- Challenging strategic puzzles require careful planning.
- Relaxing gameplay with a meditative atmosphere.
- Appealing visual style enhances the experience.
- Unlockable trains add progression and variety.
- Significant bugs negatively impact gameplay experience.
- Unclear mechanics and objectives confuse players.
Verdict
Mostly positive
Summary
Positive 85% · Negative 15%. Score: 15 / 100
Positives:
- The game provides engaging and challenging puzzles that require strategic thinking and planning. Players find the gameplay addictive due to its complexity and the mental workout it provides.
- The game offers a relaxing and meditative experience, suitable for unwinding. Players appreciate its chill and cozy gameplay, making it perfect for short sessions or playing on devices like the Steam Deck.
- The game features a visually appealing and brightly stylized design that simplifies navigation. Players appreciate the cool and charming art style, which enhances the overall experience.
- The game features a pleasant atmosphere enhanced by enjoyable music and audio-visual elements. The soundtrack is well-received and doesn't become repetitive, even after multiple retries.
- The game features a level progression system with star challenges and unlockable trains. Players can unlock trains by completing level tasks and gaining experience, adding depth and variety to the gameplay.
Negatives:
- Many reviewers feel the game is a simplified, less polished version of Train Valley 2, with some even calling it a 'dumbed-down mobile version'. They cite inferior level design, graphics, and reduced gameplay depth as reasons for their disappointment, especially given its marketing as a new game.
- Players report encountering numerous bugs, including game freezes, unresponsive controls, and issues with path construction and train behavior. These bugs can prevent completing playthroughs and significantly detract from the overall experience.
- Several reviewers found the game mechanics and objectives unclear, particularly regarding train schedules and winning conditions. The lack of a well-thought-out tutorial exacerbates this issue, making it difficult for new players to grasp the core gameplay loop.
- Some reviewers find the graphics to be of poor quality or too childish. The cutesy visual style can also be misleading, as it clashes with the game's stressful and difficult gameplay.
- The game's visual design suffers from poor color choices for stations, making it difficult to distinguish between them. Additionally, the interface for tracking train destinations and cargo is unclear, leading to player confusion.
Gameplay:
- The core gameplay revolves around building tracks, managing train traffic, and preventing accidents like derailments and explosions. Trains deliver resources, but may go to the wrong stations, adding a layer of complexity as players work to reroute them efficiently.
- The game features short play sessions, typically lasting only 5-8 minutes. This makes it suitable for quick bursts of gameplay.
Performance:
- The game suffers from freezing issues. These freezes can occur at any time, sometimes allowing a level restart, but other times forcing a complete game restart, disrupting the player experience.
- The game was built using the Unity engine. While this is a factual statement, it doesn't provide specific feedback on the game's quality or gameplay, so it's not very important on its own.
Recommendations:
- While opinions vary, the game is generally recommended, especially for fans of the series or similar titles like Mini Metro. Some find it a worthwhile experience despite flaws, while others suggest replaying older installments instead.
- The game is considered a good entry point for newcomers to the series, while also appealing to longtime fans. It offers something for both audiences.
- This point expresses well wishes to the developers for the game's release. It does not provide any specific feedback on the game itself.
Miscellaneous:
- The game contains excessive, non-essential information about locomotives that doesn't contribute to the core gameplay experience. While some players might appreciate the added detail, others may find it overwhelming or irrelevant.
- These points express simple gratitude towards the developers, but lack specific feedback or constructive criticism. As such, they do not provide actionable insights for improvement.
