Meeple Station is in Early Access.  This review is based off the build available on 1/31/19.

Meeple Station is a build-your-own space station simulation that is currently in early access but the full, final release should be available soon.  Graphically based off the most generic of children’s action figures that could be found in the Target toy aisle, the game is nothing if not charming when it is first engaged.  That said, it does still have all the standard growing pains of your normal early access game that has just been released.

The first thing that will draw people in is the art style.  Both pixelated and reduced to something akin to bootlegged Legos, the game is simply enjoyable to look at.  Watching the meeple run around the station, about their jobs (when they feel like doing them), feels like a throwback to the mid-90s era of gaming. Something that could be said about the entire flow of the game.

The problem becomes the insanely steep learning curve, at this moment.  When the game is started it is very difficult to figure out what exactly to do as there is no real tutorial.  There does exist a detailed wiki that floats around on the internet, which is helpful, but it also isn’t something that lends itself when a game is first booted up and the player is trust into it.  Something more of an interaction to show the player what is expected of them, how the game functions, and how to even expand the base after the meeple have arrived might be helpful.  At the moment the game itself is simply sans that.

There is nothing wrong with this title, right now.  The problem is that it is extremely early access.  This is the kind of title that it almost feels like the phrase was built for.  It is hard to recommend it due to past encounters with devs never releasing a full and finished game, but it almost feels like this one might have some kind of promise.  For those that are willing to take the risk on a space station sim, this is for them.  For everyone else, wait until there is more meat on the bone.