The core concept of Slipways is building a transportation network: connecting nodes to fill supply and demand. Think of it as a Railroad game (e.g. Railroad tycoon), except... However, your entire success or not in a scenario -- especially when attempting the campaigns -- is dependent on RNG. Sometimes you'll get a map without useful resources near each other. Or you'll need an objective to have highly successful node (those that make a lot of trades) nearby, but they can't be promoted because compatible resources are simply not nearby. And this is also where the Railroad metaphor falls apart. Goods will not travel more than one node. And you cannot have intersecting or crossing tracks. Even if you get "relay points", they're just used to lengthen a path; still no crossing. A lot of this might be mitigated if the "relay points" (and related techs) were available early (rather than half-way down the tech tree, and only sometimes!) so you could actually use strategy. A perfect example is the 4th campaign scenario where you have to research time rifts: The time rifts occupy space (so you can't have paths cross them), significantly destroying paths you could make. To research a rift, you must connect it to a lab, and a person. (And labs need a person, and a raw resource). You need 70 rift points to pass. A rift lab only generates one per year. And you have 25 years. To have it generate two, it needs extra people and TWO extra research. And to make a lab generate multiple research requires multiple people, and lots of spare resources all of the same type, in a tight area. With no crossing paths. And don't think about building multiple labs. Each rift can only support one research point. Also, you can effectively only build one lab for each of the game's 7 raw resources, since researching the same thing multiple times cuts its almost to zero. All the while you have to make sure your networks fulfill basic demands or the game ends early. Sadly, this is an avoid.
Note at the core of the game, it's a puzzle game and not a builder. But it is a hybrid. It's a "direct plop placement" game (no zone and wait). You build buildings next to each other, they combine, and tier up. The game's not super deep, but it's short enough that it doesn't overstay its welcome. Each stage (with a couple exceptions) can be easily done in a reasonable amount of time (a single session). This makes it a good "lunch break game". The achievements list is filled with ridiculous padding, and, at time of writing, a couple of them are bugged and do not trigger (including those on the longest, most repetitive stage of the game, Shanghai). The physics-puzzle levels stages one can get frustrating, but, except the see-saw one, aren't too bad since they have lower requirements and unlimited money. Overall, pleasant. Want a couple weeks of lunch break simple relaxation? This is a good one for it. 3.5 out of 5. If this makes you want another puzzle-citybuilder, one that is awesome, go to itch (sadly not on GOG) and check out Concrete Jungle.
