{{Short description|2015 video game}} {{italic title}} {{Infobox video game |title = Environmental Station Alpha |image = File:Environmental_Station_Alpha_cover_art.jpg |caption = Official ''ESA'' Steam artwork |developer = Hempuli Oy |publisher = Hempuli Oy |designer = Arvi Teikari |composer = Roope Mäkinen<ref>{{cite web | url = http://indiegamemag.com/explore-a-sci-fi-bio-dome-in-environmental-station-alpha/ | title = Explore a Sci-fi Bio-dome in Environmental Station Alpha | first = Jesse | last = Tannous | date = May 5, 2015 | accessdate = September 22, 2016 | publisher = Indie Game Magazine | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160923214909/http://indiegamemag.com/explore-a-sci-fi-bio-dome-in-environmental-station-alpha/ | archive-date = September 23, 2016 | url-status = dead}}</ref> |engine = Multimedia Fusion 2<ref>{{cite video game|title=Environmental Station Alpha|developer=Hempuli Oy|date=April 22, 2015|quote='''Credits:''' This game was created using Multimedia Fusion 2 by Clickteam}}</ref> |platforms = {{hlist|Microsoft Windows|OS X}} |released = {{vgrelease|WW|April 22, 2015}} |genre = Metroidvania |modes = Single-player }}
'''''Environmental Station Alpha''''' is a 2015 Metroidvania created by Finnish independent developer Arvi Teikari (known professionally as Hempuli).
==Gameplay== The player character is a robot who must examine a vast bio-dome space station which was mysteriously abandoned, despite still holding signs of life.<ref name="GB1">{{cite web|title=Environmental Station Alpha|url=https://www.giantbomb.com/environmental-station-alpha/3030-39548/|website=giantbomb.com|publisher=Giant Bomb|accessdate=January 25, 2018}}</ref>
The player explores the vast side-scrolling maze of the space station, consisting of several large areas. At the beginning of the game, many areas are inaccessible, so the player must acquire items that grant the robot new abilities (like a grappling hook, the ability to double jump, etc.), and then backtrack to previous areas to find previously-inaccessible paths leading deeper into the station.<ref name="IS1">{{cite web|title=ENVIRONMENTAL STATION ALPHA REVIEW|url=https://indiesense.github.io/reviews/Environmental-Station-Alpha|website=indiesense.github.io|publisher=Indiesense|accessdate=January 25, 2018}}</ref>
==Reception== Jed Whitaker of ''Destructoid'' scored the game 7/10 and said, "[o]verall, ''Environmental Station Alpha'' didn't reinvent the wheel when it comes to Metroidvania games, but it certainly helped satisfy my appetite." He praised the game's pixel art aesthetic and bosses, writing that "[t]hese confrontations are some of the most satisfying boss battles I've had in a game in some time"; however, he was less enthusiastic toward the game's mandatory backtracking to find new pathways, which he said could be either "rewarding, or tedious depending on the amount of time needed."<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.destructoid.com/review-environmental-station-alpha-290644.phtml | title = Review: Environmental Station Alpha | first = Jed | last = Whitaker | date = April 28, 2015 | accessdate = September 22, 2016 | website = Destructoid | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211117043405/https://www.destructoid.com/reviews/review-environmental-station-alpha/ | archive-date = November 17, 2021 | url-status = live}}</ref> John Walker of ''Rock Paper Shotgun'' also gave the game a positive review, calling it a "''Metroid''-alike pixel platformer that I've thoroughly enjoyed, right up until I didn't any more. And yet, I find myself recommending it." He said that "[t]he fine balance of ''Metroid'' games is often underestimated by those wishing to emulate them, but Arvi Teikari and Roope Mäkinen demonstrate a rare skill of precision" but wrote that the game was too difficult for his tastes, labelling its later sections as "fiddly and over-complicated."<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2015/05/01/environmental-station-alpha-review/ | title = Wot I Think: Environmental Station Alpha | first = John | last = Walker | date = May 1, 2015 | accessdate = September 22, 2016 | publisher = Rock Paper Shotgun | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210410202142/https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/environmental-station-alpha-review | archive-date = April 10, 2021 | url-status = live}}</ref>
A speedrunning community has developed for ''Environmental Station Alpha'', with the game having been run at the speedrunning marathons European Speedrunner Assembly<ref>{{cite AV media |people=European Speedrunner Assembly |date=September 8, 2015 |title=#Insomnia55 Speedruns - Environmental Station Alpha |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLFBR8ysZgU |access-date=January 10, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite AV media |people=European Speedrunner Assembly |date=November 14, 2020 |title=Environmental Station Alpha [Any% (Standard, Inbounds)] by Escheria - #ESASummerOnline |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RJdW6yaV0M |access-date=January 10, 2022}}</ref> and Games Done Quick<ref>{{cite AV media |people=Games Done Quick |date=January 12, 2018 |title=Environmental Station Alpha by R3DninjaJosh in 26:35 - AGDQ 2018 - Part 15 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZt8kcYHWvU |access-date=January 10, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite AV media |people=Games Done Quick |date=November 6, 2018 |title=Environmental Station Alpha by Escheria in 24:38 - GDQx2018 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpZK5ST1DKM |access-date=January 10, 2022}}</ref> multiple times apiece.
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *[http://www.gamefaqs.com/pc/137629-environmental-station-alpha ''Environmental Station Alpha''] at GameFAQs *[http://www.hempuli.com/ Arvi Teikari] official developer website
Category:2015 video games Category:Action-adventure games Category:Clickteam Fusion games Category:Indie games Category:MacOS games Category:Metroidvania games Category:Science fiction video games Category:Side-scrolling platformers Category:Single-player video games Category:Video games about robots Category:Video games designed by Arvi Teikari Category:Video games developed in Finland Category:Video games set in outer space Category:Video games set on fictional planets Category:Windows games