Overcrowd: A Commute ‘Em Up, SquarePlay Games’ wonderfully compelling underground station management sim is, after around 15 months in Steam early access development, pulling up to the platform marked Version 1.0 for its full release today, 6th October.
On a basic level, Overcrowd sticks closely to the classic management sim formula; you’ll build, research, and hire staff, keeping a watchful eye on budgets and an ear toward your customers’ needs, so as to, in this case, create a thriving network of interconnected underground stations across the fictional sprawl of Lubdon Town.
I played Overcrowd a fair amount at its early access launch last year, but popped back for a proper go of its near-1.0 release this weekend, and while I haven’t delved exhaustively into its depths yet (so can only vouch for its first few hours), I’ve had a thoroughly enjoyable time messing around in its engaging, beautifully presented sandbox.
Overcrowd: A Commute ‘Em Up – Extended Launch Trailer Watch on YouTube
There’s a wealth of expansion options and plenty of strategic tinkering potential as you attempt to juggle Overcrowd’s various interlocking pieces to achieve maximum commuter satisfaction – crowd control, staff management, infrastructure, commercial opportunities – and it’s delivered with a wonderful degree of polish. Even simply expanding your floorspace feels enormously satisfying, thanks to the little animation touches that cause individual tiles to sproing into existence from deep within the earth as you drag your mouse about the place.