Upalu Mundi

THE perfect track-and-signal zach-like game. Easy to finish, despairing to optimize.

For what it is and for what it is trying to do, upalu mundi is a true gem - pun intended, since the upalu mundi gemstone is at the heart of the story of this game. However, story is not at the heart of the game itself. Rather, it is a Zachtronic-like optimization game with what feels like endless levels and many mechanics to discover. The goal is not to find the one best solution in each level but to search for the many cost/time-optimized solutions in each one, and the game does a good job of keeping you at it with an aesthetically pleasing and narratively interesting leaderboard function. It feels rewarding to find multiple best solutions in a level and to inch closer to the wisdom of upalu mundi. And it's thrilling to find a solution that is even more efficient than what upalu mundi itself predicted. This being my first optimization game, i feel like I can say: one might not be a natural engineer but one can yet become an upalumancer. I also love the cozy aesthetics and especially the story elements which amount to a light-spirited yet satirical take on capitalism and our modern work life. In a way, the story elements and the game design (with its various combinations of mechanics and its intricate level design) actually go hand in hand: while the story subtly parodies the efficiency so high in demand in our economy and society, the game design pushes you to explore ideas instead of simply completing levels. On this Interpretation, the game design is in itself a critical reflection on today's performance-oriented work life - heck, on adulthood altogether, by undercutting efficiency and performance for the beauty of novel ideas and the satisfaction of wasting time by tinkering around with incremental variations. Also, really good value for your money: the first of four worlds already provided me with 20-plus hours of playing time (of course, you can advance much faster if you just go to the next level as soon as you've found a working solution for the level you were trying to solve). P.S.: some real railway companies should integrate this game into their mandatory training for railway operators (you thought of Deutsche Bahn, I did not say it).

This is a super cool game if you love optimization puzzles. From what seem like relatively simple track routing mechanics (admittedly it's still a bit intimidating to see at first but it's not too nasty) a variety of clever tricks arise. The actual crux of the game is about exploring the solution space and finding an optimized solution at every tradeoff of speed and cost. I suspect for some levels this might get a bit painful but if going for 100% optimized but I'm having a lot of fun so far (15 hours in I've got decent solutions for the whole of the first area but only about half at or above 100% optimized). It's a bit unfortunate that the game lacks global steam charts but I think just keeping the dev solutions as a target feels pretty good anyway.

If you like trains and puzzles, this is for you. The difficulty hits a good sweet spot, and reaching an optimal Upalu Mundi state after many iterations is very satisfying. The writing and world-building are fun as well.

The visuals, theme, and vibe of this game are spot on. Glad I picked this up. It's definitely going to be one of those games that I point at when someone asks for something that needs more love from players.

4/4: Factorio-style train puzzles wrapped in a Zach-like are a match made in heaven See my full review: https://david.reviews/articles/upalu-mundi-review/ [quote]For more reviews, follow [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/45203122/]my Steam curator[/url] or peruse my dedicated review site: https://david.reviews/games/[/quote]

Awesome train-themed game, where you are presented with lots of little optimization puzzles, which emphasize different (combinations of) mechanics. A few hours into the game, no two puzzles have felt "the same", each requiring a different approach. The scoring system encourages you to find as many different optimal or near-optimal solutions for each puzzle as possible, which I really enjoy. The feeling when finally reaching 100% on a puzzle is so good :D

Lovely

[h1] Hervorragende Feierabendbeschäftigung [/h1] [hr][/hr] Eigentlich nicht mein Genre – dennoch überzeugt: • Interessant • Entschleunigend • Vielseitig • Denkfördernd Gleich zu Beginn etwas viele Informationen (Transporthandbuch), was leicht überwältigend wirkt. Die Spielmechaniken werden jedoch «on the play» Schritt für Schritt eingeführt, sodass man gut reinkommt. Eine weisse Linie (Upalu Mundi-Koinzidenz) zeigt die Bestwerte anderer Player und motiviert, eigene Pläne zu optimieren. [b] Insgesamt sehr unterhaltsam – nebst den Projekten sorgt auch die Story mit Witz für Abwechslung. [/b]

Very fun and charming optimization puzzle game themed around trains. Encourages you to explore new solutions to fit the graph of "optimal" solutions. Mechanics are simple, fun and there is a lot to learn to truly get the best solutions using those mechanics.