Review: Minami Lane Feels Neighborly

Have you ever wondered how it might feel to be part of a smaller town? One where individuals’ voices actually affect things and maybe make things better? Minami Lane encourages that and embraces the idea. It’s a management sim that won’t stress you out as you go about making decisions, though that does mean sacrificing challenge and replayability.

The goal of Minami Lane is to manage a community to help it grow into the sort of place its residents will love. It’s incredibly relaxed. So for example, initially it asked that I build a Boba Shop for bubble tea, manage to get 15 villagers to live in the area, and ensure a 75% satisfaction rate from residents with the shops. I had five people already there and $280. Additional optional challenges might be there too, with the first one suggesting I try to get those first goals all accomplished in 10 days. 

To emphasize how stress-free Minami Lane is, your starting funds are enough to really help get settled. For example, a Ramen Shop or Modern House with five more people costs $100. If an objective involves making the area prettier, you can buy a $150 park if you have five people around and get +5 beauty. I couldn’t immediately jump into establishing a Boba Shop, since it would need the area to have +2 beauty, 10 people, and 60% satisfaction rate with the community, even though I did have the $200 needed to build one right away. However, this initial mission showed how the game clearly establishes what you need to do, the paths to get there, and how different elements of the neighborhood work together in order to really form a community. 

Speaking of that Boba Shop, it’s a good way to emphasize how customizing products can affect things. You’ll be able to manage what shops sell and upgrade buildings. So if I go into that store, I can influence the bubble tea. I could determine how much tea, sugar, cream, and tapioca go into a drink. The price can be adjusted as well. This can influence the profits and satisfaction of people on the street. So if you watch someone while they are walking around, they may say they want the boba tea to have more tea in the drinks, and you could adjust the recipe accordingly to meet your goals. 

As you go on, different missions involve different challenges. So while the first one with the Boba Shop was more of a tutorial to explain how things work, one involving getting younger villagers to a street with mainly elderly residents, a daily income goal, and a higher satisfaction rate is designed to start test you a bit more. However, again, I found it wasn’t very difficult and achieved that while also meeting the optional goal of only using eight buildings due to upgrades. Especially since the upgrade paths for buildings can do something like, in the case of a house, adding more villagers or increasing the beauty of a neighborhood without needing to place a park. 

Of course, the fact that Minami Lane is a smaller game does mean that some elements will feel a bit repetitive or as though they aren’t fully fleshed out. For example, I was done in just over three hours, and even then it seemed like the missions weren’t too taxing. It’s a management sim that does involve directing things like how ramen is made, but it also didn’t always feel like I needed to do too much to ensure I hit my goals. Missions were more directives than actual challenges. The customization options can feel a bit limiting, since you’re limited to certain colors. For the sake of the review, I did go through some of the sandbox mode, but I felt like I did it all in the campaign.

Minami Lane is the sort of game that is perfect for people-watchers. It’s leisurely. Meeting criteria for missions is never taxing. There are no penalties for taking your time. It’s just a short, relaxing experience that lets you feel like you’re helping to make a small town better.

Minami Lane is available on PCs via Steam.