- Game: Lavender Station
- Developer: Denise (Ninoko)
- Publisher: Ninoko
- Genre: Casual, Indie and Simulation
- Review Platform: Steam
- Release Date: Q1 2027
Author’s Note: A Game Key for Lavender Station was kindly provided by Ninoko
Lavender Station is described as a casual, indie and simulation game. A game that mixes cosy with train station management. Take care of your quiet rural station, say hello and welcome visitors, and bring this long-forgotten station back to life. You’ll achieve this through a variety of tasks, such as maintenance, decorations and mindful upgrades.
It’s important to note that this is a small solo project by Denise from Ninoko. Lavender Station has been created with the love and passion for cosy games and quieter places, all while you focus on spending a relaxing time on the station platform creating memories.
Today I’m excited to dive into the game’s demo, which is also part of the Steam Train Fest that runs from today (20th July) until 27th July 2026.
Table of Contents
Core Game Features
- Care for your Tiny Station: clean the station, restock facilities and prepare for each train.
- Welcome Every Passenger and Visitor: The more your station improves, the more visitors will arrive, and this once-neglected village will slowly become the bustling village it dreams of now that it’s reconnecting with the outside world.
- Bring the Station to Life: Lavender Station focuses on quiet and calming routines accompanied by a warm and fuzzy atmosphere. There’s no stress or pressure, no timers, just the quiet satisfaction of seeing the station come back to life.
However, Lavender Station offers so much more!
- Two to four hours of cosy gameplay
- Beautiful hand-drawn artwork
- An original soundtrack for Lavender Station by Nicolas Hartmann
- Care and customise a rural, forgotten train station
- Welcome a variety of passengers, sell train tickets and meet their individual needs
- Decorate the platform with plants, furniture and small intricate details
- Improve the station’s overall reputation and welcome in larger trains
- Relaxing gameplay that doesn’t have any time pressure or fail states.
It’s also important to note that Lavender Station is not a hardcore strategy game, it has no competitive gameplay, no large-scale city-building aspects and no multiplayer. Just wholesome, charming and relaxing vibes.
Lavender Station Trailer
Now that we’ve taken a look at the game’s features, let’s take a closer look at the Lavender Station reveal trailer!
My Demo Experience
Well, what can I say? The Lavender Station demo is just wonderful and really showcases what the game has to offer.
I played for a little over an hour, and even in that time, it gave me a good sense as to the overall vision of the game as well as many of the game’s features. You can tell from the moment you first set foot onto the station platform, the passion for this game. The love, devotion and attention to detail that’s gone into it so far and how that carries on throughout the demo.
There’s zero pressure as you make your way through Lavender Station. From welcoming your first train and their passengers to slowly growing your platform. Connecting this tiny village to the wider world. You’ll meet characters and reminisce about past times while looking forward to the future. All while slowly growing, decorating and building your station.
Better still, there’s no right or wrong way to how you curate your station. Simply select the items you want to place or even the station expansion and watch your station come to life more and more. From there simply maintain them and collect the money from some of the machines and watch your station bloom.
From what I’ve played in the demo, I adored it. It’s certainly a game I can see myself playing when it releases in full. It’s calming, relaxing and stress free. A wonderful little game to unwind with at the end of a busy day.
Currently, Lavender Station is planned to release next year. In the meantime, you can check out the demo later on today until the 27th of July when the game takes part in Steam’s week long Train Fest game event!
This is certainly one game I recommend checking out during the event! If you do take a look at the game, let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
