Trainfort is a bit of a complicated game to quickly pitch, but I think that’s a good thing. In this forthcoming title, you’ll create a dwarf and be thrust into a harsh world with nothing but a tablet, backpack, and toolbelt at your disposal to begin molding the world into a hospitable place for you and your friends.
Sure, there are other games that fit into thissurvival/crafting/sandboxcategory, but Trainfort takes things further. It presents a technological progression system that goes from you only being able to craft rudimentary, caveman-esque tools,all the way to engines and massive structures by the end.
10 Best Open World Survival Games
How can I survive off of grass and dropped frames?
I recently was able to preview Trainfort, and I came away from the demo with positive impressions overall. This up-to-four-player co-op experience seems like it’ll be filled with tons of memorable (and potentially hilarious) moments you’ll betalking about with your crew for years to come.
Let’s dig into what sets this survival-heavy base-building game apart from the others.
A Complicated World Of Resources And Survival
After a character creation screen where I custom-built my dwarf avatar, I woke up in a destroyed train, naked and alone. From there,the game was immediately pretty open-ended. With only a tablet in hand, I was given some basic objectives to get my journey off on the right foot.
These things were as simple as finding clothes to wear, crafting an axe, and figuring out how to boil some water for safe consumption. This prompted me to notice that I had multiple meters to pay attention to for my character. In addition to your standard health and stamina, I’d also have to think about thirst and hunger in order to survive in Trainfort.
The train I woke up inside was parked in a giant warehouse-like building, so my next natural thought was to explore the premises and scrounge around for anything helpful that I could find.
Quickly, I noticed another unique feature of Trainfort.The game is built around an almost VR-like functionality. Your hands float around in front of you, and you have to reach and stoop to grab items around you in order to actually use them. Additionally, the wheel of your mouse acts as a way to bring objects closer and farther away from you as you hold them.
In addition to your standard health and stamina, I’d also have to think about thirst and hunger in order to survive in Trainfort.
You’ll have to move your hands precisely to press buttons on equipment, including your giant backpack which doubles as a workbench and massive storage container. It all results in a vibe that makes Trainfort feel like a physics game at heart too, adding yet another layer on top of everything else that’s ultimately going on here.
Eventually, you’ll reach the massive open world of Trainfort, which is actuallyprocedurally generatedand full of crazy surprises.After climbing to the top of a nearby crane, I was able to spot a weird, alien-looking tentacle in the distance, signifying something I should surely go investigate.
My backpack came preloaded with some item crafting recipes, so I was also able to gather items in the vicinity of this starting area and begin making my progress towards becoming a dwarf more likely to survive in this giant open space. From here, the loop of the game began to take more shape. Gather, craft, build, explore, investigate, survive, and figure it out for yourself.
The Promise Of Chaotic Co-Op
While I didn’t get to experience any multiplayer action in my demo of Trainfort, I can absolutely see how this feature would result in a chaotic, exciting experience. Coordinating resource management and structure building with your buddies seems primed to be rewarding, and it’ll be exciting to see what base structures people are able to come up with.
Even solo, I’d come across random things, likehostile wolves that would attack me, or docile hogs that I could cut to pieces with an axe to have some food to keep myself going.Wandering around with some pals and taking on a pack of wolves with our rudimentary, physics-based, hand-crafted axes would surely be a good time.
But the potential action doesn’t stop there. At that alien-looking tentacle I mentioned earlier, I was surprised to see a group of zombies moseying around. Of course, I approached them, and of course, they killed me nearly immediately, since I didn’t have the proper gear to take on a horde on my own.
I don’t know what else lurks in the distance of Trainfort, but it’s fun to think that it could simply be… anything. I can see a ton of potential enjoyment in just wandering around andseeing what I can find with my friends.
Once you really get into the crafting and building side of things, you’re even able topack up your actual base, take it with you, and migrate somewhere elseif you’re ready for a change of scenery.
I don’tthinkthere’s really a win condition for Trainfort. Instead, it really just seems to be fun and chaotic sandbox action you’ll have with your group.It feels like a game you could pretty easily sink dozens and dozens of hours into,especiallyonce you nail down the crafting and survival loop as you explore the massive world.
Why I’m Excited For More
The idea of advancing technology as you build more and more complex equipment is a very interesting mechanic. Starting out simply crafting axes and water ladles, it’s a little insane to think about eventually crafting entire steam engines, vehicles, and other machinery.
This is sure to be a nice, tangible progression system to gauge your standing in the world as you work towards more complex builds and designs, unlike other similar titles that keep you more or less in the same technology timeline throughout.
The game does seem a little complex on the surface, butthe design is still really creative and intuitiveonce you start to come to grips with the harsh world you’re dropped into and all of its unique quirks and mechanics.
I think physically loading up your backpack and tool belt with resources and items in the world is an awesome idea. There’s just something extra satisfying about lugging around a trash bag full of plastic parts and dropping it into your giant pouch andseeing it take up physical, tangible space in your backpack.
I can see this title being a fun enough solo experience, but the true joy is sure to come from finding a group of three other friends to have some chaotic adventures with. This seems like a title that will thrive on the water-cooler talk, story-sharing nature of certain video games.
Remember that one time we were building a base when a horde of zombies showed up and murdered us all? Yeah, those were the days.
If you’re interested in learning more about Trainfort, you canwishlist the game on its Steam pageright now and keep up with developer updates as the game rolls closer to an eventual release.
8 Best Pixel-Art Survival Games
The cutesy art style doesn’t make survival any easier!
WHERE TO PLAY
Trainfort is an open-world co-op survival crafting game. As a dwarf nomad, hit the road of this post-apocalyptic world with your bearded mates. Build a moving steam engine, pack your base with you, and explore the wilderness. The country is big, your legs are short, but you gotta keep moving!
Survive the post-apocalyptic wasteland, build your base, and advance your technology with resources in the land’s far reaches.
Game features:
• Experience a groundbreaking character controller
• Explore the post-apocalyptic steampunk open world
• Massive world map that is procedurally constructed from handcrafted tiles
• Craftable gear, transport, and movable bases
