''Train Valley'' is a
puzzle
A puzzle is a game, problem, or toy that tests a person's ingenuity or knowledge. In a puzzle, the solver is expected to put pieces together ( or take them apart) in a logical way, in order to arrive at the correct or fun solution of the puzzle ...
-
strategy
Strategy (from Greek στρατηγία ''stratēgia'', "art of troop leader; office of general, command, generalship") is a general plan to achieve one or more long-term or overall goals under conditions of uncertainty. In the sense of the " a ...
train simulator
A train simulator (also railroad simulator or railway simulator) is a computer based simulation of rail transport operations. They are generally large complicated software packages modeling a 3D virtual reality world implemented both as comme ...
video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...
developed by
Flazm
Flazm Interactive Entertainment is a Lithuanian video game developer and publisher founded in 2010. It is best known for creating the simulation video games '' Train Valley'' and its sequel, ''Train Valley 2''.
History
Flazm Interactive E ...
, released on September 16, 2015.
It is available for download on
Steam
Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporizat ...
and
iOS
iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also include ...
. A sequel, titled ''
Train Valley 2
''Train Valley 2'' is a puzzle-strategy train simulator video game developed by Flazm as a sequel to '' Train Valley''. It was released in early access on 29 March 2018, and fully released on 13 April 2019.
Gameplay
Cities demand various ...
'', was released on March 29, 2018.
Train Valley: Console Edition was released on
PlayStation 4
The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...
,
Nintendo Switch
The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a tablet that can either be docked for use as a home console or used as a portable device, making it a ...
and
Xbox One
The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...
on July 27, 2022.
Gameplay
The player needs to build railways in order to connect cities. Rails are cheap, except when demolishing houses or other objects. In each level, the player must use railway tracks to connect the different stations on the map to transfer materials between stations, having to manage increasing traffic by constructing crossroads and switches. The main objective of each level is to deliver each train to its destination without going bankrupt, but every level also has three advanced objectives, such as "do not stop trains" or "do not destroy tracks". There are 4 chapters in the base game – Europe (in the time period of 1830–1980), America (1840–1960), USSR (1880–1980) and Japan (1900–2020),
[ with a fifth, Germany (1830–2020), as ]downloadable content
Downloadable content (DLC) is additional content created for an already released video game, distributed through the Internet by the game's publisher. It can either be added for no extra cost or it can be a form of video game monetization, enabli ...
(DLC). All chapters have 6 levels, for a total of 24 levels, plus 6 more in the Germany DLC, bringing the total number of levels to 30.
Development
Flazm
Flazm Interactive Entertainment is a Lithuanian video game developer and publisher founded in 2010. It is best known for creating the simulation video games '' Train Valley'' and its sequel, ''Train Valley 2''.
History
Flazm Interactive E ...
's first railroad game, called ''Railway Valley'', was developed by Alexey Davydov in 2008, inspired by an older game called ''Shortline''. Four years later, two sequels, ''Railway Valley 2'' and ''Railway Valley Missions'', were released. They were downloaded 15 million times.
Development for ''Train Valley'' started in April 2012. At the end of 2013 they showed the game at game conferences and collected user feedback. In November 2014 the game became the winner in the "Family Friendly Game" category at Casual Connect Belgrade.[ During the ]Steam Greenlight
Steam is a video game digital distribution service and storefront by Valve. It was launched as a software client in September 2003 as a way for Valve to provide automatic updates for their games, and expanded to distributing and offering third ...
campaign in August 2014, they got support from over 10,000 players. They then added a new sandbox mode, without money or time limits.
''Train Valley'' entered Steam Early Access
Early access, also known as alpha access, alpha founding, paid alpha, or game preview, is a funding model in the video game industry by which consumers can purchase and play a game in the various pre-release development cycles, such as pre-alp ...
on May 7, 2015, and was fully released on September 16, 2015.[
]
Reception
''Train Valley'' was rated ''Best Family Friendly Game'' at Casual Connect 2014[ and ''Best Game Design'' at Casual Connect 2015, and also received an Indie Prize for ''Best Kids and Family Game''.] It was also nominated for ''Best Indie Game'' and ''Showcase'' at DevGAMM 2014.[
The game received mixed reviews on ]Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
.[ Reviewers liked the idea of placing players in different time periods and locations,][ but found the challenges repetitive.][ ''Train Valley'' was praised for being a game that was easy to learn but hard to master.][ ''GameWatcher'' criticized the game for being repetitive and "without any real ambition", and not making bridges or tunnels available for the player to use when traversing terrain.][
]
References
External links
Official website
{{Portal bar, Video games
2015 video games
Early access video games
IOS games
MacOS games
Puzzle video games
Single-player video games
Simulation video games
Steam Greenlight games
Strategy video games
Transport simulation games
Vehicle simulation games
Video games developed in Lithuania
Windows games