Screenshot: Train Life: A Railway Simulator
Okay,
Train Life might not be the best name for a game that’s about being a train conductor and company director, but I don’t really know what a better name would be. Probably
Railway Simulator was a little too bland, but that’s about what you’re getting here. But instead of merely being the one in the driver’s seat, you’re also running your own transit company.
Train Life: A Railway Simulator is a game all about trains. In it, you play as owner and operator of a train company. Your task is to keep your company in the green. You have the choices to make when it comes to contracts, and even types of freight and passenger services. You decide which direction your company goes, and how to spend the money. It’s an interesting concept that takes the train simulator genre and expands it past merely being a first person train set.
Screenshot: Train Life: A Railway Simulator
While
Train Life is currently a bit barebones, I’m excited to see where it will go. Each train is gorgeously detailed. Each has their own detailed cabin that does a great job of giving you the perspective of a train operator. It is definitely more “simulator” than casual, but still has a very small learning curve — you’d be surprised how easy it is to drive a train. You also might be surprised to discover what challenges arise, too. You’ll also have to deal with unforeseen events, like fallen trees, and broken down trains. While you’re not in the cab, you’ll be making decisions about your company. Each train needs to be maintained, and refueled. You’ll also need to find and accept the contracts that will keep your company in the green.
Since
Train Life is still in Early Access, that means it’s still in active development. According to the Early Access information box on the Steam store page,
Train Life will be in Early Access for at least two to six more months—based on its Early Access release date. The final version will feature thousands of kilometers of track to ride. Right now, there are four different trains you can ride across Germany while delivering passengers and cargo payloads.
Screenshot: Train Life: A Railway Simulator
Train Life: A Railway Simulator is, so far, a decent entry into the niche train simulator market. It’s an alluring title, mostly because it isn’t weighed down by a massive amount of downloadable content and it has a lower entry price while in Early Access. As an Early Access game, there isn’t a ton to do—but it looks great, runs great, and has a ton of potential. You may want to hold off to see how
Train Life’s features develop, but it already has a solid foundation to work off of.
Train Life: A Railway Simulator is
available now on Steam Early Access.
A Steam key was provided to us for this preview