Minami Lane Review (Xbox Series X|S, Switch & PC)

Minami Lane is a great deal of things, but a mentally taxing city-building game it most certainly is not. It’s of another kind—a more, I don’t know, relaxing affair that doesn’t brandish itself as a morally righteous, almost unforgiving sandbox experience. It’s a bit like a small toy box with roughly half the bricks and twice the amount of entertainment value. In ways, it’s a Townscraper-like endeavor that prefers smaller bricks and UI tools and celebrates small victories, regardless of their size or influence in the grand scheme of things. Granted, it doesn’t exceed the same magnitude of success as the likes of Civilization — but it relishes its own strengths all the same, and it lives for those miniature victories in the short amount of time that it allocates itself.

Of course, with little more than a pocket-sized street to show for its short one-hour journey, Minami Lane doesn’t have the luxury of having a full-scale setting to work with. Instead, it takes advantage of the intricate details in its back pocket—a neighborly atmosphere that cloaks the far corners of an idyllic suburb; a bike messenger who hands out coins two or three times a day; local feline friends who pass through the florists each day in search of a stroke; and deeply rooted appetites that loom over staple ramen stores and beauty spots.

With various tasks and optional quests stitched into its five campaign missions, as well as a limited but fundamental customization suite that offers extended colors, rooftops, and patterns, Minami Lane doesn’t necessarily strive to be the greatest sandbox building game in the world. That said, it does appeal to a good demographic—the people who adore simple, cozy, and irresistibly therapeutic experiences that don’t linger on the sidelines. And that’s enough.

Welcome to Minami Lane

Minami Lane features five missions, each of which take approximately fifteen minutes to complete. In each level, you have a rather simple objective, with the ultimate goal of embellishing a small communal area with “Beauty” and townies, both Elders and Youths, looming over a primary quest. For example, in the first mission, you have the task of building a ramen shop, as well as tweaking the recipe and pricing in order to appeal to your citizens. After that, you have the job of sifting through short three-minute days—days that can be sped up using an in-house time slider—and tweaking the formula before commencing the next day.

Before each day begins in Minami Lane, you have the opportunity to splurge your cash on buildings—parks, housing projects, ramen stores, bookstores, recycling centers, karaoke clubs, and hot springs, for example. At the end of each day, you can obtain crucial data that allows you to identify the specific needs of your target audience. An example here would be the books; Elders prefer certain reading materials like novels, whereas Youths prefer things like manga and comics. And the same applies in most areas of the game, such as dining habits, musical preferences, and housing. It’s your job here, then, to spend each morning kitting out your street with the necessary adjustments to help the neighborhood thrive.

Homely Comforts

The goals in the game aren’t overly difficult, though there is a bit of strategy involved in the process of building your street. For example, in the fourth mission, you have the task of creating two perfect ramen dishes, one for the Youths, and one for the Elders, within a twenty-one day period. The issue here is that, with countless recipients and preferences, it isn’t always easy to knuckle down on a concrete recipe. Add the fact that you also have to consider ingredients like noodles, eggs, pork, and other items for the broth, as well as the amount to use, and you have quite a challenge to sift through. But even then, the game offers useful insights into these areas, with hirable Store Investigators being available to fill your head with critical information before each day begins.

Thankfully, the optional missions in the game are pleasantly easy — stroke twenty cats, kind of easy. Moreover, the actual process of embellishing the street isn’t difficult, as the entire creation suite is more or less confined to a small selection of buildings, a handful of adjustment sliders, and two obtainable avenues of interest: Cash, and Beauty. Simply put, Cash is used to purchase and upgrade buildings, and Beauty is used to increase overall Happiness. And these are the two basic fuel injectors that you’re filling out in the game — Cash and Beauty. Again, simple.

Lovingly Crafted

While the visual complexity isn’t quite as impressive as your typical heavy-hitting city builder IP here, I will say that the small details that it does bring to life are a real joy to watch unfold. From the sprightly folks who carry out their usual routines to the cyclists who peddle through the streets, the cats who prowl the sidewalks to the vibrant buildings and all their natural colors and embellishments — Minami Lane does, in all honesty, capture a fantastic composition of a good storybook setting. And it’s the little things, too, that make it pop—the cutesy sound effects, calming lo-fi ambiance, and the occasional plopping sound of an achievement unlocking, for example. It has all of that and more. And so again, while it does lack the depth of a full-fledged sandbox crafter, it does excel it countless other ways — and that counts for a lot.

With all of the above said, I will say this: the lack of replay value here is a major downside. Aside from the main campaign—an experience that lasts just under two hours—there isn’t much else to come back to. The fact that there are only a few buildings to unlock, elements to experiment with, and color schemes to create, too, means that you could, in all likelihood, experience just about everything there is to do in the opening sequence alone. And I’ll be honest, I wish there was a little more to work with. A small thing to prod, for sure, but something that feels worth bringing to the table nonetheless.

Verdict

Minami Lane is an absolute delight to play, truly — more so given that it makes a commendable effort to substitute the hustle and bustle of a hardened city-building sandbox for a gentle, fun, and above all, well-balanced experience. And to be honest, there’s a tremendous amount to love about it, too, despite it being short of a full-fledged campaign and all of the usual trappings of a bottomless sandbox IP.

While it isn’t likely to consume much of your time, or even help you forge a new obsession for the world-building genre, Minami Lane will definitely provide you with enough tools and homely comforts to keep you occupied for a couple of hours on a summer’s evening. It isn’t much, but it’ll certainly keep you busy while you wait for that next big renovation gig to come strolling along. Oh, and it’s also available on Xbox Game Pass — so that’s a huge plus.