Station to Station: A Fresh Approach to Point-and-Click Adventures

Alright, so there I was at PAX East 2025, right? And everyone’s buzzing about this game, Perfect Tides: Station to Station. And I’m like, okay, another point-and-click thing? But wait—Meredith Gran, the brainiac behind it, has cooked up something, uh, different. Seriously, just hang with me for a second.

Picture this: You’re not just clicking on stuff—it’s all about yakking with folks, making buddies, and somehow, that’s the magic to leveling up. I mean, who knew chatting could be your superpower? It kinda hit me. Hard. Honestly, it was like a mini life lesson wrapped in pixels.

By the way, don’t sweat if you missed the first Perfect Tides. This one’s like a standalone sequel where you steer Mara—who’s 18 and trying to, you know, adult in a sprawling city. RPG bits mixed with the old point-and-click dance…it’s wild, yet oddly satisfying. So you’re chatting with these NPCs, and, boom, now you’ve got these ideas popping up in your phone. People and places—like, they’re collectible items. Using them in convos is how the plot moves. Mara sort of… powers up this way. Yeah, it’s as quirky as it sounds.

Moving around the city was mostly chill, although, call me directionally challenged, ’cause I got lost once. No, seriously. But that’s just me. They stripped down the usual clicking madness—thank God. No “Look At” or “Talk To” nonsense. Just a slick interface. Decisions you make? Total game-changers for Mara’s, uh, growth arc. Or something like that.

There was this one bit—I had to Sherlock my way to a party. Didn’t even know the host’s name. Social nightmare, right? Kinda refreshing to see a game nail that teenage awkwardness vibe.

I gotta admit, despite the sensory overload of the convention, this game tugged at my emotions. Gran poured her soul into this, you can tell. The game stretches over a year (well, in game time) and clocks about 16 hours. I’m telling you, keep your eyes peeled for it. Hitting Nintendo Switch and PC soon, or whenever it decides to drop. Keep an eye out. Seriously.