I knew Town to City had ensnared me in its nefarious trap the moment it told me I could customise individual window boxes. Yes, this early access city builder is one of those games, seemingly aimed specifically at weirdos like me whose idea of bliss is hours spent in a serene reverie of fastidious path-laying and flower-planting, all in the name of aesthetic perfection. And if you count yourself in that number, Town to City might just be the ideal retreat as the cold autumnal nights draw in.
If Town to City seems familiar, it may be because it’s a follow-up to developer Galaxy Grove’s equally minimalist (and equally voxelly) Station to Station. As with that earlier game, Town to City slides into that inescapable subgenre of ‘cosy’, which – for those of you who haven’t already succumbed to the allure of a digital turnip – essentially means it’s designed to be soothingly friction-free.
Cosy games tend to be a little impervious to standard criticism, given they’re more about the vibes rather than any clever mechanical sophistication, and that’s the case again with Town to City. Its campaign (there’s also sandbox mode with various tweakable parameters) unfolds across a well-worn loop of upgrades and expansion – one that’s pleasantly propulsive but otherwise fairly unremarkable.
Essentially, citizens produce goods; goods increase happiness; the happier your citizens are, the more will move to your town. More citizens means more goods, means more people, until you’ve crossed a threshold that allows you to turn your dwelling into a hamlet into a village and so on, unlocking new buildings and customisation options each time.
It’s familiar stuff, and Town to City streamlines the formula down to the absolute essentials. There’re a few wrinkles, mind, but these ultimately boil down to space management – don’t expect to see anything like cross-border trade agreements or complex production chains here. Plop some buildings down to satisfy early demand – a couple of single-story houses, perhaps, or a vegetable stall – and it won’t be long before you’ve built yourself into a corner, and the only way to continue catering to your citizens’ ever-escalating whims is a town redesign. But that’s fine! Really, design is what Town to City is all about. Think of it more as a beautification tool with a few simple progression knobs on, and its appeal is immediately clear.
Town to City’s boxy voxel aesthetic might look restrictive, but its grid-free construction system – similar to the excellent, and more mechanically complex, Foundation – means your grand expansion plans can unfold in satisfyingly organic ways. Each of the five bucolic maps included in Town to City’s early access release are intended to invoke a sort of peaceful Mediterranean air, and by the time you’ve delved deep into its toybox of customisation options, and your creations are bustling with life, those boxy visuals pack in a surprising amount of charm.
Kudos, too, for a construction tool kit that manages to feel creatively flexible without ever being overwhelming. Sure, I’m already assembling a mental wishlist of additions I’d love to see – a path smoothing tool to counter my wobbly mouse hand, for instance – but this is still in early access development, after all. And honestly, I’ve been having a genuinely lovely time – to the tune of far too many hours, frankly – building my beautiful boxy dioramas, lost in a blissful daze of quaint market squares, picturesque parks around crystalline lakes, and palatial residences high on hills. And the well-featured camera tool has sucked up a decent amount of my time too.
Town to City might be in early access, but it already feels incredibly robust. Galaxy Grove seems to agree, too, given its Steam page suggests future updates will be more about refinement (and animals!) than dramatic reinvention. So if you’re also the kind of person to get an involuntary quiver at the merest mention of customisable window boxes, this’ll almost certainly be right for you. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got some flowers to stick in the ground.
