Game: Traffix
Genre: Puzzle, Strategy
System: Nintendo Switch (also on Steam, iOS & Android)
Developers | Publishers: Nerd Monkeys
Age Rating: EU 3+ | US Everyone
Price: EU €4,99 | USD $4.99 | UK £4.99
Release Date: December 21st, 2020
Review code used, with many thanks to Nerd Monkeys
Traffix is a minimalist traffic simulation game. Gameplay-wise and aesthetically, it reminds me of a little bit of Mini Metro. In this case, it’s the roads, junctions, and traffic roundabouts of various world cities.
Visit Cities of the World
The levels are each named after a city, but really there’s not much here to distinguish the locations from one another. Each level presents you with a road junction or a merge lane of various types and designs, taken from the real world. You take control of a few of its entrances and exits. You’ll find black cars going about their business in random frequency, and your job is to operate signals to allow white cars to safely merge, cross, or enter into a lane of traffic.
You control the lights at the road junctions. By default, all of the lights are set to red, stopping all cars and lorries. Tapping on the light or by pressing the A button controls one lane of traffic, and pressing the B button allows you to control the other lane of traffic.
Simple Tap A or B
The signals you operate at each junction have a few functions. You tap once to allow one car through, tap twice to allow all cars currently in the queue to pass. As such, the controls are simple and friendly, thanks to the game’s mobile origins.
In typical puzzle fashion, each level offers up to three stars. One for completing it, one for having no accidents, and one for having no angry drivers. The last bit is what keeps the pressure on as you can’t just have the cars sit and wait at the red lights forever. Drivers will become angry and will start to road rage if you delay them for too long. You must continuously juggle the multiple signals you’re operating to keep the traffic flowing. You will have accidents, but that is OK, as you’re allowed a few per level without failing.
Watch out for Accidents
If you miss-time an exit and the vehicles crash you can remove them from the playing field by pressing the R and L shoulder button. It’s important to remove any crashed vehicles quickly otherwise you’ll have an even bigger pile up on your hands.
Of course, as you progress into Traffix, it becomes more difficult to master. Timing is key, with you in control of when cars and lorries can merge with the flow of traffic. Traffix introduces new road junctions with more complicated layouts, as well as traffic that you have no control over. Such as trains and sometimes even planes!
Don’t Keep Drivers Waiting for Long
You have to manage your time between looking at traffic, watching an ever-growing lineup of cars that are stopped at your lights. And deciding what lights need to be signalled and when!
What makes Traffix interesting are the levels. Even though you are effectively doing the same thing in each stage, the game manages to construct interesting environmental puzzles. Each one gives a different feel to how you solve the level. It keeps the game fresh for the player as each scenario requires a different approach to complete the stage. It manages all this without changing anything about the game’s simple mechanics.
Roundabouts and Spaghetti Junctions
There are 30 levels, each with their own nod to their nationality like the roundabouts of Rome, or the spaghetti junctions of Shanghai. Dublin has a tram in the middle of the road you have to avoid. Havana has a plane that gets in the way of the traffic.
Once you have completed the 30 levels, Chaos Mode is unlocked for each level that you’ve got a three-star rating on and the fun starts all over again. In Chaos Mode, all the white vehicles are replaced by emergency vehicles. Emergency vehicles can’t wait as long at the lights as the normal white vehicles. One single accident is enough to end the level on chaos mode, so you’ve got to be even more vigilant with the traffic and your timing.
Visuals and Controls
Traffix is presented in a simple and clean look and it fits the gameplay very well. I like the clean look of the game, you’re in no doubt to what you have to do. The screen isn’t cluttered with things you don’t need, just the puzzle itself.
Controlling the traffic as I’ve said is very simple. Either a few button presses if you prefer to use the Joy-cons. Or a few taps with your finger on the appropriate light you want to change on the touchscreen, it all works well.
Sound-wise, you do get some typical, decent quality road traffic effects during gameplay, and a pretty nice tune in the main menu. It would have been nice though to see more music included and have it play during the levels. As the road traffic effects can start to sound a bit dull after a while.
Conclusion
Traffix is a puzzle game built on a simple premise of turning traffic lights of and on. It works very well and gives an enjoyable and experience for the player. Having to avoid accidents and preventing drivers from getting road rage keeps you engaged, and the levels offer great variety and a clever design. The clean presentation is appreciated, but it could have used a little bit more music.
For the price of a few pounds or dollars in the eShop you can have a very entertaining and fun couple of hours of an evening!
Final Verdict: I Like It A Lot 