Overcrowd: A Commute 'Em Up
Design and manage a 1990s metro station.
In Overcrowd: A Commute 'Em Up, a 2020 release, players run a metro station. The two-person indie team at SquarePlay Games, inspired by the London Underground, spent five years building this construction and management sim. You handle building, staff hiring, and timetables to keep travelers happy. The game, which entered early access in June 2019, launched that October to positive reviews.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- SquarePlay Games
- Engine
- GameMaker
- Platforms
- Windows
- Released
- October 6, 2020
- Genre
- Construction and management simulation
- Modes
- Single-player
- Designer
- Alastair McQueen
- Artist
- Sarah Testori
Facts from the source article.
Development and release
Overcrowd was developed using GameMaker by SquarePlay Games, a London-based indie studio of two people: designer and programmer Alastair McQueen and artist Sarah Testori. McQueen was inspired by a ride on the Piccadilly Line of the London Underground. The game entered Steam Early Access on June 8, 2019, and after 15 months of development with major updates adding heat maps, staff uniforms, and more commuters and trains, the full game released on October 6, 2020.
Reception
Overcrowd earned praise for its polish from Eurogamer's Matt Wales. Rock Paper Shotgun's Steve Hogarty called the early access game a strategic and puzzling blend, but noted the campaign was excessively tough since traveler complaints pile up faster than solutions. Hogarty also found the interface clunky, with tiny text and deeply layered menus. The London Transport Museum added Overcrowd to its permanent collection, calling it a charming take on the city's transit system.
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