Overcrowd Poly Bridge 2....

Overcrowd A Commute 'Em Up

A self described 2.5D management/tycoon/simulator; All that's no lie. It is what it says it is.

For me it's got the looks of a tycoon game, but with a better 'cute' factor. It's that 'cute' factor that hides how much of a simulation it really is. Hide or belies are too strong of words yet the simulation takes away from the fun of it. It's all in a players perspective and for me the 'cute' gives the impression of fun that just isn't there in the gameplay(again a me thing that I'm waffling here to understand). Too much simulation than what I'd expected. I think what I said previously(post when I bought it) it still valid and true. 

Another game I hung onto to see if more gameplay and value/fun could be had. Even today after it's received patches/updates etc it's just still not a game for me.

Sandbox mode can be as open and generous or as restrictive as you want. A mode that will scratch every itch a fan of the game could have. The game is good, there may be some animation glitchiness but nothing I'd complain over(nothing that stops game-play).

It's not that the game does't help you to play it(like being able to automate certain tasks); like staff work rotas and break schedules. I'm usually into micromanagement but this game doesn't 'do it for me' with the fun I need to make it through. Yet I can't say the game hasn't got soul. It does. But the fact that it has so much simulation kills the fun for me at almost every turn. Again it's a me thing and I've tried again and again to 'get into it'. At this stage it 'feels' like I'm missing something....

What it boils down to is that I'm looking for a game that's a cross between this and Mini Metro. Hands on without being overly complex in a hop-in intuitive way.

Overcrowd has elements that are great. The animations(most of them), sounds and music; The 2.5D looks are as I said cute. Super cute in places. 

But the more I try to play the more the game drains my soul. It's just not a game for me. I'm glad to have tried it; Glad I got it at a sale price and still helped a dev duo. I'm sure it's a game that will receive a lot more love from them and the community that're 'into it'; But after a year and a half I think I now know that it's not going to change into a game I can play. 

Polybridge 2

In the last post I did on the game I ended with the line:

"As you can probably tell I'm in a game de-cluttering mode. If I was into this game I'd have at least been back to it once a week.... That hasn't happened. If I get back to it I get back to it..... Somewhere down the line." 

I am now well and truly down the line and it(gameplay) hasn't happened. It's been a year and a half since then(my first post here) and still the game hasn't been played.... Maybe two or three times since; Not enough to justify it's installed statues. Not that it's a large install of a game, so even if it's uninstalled and I wanted to play it could be done in a blink of an eye.

I click on a world/zone/land and start to go through the bridge problems and things start to fade, theres no motivation for me. I guess that means the brdge problems are not enough and the cute animations aren't enough either. As I say it's a me thing. As good as the game is if I was 'into it' I'd be playing it more. Some games are like that with me, some not so much(like here).

Overcrowd A Commute 'Em Up....

Overcrowd A Commute 'Em Up is a game I purchased at it's promo sale during the v1.0 launch. I can't say I was oversold but in retrospect I wasn't undersold either.  It looked a fun management game. Getting to play it however, well,  overcrowded is very, very much a simulation and the fun..... Or what I thought would be fun is lacking. Having put some time into it, it lacks the whimsy, comedy and lightheartedness of the likes of Sim City 2000/Cities Skylines or Theme Hospital/Two Point Hospital. At least for me. That fact has me disappointed. My presumption of the game coloured my view.

Overcrowd: A Commute 'Em Up - Extended Launch Trailer:

SquarePlayGames

Looking over the community discussions it's a game where players are asking about the minutia, how turn-styles and fuel work; How to build multi-floor stations and how staff zones work seems to be the fun in doing. So yea this game is very much a simulator. Systems and rules with a stiff take on 'fun'. Or maybe a 'dry' humour. At least for me.

There can be chaos that ensues from situations and ill-management but instead of being funny and fun to get through it's a chore to fix or find out what you did wrong. Frustration instead of challenge. Chores rather than managment fun. However the main problem for me with the game isn't the lack of a common sense A.I. but the un-intuitive U.I. that hampers understanding the games systems. Like the automation for staff and that's even after an update regarding A.I. and staff management it's still a lacking system in action. So not a game for me. Plenty of players seem to like it and good for them but I can get into it to stay. I don't have the patience or motivation to try and get through the games levels because the maze of how to play the game is more than just quirky.

I tried but for now it's another uninstall, another shelved game that somewhere down the road may.......