Publisher: Baltoro Games | Developer: Baltoro Games | Release Date: June 26, 2020

Urban Flow has released as a Switch EXCLUSIVE from a developer that makes a living on mobile titles–it’s noticeable, but this title has such a simple premise that it doesn’t matter.

You simply control traffic by turning on/off stop lights.

The gameplay here is the first thing you notice, and the only thing that ever matters. Urban Flow is an exercise in multi-tasking; requiring patience as well as mental skill. You must learn the types of vehicles in traffic, their behaviors, and make educated guesses to keep the flow going. More crashes equals a higher chance of failing the 1 of 100 levels in total.

Physically, gameplay is as simple as it gets. Press the face buttons (ABXY) to turn lights on or off, sometimes getting modifiers with L and R, or button presses setting off pairs of lights.

I’ve put in a couple hours of gameplay, with almost one-third of the levels completed. That said, this is that game for those that take their Switch on work breaks and quick outings that don’t need WiFi. Completing the campaign of Urban Flow would likely take 3-4 hours depending on your skills (and if you’re shooting for 3 stars every level, or satisfied with 1). There’s also room for up to 3 more players in local “co-op”, but I haven’t been able to try that out yet.

The simple graphics are amplified by interesting color choices and city designs, while the audio brings in generic “lo-fi hip hop beats” and zen music, at times being both mildly stressful as well as relaxing.

Your attitude while playing is really the defining factor of your enjoyment.

The levels I played scaled difficulty pretty well, and I certainly had to replay in order to get 3 stars more than a few times. That said, for $15, this title is a great exclusive that has nearly endless replay value (literally an endless mode is included) and is the perfection distraction for 3-5 minutes at a time.

Score-75/100

8–ART STYLE

8–VISUAL FIDELITY

9–SOUND DESIGN

9–SOUNDTRACK

1–AVAILABILITY (OUT OF 5)

5–CONTROLS (OUT OF 5)

1–PLOT

9–REPLAYABILITY

8–INGENUITY

7–PERFORMANCE

10—MONETARY VALUE