Okay, so I’m sitting in this cavernous hall, surrounded by the buzz of people at PAX East 2025. You should’ve seen the energy! And then there’s Meredith Gran’s game demo — Perfect Tides: Station to Station. Funny title, right? It’s got this quirky charm, which kinda pulls you in before you even know what the game’s about.
So, here’s the wild concept—you’re basically living life as Mara, this 18-year-old writer. Picture it: packed city streets, confusing transitions from youth to adult life. You’re talking to strangers, collecting little pieces of their lives like… I don’t know, like you’re picking flowers from a weird city-meadow. You save these interactions — these ideas, if you will — in your phone. Which is oddly satisfying, like collecting rocks or something. Why are rocks satisfying? No clue, I’m just rambling here.
Anyway, back to Mara. No hack-and-slash here, we’re talking full-on conversations that matter. Like, I was chatting with one character, and suddenly I’m planning my next game move based on a random chat about a coffee shop. Seriously, the game took that level of “what if” in life and spun it into leveling up. Genius or madness? Maybe both.
At one point, though, not gonna lie, I was utterly lost. No idea where to go next. City maps can only help so much, right? It’s like trying to navigate with a pizza delivery map that’s printed upside down. Anyway — no, wait — so you basically start making these life decisions. Maybe those choices alter Mara’s life and where the story ends up. Not saying I figured it all out, but it definitely felt like the kind of teen awkwardness we’ve all wished we could forget.
There’s this party scene. So, Mara has to sneak into a party where she doesn’t even know the host! I mean, who hasn’t, at least once, ended up at a random party, right? Gotta love that—what’s the word? Spontaneity? Eh, you get it.
And of course, Meredith’s personal touch, it’s like a signature on every part of the game. The game wraps you in this gentle nostalgia, taking place over a year. Not sure how to say it, but it feels cozy yet real. A total heart-puller, especially for anyone who’s tripped over the hurdles of growing up.
For the Nintendo Switch and PC, they say. So, maybe you’ll play it someday when it drops, maybe not. But at least you’ve heard about it now.
