Perfect Tides: Station to Station review: an interactive coming-of-age story | The VergeSkip to main contentThe homepageThe VergeThe Verge logo.The VergeThe Verge logo.TechReviewsScienceEntertainmentAIPolicyHamburger Navigation ButtonThe homepageThe VergeThe Verge logo.Hamburger Navigation ButtonNavigation DrawerThe VergeThe Verge logo.Login / Sign UpcloseCloseSearchTechExpandAmazonAppleFacebookGoogleMicrosoftSamsungBusinessSee all techGadgetsExpandLaptopsPhonesTVsHeadphonesSpeakersWearablesSee all gadgetsReviewsExpandSmart Home ReviewsPhone ReviewsTablet ReviewsHeadphone ReviewsSee all reviewsAIExpandOpenAIAnthropicSee all AIVerge ShoppingExpandBuying GuidesDealsGift GuidesSee all shoppingPolicyExpandAntitrustPoliticsLawSecuritySee all policyScienceExpandSpaceEnergyEnvironmentHealthSee all scienceEntertainmentExpandTV ShowsMoviesAudioSee all entertainmentGamingExpandXboxPlayStationNintendoSee all gamingStreamingExpandDisneyHBONetflixYouTubeCreatorsSee all streamingTransportationExpandElectric CarsAutonomous CarsRide-sharingScootersSee all transportationFeaturesVerge VideoExpandTikTokYouTubeInstagramPodcastsExpandDecoderThe VergecastVersion HistoryNewslettersExpandThe Verge DailyInstallerVerge DealsNotepadOptimizerRegulatorThe StepbackArchivesStoreSubscribeFacebookThreadsInstagramYoutubeRSSThe VergeThe Verge logo.This coming-of-age adventure game made me feel a little too seenComments DrawerCommentsLoading commentsGetting the conversation ready...EntertainmentCloseEntertainmentPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All EntertainmentGamingCloseGamingPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All GamingGames ReviewCloseGames ReviewPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All Games ReviewThis coming-of-age adventure game made me feel a little too seenPerfect Tides: Station to Station is a deft interactive exploration of being a young adult.Perfect Tides: Station to Station is a deft interactive exploration of being a young adult.by Jay CastelloCloseJay CastelloPosts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All by Jay CastelloJan 24, 2026, 2:00 PM UTCLinkShareGiftImage: Three Bees, Inc.Part OfThe best indie games we’re playing right nowsee all updates There’s a lot about Perfect Tides: Station to Station’s Mara that I find relatable. Like me, she’s recently moved to a place simply called “the City” from the middle of nowhere, and like me, she’s an avid writer. But these biographical details aren’t the important thing; it’s the way she’s painted by the game’s incredibly sharp writing where I start to feel uncomfortably seen. There are a lot of characters in media that are awkward or socially anxious, but few that are drawn with such piercing specificity.The point-and-click game is minimalist in its mechanics. Consisting mostly of conversations, it’s broken up by a few puzzles, object interactions, and minigames. This is not a complaint: it’s in talking to people that the game shines, because it’s how we get to see most of Mara. And she’s such a realized and resonant portrait of a person that I found myself grasping at where we were different as a coping mechanism against spending the whole time introspecting. I pride myself, for example, on never having had an awful boyfriend. In this, surely, I could find some self-soothing superiority over this poor video game character.The dynamics of Mara’s relationship with her controlling, older, long-distance partner are sketched with both narrative and mechanical thoughtfulness. In one conversation, a health bar suddenly appears, and you must navigate a particularly difficult conversation without losing all of your hearts, some of which you gain only if you’ve spent time nurturing other connections. It’s one of many neat metaphors, and combined with the clever moment-to-moment writing, led to a particularly notable moment, which wrenched an “oh, for fuck’s sake” out of my mouth in real life.It was then that I had completely bought into Station to Station . I thought I had the shape of it. Dear relatable Mara and her messy relationships that I could hold as a simplifying buffer between us. But the game wouldn’t settle for simplicity.Aside from conversation, the other important mechanic is Mara’s writing. These manifest in assignments for school, guest blog posts, and, in one real low moment for Mara, an overly involved forum post, and you’ll need to combine topics together to complete the piece in question. These topics include the city, music, and sex, and they level up as you talk to people and experience the world. It’s a pretty simple but effective representation of how writing works: you learn things through living and then combine ideas into, hopefully, something new and expressive.There’s one piece that works differently. Mara writes a story that is clearly a thinly veiled allegory for her own life, and a tutor gives her some relatively harsh feedback. For the rest of the game, the story looms in the back of her mind. You can’t fix this just by combining a thought your friend had about movies and your own ruminations on death caused by your ailing grandmother. But each of those might help a little as you chip away at it bit by bit. Without getting too self-indulgent about my own recent writing experiences, suffice to say Station to Station had once again skewered me. I had Mara work on it whenever I could, every time reminded of my own festering project and the trust necessary to wait and address it slowly.At this point in the game, it’s clear that the aforementioned partner is not Mara’s only problem. In fact, most of her interactions with other characters are marred in some way or another. I, for one, would simply not get involved with these people! But again, the game resists simplicity. Although it always presents harmful interpersonal dynamics honestly and without excusing bad behavior, it absolutely refuses the idea of shutting yourself away to avoid them. Because you would miss out on too much. Too much joy, too much connection, too much potential.Image: Three Bees, Inc.In one of the only conversations in the game that feels purely uncomplicated and productive, a character tells Mara “you just have to risk it with someone and see.” Station to Station argues, over and over again, that being open to others, despite the risk of awkwardness, and of not being treated well, is worth it. Mara is naive, and not very good at knowing what she wants, let alone asking for it. And she does get hurt. But she also lives a much more beautiful life when she doesn’t close herself off to experiences and people. She deals with the consequences, and through this she learns and grows and flourishes. My knee-jerk perceived superiority in being avoidant is suddenly the crack through which Station to Station has sunk its claws into me. I will be thinking about it for a very long time.There’s a lot more I could talk about, like the multiple excellent musical interludes, or the hugely exaggerated animations that feel genuinely expressive while also being consistently comedic. I could even complain bitterly about some of the incidental environmental puzzles and the way they ground the story to a screeching halt if you happened to miss one small interaction point. But what kept me thinking about the game long after the credits rolled was its emotional honesty and the emotional honesty it demanded of me while playing it.After playing the game, I stewed for a couple of days, thinking about Mara, myself, and one particularly memorable bit of karaoke. And then it hit me: I never finished Mara’s rewrite. No matter how important it felt in the moment, it turned out to be much less crucial than Mara and I opening ourselves up and accepting the consequences, good and bad.Perfect Tides: Station to Station is out now on PC.Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.Jay CastelloCloseJay CastelloPosts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All by Jay CastelloEntertainmentCloseEntertainmentPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All EntertainmentGames ReviewCloseGames ReviewPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All Games ReviewGamingCloseGamingPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All GamingMore in: The best indie games we’re playing right nowDetective games get extra cryptic with TR-49’s code-breaking mysteryAndrew WebsterJan 21A cute frog game that remixes Nintendo’s bestJay PetersJan 17The Playdate gets its Monument ValleyAndrew WebsterJan 10Most PopularMost PopularTesla finally kills Autopilot in a bid to boost FSD subscriptionsClaude Code is suddenly everywhere inside MicrosoftWhy this winter storm will likely be a wild oneGoogle won’t stop replacing our news headlines with terrible AISony announces its first turntables in yearsThe Verge DailyA free daily digest of the news that matters most.Email (required)Sign UpBy submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice. 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Perfect Tides: Station to Station presents a remarkably astute and unsettling exploration of young adulthood, achieved through its interactive narrative design. The game, as detailed by Jay Castello, centers around Mara, a recently relocated writer grappling with a long-distance relationship and the anxieties of navigating a new city. Castello’s review highlights the game’s core strength: its ability to generate a profoundly relatable experience by portraying Mara with remarkable specificity. The reviewer’s own struggle to avoid self-pity and, ultimately, a critique of their own tendencies towards avoidance, serves as a crucial element of the experience, mirroring the thematic core of the game.

The game mechanics, predominantly consisting of conversations and puzzle-solving, are skillfully employed to deepen Mara’s character and the surrounding narrative. The implementation of a health bar during conversations, triggered by the need to manage difficult interactions, effectively translates the emotional weight of the story into a tangible mechanic. These elements are not merely superficial additions; they actively contribute to the game’s ability to make the player confront uncomfortable truths about themselves and relationships. The integration of writing assignments—such as blog posts and a story—reinforces this with an analogy to the process of actual writing, acknowledging the transformative power of articulating one's experiences.

Castello's detailed analysis of the game’s core structure reveals a subtle yet potent argument. Station to Station pushes back against the tendency to retreat from adversity, advocating for engagement with the complexities of relationships and experiences, even when they are fraught with risk. The persistent push to embrace vulnerability demonstrates a compelling viewpoint, suggesting that genuine growth comes not from shielding oneself from difficulty, but rather from grappling with it head-on. This sentiment is powerfully illustrated through Mara’s pivotal story rewrite, which, despite its initial importance, ultimately reveals the greater value of opening oneself to connection and acceptance. This narrative point underscores a nuanced thesis, pushing the player to recognize that the most valuable lessons often emerge not from meticulously structured plans or solitary pursuits, but from the willingness to share one’s vulnerabilities and engage in the messy, unpredictable nature of human connection.

Beyond the core narrative, Castello notes the game’s engaging musical interludes and expressive animations, adding depth to the overall experience. Even the occasional, deliberate puzzle-based interruptions are acknowledged as contributing to the thoughtfully controlled pacing of the game. The mechanics—conversations, writing, and puzzle-solving—combine to construct a compelling and emotionally resonant narrative, allowing for a significant degree of player investment. Furthermore, the game's ability to produce a powerful, lasting emotional reaction in the reviewer suggests a remarkably perceptive and delicate understanding of the complexities of the human condition.

Ultimately, Station to Station’s success lies in its willingness to hold a mirror up to the player, prompting introspection and challenging conventional approaches to self-protection. Through Mara's story, Castello implicitly advocates for a more open and engaged approach to life, emphasizing the importance of vulnerability and the potential for growth that emerges from embracing the uncertainties of human relationships.