The Station | Xbox One | Review

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​Upon discovering a planet with a biome conducive to habitation, Axiom Space Agency deploy a probe to scan the new world. They find intelligent life and decide it's prudent to observe this species before making first contact.

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​by Chris
​Brand

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@SuperCrisco

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Developer: The Station Game
Publisher: The Station Game
Platforms: Xbox One, PS4, PC
Players: 1

The advanced Espial Space Station and its three-person crew have been orbiting the planet, designated Psy Prime, collecting data whilst hidden from the population. Something has caused the eponymous station to lose power and the stealth systems keeping the ship concealed are no longer operational. After failing to contact the crew, a recon specialist is sent in. Enter, player one.

Following a rather lengthy load time, the game starts with you stepping aboard the Espial and you're tasked with locating each member of its crew. As you may expect from a ‘walking simulator’, you aren't given much in the way of clues and must unravel the mystery using whatever intelligence you can glean from the ship and its barely functional systems.

You’re aided in doing so by a continually updating map complete with a, somewhat superfluous, inventory and a list of tasks which are revised as you progress. The map is projected as a floating hologram in front of you and remains stationary until you call it back; it's a neat little mechanic, though it does have its drawbacks. You’ll require some space to deploy it and you then can't walk whilst checking your position, which is slightly inconvenient.

​Right from the off you'll find an audio log left by one of the crew. These are the meat of the story and detail the mission and various thoughts of the team, each one adding another piece to the puzzle. You'll also learn more about the crew via their email terminals and notes that they leave lying around. Cabin fever has definitely set in, with their petty squabbles and jokes exuding an endearing charm.

The messages are prominent enough to easily draw the eye, ensuring you won't miss a single one, whilst fitting in nicely with the game’s futuristic aesthetic. Visually it evokes a certain familiarity, contrasting dark blues and greys with stark, gleaming whites. Further accentuating this with bright neon hues makes the Espial feel like any of the other spacecraft we've served on throughout our gaming career, though a pervasively uneasy atmosphere does serve to set it apart.

The Station’s narrative is masterfully weaved, giving hints throughout to those with a keen eye.

Which brings us to the real draw: the plot. The Station’s narrative is masterfully weaved, giving hints throughout to those with a keen eye, but ultimately keeping you in the dark until it reaches its climax. Everything comes together right at the very end, which left us mentally replaying key moments and realising their significance as the credits rolled.

The accompanying musical score is barely noticeable at first, allowing you to fully concentrate on the audio messages and sounds coming from elsewhere on the ship, before building to a shattering crescendo as you approach the finish line, adding more than a note of tension.

​You can expect the whole experience to last an hour or two, depending on how diligently you explore. Repeated playthroughs will cut that time drastically, though there's relatively little to draw you in for a second round.

Some slight control niggles, a somewhat awkward map and limited gameplay interactions don’t necessarily make The Station a great videogame. Its story, however, makes it a fantastic experience that couldn't be conveyed with as much impact in any other medium.

Pros

• First rate story
• Suitably tense atmosphere
• Excellent sound design

Cons

• Limited control schemes
• ​Brief & not hugely replayable ​​

9/10