Train Valley

 PC
Train Valley Image
Metascore
69

Mixed or average reviews - based on 6 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
7.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 21 Ratings

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  • Summary: Build railways, manage traffic and stay accident-free. Play in Europe, America, Japan and USSR in 1830-2020. Complete the story mode from the Gold Rush of 1849 to the first manned spaceflight, and then explore the random mode. Management. Construction. Trains.

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 6
  3. Negative: 0 out of 6
  1. Impulsegamer
    Apr 10, 2016
    88
    A puzzling management sim where you direct trains through history and across the globe.
  2. TheSixthAxis
    Oct 14, 2015
    80
    The gameplay is the real winner in Train Valley, as it manages to be both frustrating and addictive, but also incredibly rewarding once you finally complete the mission with all the objectives.
  3. Vandal
    Sep 27, 2015
    75
    Train Valley is one of those games that are easy to learn but hard to master. If you're looking for a game you can play for countless hours, this may be it.
  4. GameWatcher
    Sep 21, 2015
    60
    I like the idea of placing players in different eras and locations, giving them unique tools appropriate to the setting, and seeing what they can do, but at the moment there is just not the depth of play in Train Valley to support that idea.
  5. DarkZero
    Oct 12, 2015
    60
    Train Valley doesn’t do enough to steam into the genre to imprint a mark, but for anyone wanting a quiet game to sit with in an evening, there is enjoyment to be had here.
  6. Riot Pixels
    Jan 25, 2016
    60
    20 missions offer scenery from various eras and places, but the challenge set-up is always the same. Plus, Train Valley really needs a meditative endless mode, which is a must for any decent puzzle video game.

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 6
  3. Negative: 1 out of 6
  1. SickRamen
    Apr 11, 2016
    10
    A perfect crossover between Pipe Dream and Flight Control HD.

    You layout rails to bring a constant flow of trains to their designated    A perfect crossover between Pipe Dream and Flight Control HD.

    You layout rails to bring a constant flow of trains to their designated stations. Very easy concept but gets hectic as more stations spawn around the map and the train numbers increase.

    Each train you deliver will increase your money to build more tracks, and pay the taxes each year (which is very short in game time!). Trains lose worth fast, so don't deliver them fast and you risk going bankrupt.

    You can also launch extra trains at a random location for a fee. Gamble on this option to increase your cash, but abuse it and you'll end up overloading your network which is certain to lead to disaster, or to fun!

    Once you have multiple trains running between stations you'll need to micromanage switches and stop your trains if necessary (losing precious money) to avoid accidents which will always make your trains blow up violently; I think it must be explosives that you are delivering.

    You can play the levels in a variety of styles. Spend loads of cash to build a huge rail network which can support loads of trains running at the same time. Or play it stingy and try to see how many trains you manage to circulate back and forth on a single narrow piece of track. Both methods have their risks and rewards.

    Some of the later maps have special features, such as high speed trains that you cant control or stop, adding to the excitement.

    The campaign is not extremely long, but you have sandbox levels at the end of each stage, and stamp challenges on each level also increase replayability. This can make some easy levels very challenging, for example play the level without using pause, without stopping any train, and launch 10 additional trains.

    The game runs smooth and seamlesly performance wise, and hardly has any bugs. There are 4 (5 with DLC) countries which all have a pleasant and unique visual style, and the trains have some nice variety from around the world. You can see that the devs like their trains, even though this is a puzzle game, not a tycoon one.

    Also the game still receives attention from the devs, patches, and DLC. At the really honest price tag this is sold I can not do anything but recommend Train Valley to everyone!    … Expand
  2. Nixinova
    Aug 7, 2017
    9
    A simple, fun railway management game. The game gets a bit repetitive because its just doing the same thing over and over again, but the newA simple, fun railway management game. The game gets a bit repetitive because its just doing the same thing over and over again, but the new elements and challenges added in each level make that fun.… Expand
  4. TitaniumDragon
    Oct 7, 2017
    7
    Train Valley is an extraordinarily simple and yet oddly satisfying game about connecting up rail stations. The game has extremely simpleTrain Valley is an extraordinarily simple and yet oddly satisfying game about connecting up rail stations. The game has extremely simple controls – you have the ability to build train tracks, to send a ready train out from a train station, to cause a train to get readied up ahead of schedule, to stop a train in its tracks, or to put a train into reverse.

    At it’s heart, this is a puzzle game with very simple resource management. Every time a train reaches its destination, you are rewarded with money. If a train should crash into another train, or run out of track, it will blow up, denying you any money you might have earned from the train. The longer it takes for you to deliver a train to its destination, the less money you earn – and given that deploying a train early costs you money, if you aren’t fast enough on the deployment, you can lose net money in this fashion. Each train has a specific destination, randomly assigned at generation; sending a train to the wrong station will cause it to simply turn around and re-emerge, possibly wrecking havoc with the other trains you’ve got moving around the map.

    Building train tracks costs money, and demolishing obstacles so you can build train tracks costs money.

    Every “year” in game (and the years go by quite fast – the game proceeds very quickly through the years, though it can be paused) you must pay a tax, which depletes your money – run out of money, and it is game over.

    That’s it. There’s really nothing else here. And yet, the game manages to get 24 levels of content out of it.

    The trick to this game is the limitations on rail placement. The rail can go from straight in one tile, to 45 degrees in the next tile, to 90 degrees in the tile after that. Train tracks can cross at perpendicular angles – in which case, trains cannot switch tracks between the routes – or rails can merge together at 45 degree angles, allowing multiple tracks to merge together or to split traffic on the rails apart.

    Thus, the game’s placement of the train stations – 3-8 per map – combined with the obstacles on the map (some can be demolished, albeit sometimes at great expense which makes it unwise to do so, but some – like mountains and rivers – cannot be) and narrow outlets for rail traffic (such as a single bridge or tunnel) make each level a different challenge.

    Simply beating the game is pretty easy; the real challenge of the game is to complete the three optional challenges on each of the levels. These vary from challenges requiring perfect play – never allowing a train to go to the wrong station, never stopping a train, and never allowing a train to crash – to challenges which restrict you in other ways, like not allowing you to demolish more than a certain value of obstacles on the map (requiring you to thread your way between them) or requiring you to earn a certain amount of money (requiring you to deploy many trains early and deliver your trains quickly and consistently to their destination).

    All in all, this game was simple but somehow quite satisfying. It isn’t anything overly complicated, or extraordinarily difficult, but it felt like just the right amount of challenge to be enjoyable without being brainless. Each level takes about 20 minutes to complete, which makes for a nice little bite-sized challenge, and 100%ing the game might take somewhere in the realm of 12 hours or so, as you replay some of the levels to try and complete the more difficult challenges.

    If you enjoy puzzle games with some minor resource management, this might be up your alley. If you prefer more active games, though, this might feel a bit too passive; while you do have control over what is going on, and sometimes you need to switch things up fairly fast, this is more like a management sim than an action game. And if you’re looking for a story, look elsewhere; there is nothing here but simple train puzzles.    … Expand
  5. griefin
    Mar 29, 2019
    7
    Easy and relaxing puzzle game. Never asked for extraordinary skills, but getting all 3 stamps on some of the maps took me more than one try.Easy and relaxing puzzle game. Never asked for extraordinary skills, but getting all 3 stamps on some of the maps took me more than one try. For train fanatics is a must in collection, for others may be kinda repetitive.… Expand
  6. DSMCasey
    May 23, 2016
    5
    I was expecting a game more similar to Railroad Tycoon or Sid Meier's Railroads, this game is a bit different. It is more about micromanagingI was expecting a game more similar to Railroad Tycoon or Sid Meier's Railroads, this game is a bit different. It is more about micromanaging your trains and not about the overall big picture. I finished the tutorial but just found the game lacking in the fun department.… Expand
  7. malcolmm
    Jul 16, 2016
    4
    I wasn't expecting a Sid Mier, Railroad Tycoon type game, so I thought I knew what I was getting. Unfortunately, what I got was a horribleI wasn't expecting a Sid Mier, Railroad Tycoon type game, so I thought I knew what I was getting. Unfortunately, what I got was a horrible puzzle game with an atrocious interface and a useless tutorial.

    I've played pretty much all the strategy train games available on the PC and this is by far the worst. I requested a refund from Steam.    … Expand

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