Mini Motorways | Nintendo Switch Review

Back in September of 2019, Mini Motorways released on iOS as a follow-up to Dinosaur Polo Club’s Mini Metro. Both games are city transit simulators with the earlier game focusing on trains and the latest game on cars. Mini Motorways released recently on PC in 2021 and very recently on Nintendo Switch. This was my first time playing the game. It’s very simple to learn but ramps up in complexity very quickly, offering a fun, satisfying challenge.

Knee Deep in the Hoopla

Unlike other city builders, Mini Motorways takes a very minimalist approach, something I appreciate a great deal. There’s nothing overly complex about how this game functions. Even the art style is aesthetically pleasing, opting for simple yet elegant take on the genre.

Rather than managing an entire city, you’re solely responsible for managing traffic patterns. Your goal is to draw roads between homes and like-colored places of business. Sounds simple enough, right? At first, that’s totally the case. See a red house and a red location? Simply drag a path between the two. The game’s AI takes over, and cars will automatically drive to and from each location. As days go by, randomly generated buildings (with multiple colors) will begin to pop up, raising the complexity of your city. Your goal is to make your city run as efficiently as possible with no business building left without cars of the same color arriving regularly. If a building goes without enough traffic for a period of time, the game is over.

You’re limited by a set number of road tiles that you can draw, however. At the end of each week, you’re given the option of two “power ups” to help with your city transit planning. These include bridges (for allowing roads to cross rivers), traffic lights, roundabouts, and motorways. With each power up comes a fresh set of roadway tiles to your inventory.

Another Sunday in a Tired Old Street

Mini Motorways plays more like a puzzle game than a hardcore city planner, and I found that much more inviting. You’ll never need to manage an economy outside of your allotted street tiles and power ups. There’s no worry about natural disasters or constituents to keep happy. Your sole purpose is to make sure that cars get from point A to point B as quickly as possible.

The trouble starts to build (in a fun way) as your city grows and traffic becomes more congested. Busy intersections slow down your originally-conceived plans, and you might have to redesign. Thankfully, you can destroy any roads you’ve already created and rebuild with no penalty. You’ll even get those road tiles back to build in a new location.

As you progress through your planning of each city, new geographical roadblocks make things more interesting. You’ll contest with mountains, bodies of water, and longer gaps between homes and businesses. Even if you complete all of the city objectives, the game offers you daily and weekly challenges with new scenarios. This keeps the game fresh on a consistent basis, which is something unexpected for a game of this size and price point.

Mini Motorways Final Verdict

Although Mini Motorways is, by no means, a brand new title, this is the first time the game has appeared on the Switch. You have the option to use a thumb stick to move a cursor for your transit planning. Alternatively, you can use the Switch’s touch screen to physically draw your roads, roundabouts, motorways, etc. I found the touch mechanics a bit finicky and wound up using the joystick and buttons. Thankfully, you don’t have to worry about a ticking clock in this game (thanks to a pause feature), so a slow-moving cursor winds up being a non-issue.

I enjoyed my time with Mini Motorways. It’s mechanically sound, pleasing to look at, and very satisfying. I appreciated its minimalist approach and the fact that it never truly feels overwhelming in a way that makes me want to put it down. Although I doubt I’ll go back to it often, it’s a quality puzzle game that many should find easy to pick up.

To hear me talk more about Mini Motorways, be sure to listen to Episode 397 of The Gaming Outsider Podcast around the 52:42 time stamp.

This review is based on a Nintendo Switch copy of Mini Motorways provided by Stride PR for coverage purposes. It is also available on Apple Arcade and Steam.