources needed to integrate ‘em) pop randomly, and the player may end up with useless extra lines while waiting for a tunnel that never comes, for instance; but Mini Metro hints successfully at tackling modern, everyday issues in an absorbing, slick way.