Review: Verde Station is [spoilers redacted]

I'm not sure how to review Verde Station without spoiling it. It is short. It is an adventure game that seems upon first glance to be what some would call a "walking simulator", though having beaten it, I wouldn't put it in that category. To say more than that would be to potentially spoil it. If you are intrigued by the idea of a short, first-person, sci-fi adventure game whose narrative is told through exploration of a space station, then you should grab Verde Station now, while it's 50% off the regular $9.99 price on Steam . (It is a little buggy; if you don't hear footsteps when you walk, restart the game and you should be fine.)

If you're not convinced yet, then read past the break... and hopefully I won't spoil the game for you.

Here is the description provided by solo developer Duelboot on Steam: "Verde Station is a first-person story/experience game set on a space station. During your year long solo mission you begin to question the world around you. The game reacts in subtle ways to how you play. On a year long solo mission aboard Verde Station, you will test your wits, question everything, and strain to keep your sanity. Welcome to solitude.

"It is highly recommended that if you like games that aim to surprise you and keep you questioning what's happening, do not read much about the game.The less you know the better experience you'll have. You can only play it for the first time once."

After this next image, I'll talk about the game in more detail. I'll try to avoid overt spoilers, but by giving this information about the game, I'm spoiling the nature of the experience. You've been warned.

Verde Station is small and the player is its only occupant, charged with making sure everything stays in good repair for the year-long duration of their stay. It consists of four rooms that the player cycles through: their quarters, the greenhouse, the lounge, and the kitchen. There is a computer terminal in each room and a number of other objects in the environment that can be interacted with as well.

The player must go through the rooms in a roughly clockwise manner and each room has one or more tasks to complete. Some tasks are required to progress on what is basically a linear path through the game; others are optional and serve to add depth to the story. All tasks cause changes in the environment, and as the player progresses through the game, the rooms change to reflect the passage of time. It's a very clever use of a small environment to great effect.

More than that I'm not willing to say. If you've read this far and are still unconvinced that Verde Station is for you, then maybe it isn't. It's much more interactive than the average "walking simulator" and has definite puzzles and win conditions. Gone Home is probably its closest cousin, though I'd say it's closer to a traditional adventure game than Gone Home is.

[Verde Station]

from IndieGames.com http://indiegames.com/2014/12/review_verde_station_is_spoile.html