Last game of Nacon's line up that I have seen, Train Life is part of the publisher's series of "Life" titles, offering the opportunity to discover a profession. Here, that of a train driver!
The objective is to offer a casual experience, without pushing the realism too far, which other simulation games in the sector know how to do very well. A big part of the gameplay involves managing your transport company, with different locomotives to buy and tasks to assign to your employees. The scenario adopts an interventionist side, but nothing prevents you from letting yourself be carried away, and playing freely, to browse the huge map of Europe which references most of the major cities: London, Paris, Frankfurt, Luxembourg, Nürnberg...
A real economy is simulated with a whole production chain to respect. The raw materials are taken in the mines, and delivered to the factories which in turn manufacture products, to be taken to other factories, and so on, until the finished product. Contracts reduce the hassle of thinking, as the details indicate what to take, how much to take, and where. Then comes into account a notion of time limit, which obliges to perform the task in a certain window to obtain all the rewards. This can lead to a preference for simple deliveries, which offer complete freedom on where to bring which goods. It is also possible to transport passengers and mail. On the other hand, it would seem that the mechanisms of this aspect are much less advanced, which led us during the demo to only do freight transport. So I can't talk too much about that aspect.
Cities have three levels, and progress as deliveries are made. This opens the choice to other quests. As the world is far too big for one person, it is very quickly possible to rely on its employees, for a maximum of ten people. We therefore manage a fleet of locomotives, which must be supplied and maintained. The game does not yet include a lot of licenses. Some locomotives are inspired by real machines, while taking enough liberties to avoid any legal problems. The only brand that has agreed to be featured in Train Life is Newag Griffin (a Polish manufacturer).
Once at the controls of his train, the signs try to be as realistic as possible, with the interface helping to read the signs. It is always amusing to see the lights turn red the very moment our train enters a track, thus marking its presence to any other vehicles. Then, I didn't really test in detail, but it seems that the simulation is really light, without any real consequence of errors and infringements. For example, we went to Luxembourg station without having any reason to go there, and we received a fine of only €500, while the salary for our delivery was in the tens of thousands of euros. A ridiculous sum compared to the profits made, which therefore encourages you not to follow the limitations and other signals!
Already available in early access on Steam for about a year, the game was officially released on August 25 and will arrive on consoles on September 2. If you want to get into rail freight, it's here:
