Perfect Tides: Station to Station Review - An Unforgettable Journey | The Gamerheads Podcast

Platform reviewed: Steam (PC)

When a story is told well, one that makes me laugh, cry, and even feel angry, then I know I’ve experienced a great piece of art. Perfect Tides: Station to Station is one of those games. Its raw storytelling, emotional highs and lows, and expressive animation come together to create a point-and-click adventure that’s hard to put down. There are only a handful of games that I find difficult to walk away from, and Perfect Tides: Station to Station is one of them.

Little does Mara, or I for that matter, realize that over the next year she’ll experience heartbreak, loss, happiness, and depression. And as I go through it all with her, I can’t help but hope that by the end of it, Mara comes out stronger.

Perfect Tides: Station to Station follows Mara Whitefish, a college freshman away from home and trying to find her place in the world during the early 2000s. She has aspirations of becoming a writer, but self-doubt, and life in general, keep getting in the way. She struggles to figure out where she belongs, not just as a writer, but as someone simply trying to fit in at school.

The story takes place over about a year and begins during the spring semester. Mara is split between two worlds, her life back home with her long-distance boyfriend, and her new life in the city where her university is located. Little does Mara, or I for that matter, realize that over the next year she’ll experience heartbreak, loss, happiness, and depression. And as I go through it all with her, I can’t help but hope that by the end of it, Mara comes out stronger.

One of the things that really pulled me into the game is how much I actually cared about Mara. The writing is strong, and maybe that’s because I’ve been through a lot of what she goes through, too. Normally, when I play narrative games like this, I think about how the protagonist might answer a question or respond in a certain situation. But with Mara, I didn’t want her to go through the same pain I did. I found myself choosing responses based on how I would have reacted, or how I wish I could have reacted if I’d been given a second chance to relive some of the heartbreaks I’ve experienced.

To me, that’s what makes this game so good. Sure, it’s Mara’s story, but it’s also completely relatable. And Mara is far from a perfect character, she makes mistakes, which makes her even more relatable. 

Then there are the choices I get to make, and while I think the ending would have been the same either way, the decisions along the way still feel like they carry real weight.

There are a few main gameplay mechanics embedded into the narrative. First, there’s the point-and-click side of things. There are moments where I’ll need to find an object to solve a puzzle, but those are pretty few and far between. Then there are the choices I get to make, and while I think the ending would have been the same either way, the decisions along the way still feel like they carry real weight.

One such example comes fairly early in the game. It begins with Mara dating her somewhat long-term boyfriend, Adam. Before long, it becomes clear that the relationship isn’t working. Adam turns emotionally manipulative, and Mara ultimately decides to break up with him.

This was honestly one of the most stressful moments in the game. Mara calls Adam over the phone, and he tries to twist the words I’m choosing into reasons they should stay together. Sometimes he says things that are meant to hurt her, or tries to gaslight her into second-guessing herself. There’s a heart meter at the bottom of the screen, and every time Adam says something that harms or manipulates Mara, I lose a heart. And every time I lost one, I got more angry and frustrated with him.

I eventually managed to end things, but as someone who’s been through a rough breakup, this hit home hard. And the way Perfect Tides: Station to Station gamifies that experience is something I don’t think I’ve ever seen done quite like this before

Since Mara is a writer, another major mechanic revolves around writing assignments. Sometimes these come from her teachers, and other times they show up as opportunities to write blog posts. Over time, Mara gains knowledge across several categories, like the city, music, movies, anarchism, drugs, sex, and death.

There are a few different ways to build up experience in those categories. I can read books, learn through conversations with other people, or pick things up through firsthand experience. When it comes time to complete an assignment, I choose one primary category and one secondary category to focus on. The more points I have in a category, the better Mara’s writing will be.

It’s a neat way to encourage exploration without making it feel like a chore. And even though I know I missed a lot of chances to grow my knowledge in certain areas during my playthrough, I never felt punished for it.

The artists went harder than they needed to here, but I’m glad they did. The art really ties the whole game together.

There’s also a really fun moment in a bar where everyone sings karaoke. I won’t go into too much detail, because it’s one of those special moments you should experience for yourself. But when you get prompted to “become the DJ,” do it. It’s totally worth it, and it ended up being one of my favorite moments in the entire game.

The animation is so good. Everything is done in pixel art, but the characters are incredibly expressive, and the backgrounds and world are packed with detail. The artists went harder than they needed to here, but I’m glad they did. The art really ties the whole game together.

But it’s the writing that really stands out. The emotional highs and lows Mara experiences hit even harder because, for the most part, I’m helping shape those moments through my choices. What makes the video game medium so special is that when a game is written this well, and it puts the player in the protagonist’s shoes, I don’t just watch their story unfold, I feel it.

By the time I rolled credits, I’d been through a rollercoaster of emotions, reflecting not only on what I had just played, but on my own life choices as well.

Final Grade: A

Perfect Tides: Station to Station is a coming-of-age story filled with moments of real happiness, and just as many moments of self-doubt. There are times where Mara, the protagonist, is fully depressed, and the game doesn’t shy away from exploring that. It digs into relationships and intimacy, along with everything that comes with them: heartbreak, hurt feelings, and broken friendships. And choosing dialogue options during those moments truly put me right in the thick of it with Mara.

I also love that Mara is a writer, and that part of the experience involves writing papers. It pushes me to explore, learn, and gain experience so I can write better, which is a clever mechanic that fits the story perfectly. The art is phenomenal too, adding even more weight to the emotional rollercoaster the game delivers.

But at the end of the day, it’s the writing that makes Perfect Tides: Station to Station stand out. Mara is flawed, but she’s also incredibly relatable, and it’s hard not to get pulled in and root for her through the entire journey.

Review code provided by Stride PR