Environmental Station Alpha on Steam - User reviews, Price & Information

Explore an abandoned space station in this retro-themed explorative action platformer.

Environmental Station Alpha is a metroidvania, pixel graphics and adventure game developed by Arvi Teikari and Roope Mäkinen and published by Hempuli Oy.
Released on April 22nd 2015 is available in English on Windows, MacOS and Linux.

It has received 1,445 reviews of which 1,214 were positive and 231 were negative resulting in a rating of 8.0 out of 10. 😎

The game is currently priced at 7.99€ on Steam.

The Steam community has classified Environmental Station Alpha into these genres:

Metroidvania Pixel Graphics Adventure Indie Platformer Action Great Soundtrack Difficult Retro 2D Exploration Atmospheric Sci-fi Singleplayer Space Puzzle

Media & Screenshots

Get an in-depth look at Environmental Station Alpha through various videos and screenshots.

System requirements

These are the minimum specifications needed to play the game. For the best experience, we recommend that you verify them.

Windows

OS *: Windows 7
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i3 CPU
Memory: 512 MB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 310M
DirectX: Version 9.0
Storage: 30 MB available space
Sound Card: Realtek High Definition Audio
Additional Notes: May vary from computer to computer

MacOS

OS: Snow Leopard 10.6
Processor: 2.0 GHz+, 64-bit
Memory: 512 MB RAM
Graphics: ATI Radeon X1300/NVIDIA GeForce 6600 GT/Intel HD 3000 or better
Storage: 150 MB available space
Sound Card: Intel High Definition Audio

Linux

OS: Ubuntu 16.04
Processor: 2.0 GHz+, 32- or 64-bit
Graphics: ATI Radeon X1300/NVIDIA GeForce 6600 GT/Intel HD 3000 or better
Sound Card: Intel High Definition Audio

User reviews & Ratings

Explore reviews from Steam users sharing their experiences and what they love about the game.

Feb. 2025

Given Hempuli's fame as an experimental game developer, I expected some experimental stuff, but I would say this is a rather typical metroidvania. The two atypical things I have noticed were that the player character was smaller than usual, and while typically in metroidvanias the world opens up as you get new abilities, here, it sometimes closes: after you activate some systems, some of the pathways become closed for the rest of the game. The story feels very lackluster for a metroidvania, we did not care about it at all, and we did not want to go for better victories. The platforming and bosses were fun, although sometimes it felt needlessly difficult. The hookshot is annoying at first: you need to shoot it very precisely to move where you want, and sometimes you have to do several times in a quick succession. It is sometimes satisfying when you pull out a difficult hookshot maneuver, but more commonly, it is annoying. So -- a solid game, although a bit below my expectations.

Dec. 2024

a very good Metroidvania, and a even better cryptic puzzler. If you enjoyed Animal well or La-Mulana, you will enjoy this game.

Nov. 2024

The developer went and fixed the game and added achievements even almost 10 years after release. If that's not dedication and deserving of respect, I don't know what is! Truly a labor of love. It also helps that the game is just as good, with an atmosphere that's almost unmatched in indie Metroidvanias. There's that constant feeling of something genuinely being [I]off[/I], and I love it. Looking forward to ESA 2!

May 2024

ESA starts out as a relatively simple Metroid-like game with challenging but fair bosses, and having to persevere treks between them and acquiring a selection of items. But beyond the game's first ending and acquiring peak player mobility, it does a bait-and-switch into something vaguely La-Mulana; the gameplay largely shifts to solving the station's cryptic and esoteric mysteries. And there are many of them. While not entirely unexpected today (as the developer had especially worked Baba Is You and Noita later), it's worth mentioning because those effectively become ESA's meat and bones on the grand scale, and the real reason why anyone would want to play it. Conversely, those interested only in the Metroidvania part will probably be left unsatisfied. ESA's mysteries can be legitimately compelling at times and feel rewarding in themselves, but it also involves going back-and-forth all over the game map a ton regardless of the player's excellent movement by that point, scouring it for every fake wall and feature that may or may not be relevant to the current mystery you're trying to solve. Text hints may be minimal, easy to overlook or miss with no logbook reference feature, or involves some deciphering on your part. It is still a well-put together game that stands out from the sub-genre because of this. Its transformation into a clusterfuck of cryptography is simply not for every Metroidvania fan, be it blind or even with help - ESA will ask for a lot of patience.

May 2024

Completing this game: this is a pretty standard metroidvania, very classic. 100% this game: ▶☈◿☉☉☋☤☦☷☷☙☕

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Data sources

The information presented on this page is sourced from reliable APIs to ensure accuracy and relevance. We utilize the Steam API to gather data on game details, including titles, descriptions, prices, and user reviews. This allows us to provide you with the most up-to-date information directly from the Steam platform.

Additionally, we incorporate data from the SteamSpy API, which offers insights into game sales and player statistics. This helps us present a comprehensive view of each game's popularity and performance within the gaming community.

Last Updates

Steam data	05 April 2025 04:00
SteamSpy data	11 April 2025 18:11
Steam price	13 April 2025 12:45
Steam reviews	12 April 2025 05:49

If you'd like to dive deeper into the details about Environmental Station Alpha, we invite you to check out a few dedicated websites that offer extensive information and insights. These platforms provide valuable data, analysis, and user-generated reports to enhance your understanding of the game and its performance.

SteamDB - A comprehensive database of everything on Steam about Environmental Station Alpha
SteamCharts - Analysis of Environmental Station Alpha concurrent players on Steam
ProtonDB - Crowdsourced reports on Linux and Steam Deck Environmental Station Alpha compatibility

7.99€

8.0

1,214

231

Online players

Developer

Arvi Teikari, Roope Mäkinen

Publisher

Hempuli Oy

Release 22 Apr 2015

Platforms