Game: Tails of Trainspot
Genre: Puzzle, Training, Study
System: Nintendo Switch (also on Steam, Windows & Mac OS)
Developers | Publishers: Poly Poly Games
Age Rating: US E | EU 3+
Price: US $11.99 | UK £9.89 | EU € 11,99
Release Date: June 16th, 2023
Review code used, with many thanks to Poly Poly Games.
Tails of Trainspot is a puzzle game about connecting the trains to the correct station and helping animal residents and products connect. The game is already released on the Nintendo Switch, with the Steam version releasing on July 31st, 2023.
Connect The Rails
At the beginning of the game, you are introduced to the story and a couple of characters and shown the basics of playing the game. In theory, Tails of Trainspot is an easy game; however, putting that theory into practice does involve a challenge.
The game is set in the Packan Islands, which is the new manufacturing and production centre for the industrial age. However, Packan Island isn’t equipped with an excellent transport network and Island Railway is born to cope with the demand for transporting goods.
Help Timo and Toby
That’s where you come in; with the help of rookie engineers Timo and Toby, you’ll connect the tracks to the correct train station and make sure the manufactured goods can get through. Along the way, you will meet new characters and complete some mini-games.
The main gameplay presents you with a puzzle to connect numbered stations via train tracks, and you must stay within budget, shown in the top left corner of the screen. The map has stations marked with numbers ranging from one to eight, indicating the number of rails required to reach the station.
Follow the Rules
In addition, like any puzzle game, there are rules that you must follow. For instance, the tracks can only be laid vertically or horizontally between two stations. Also, the tracks can not cross over each other, and you must connect all stations correctly before moving on to the next puzzle.
Tails of Trainspot’s gameplay is simple enough to understand, and the initial puzzles are pretty easy to complete. Then the difficulty increases when you have up to eight stations to connect, though I never felt frustrated, just challenged, which is how a puzzle game should be.
Meet New Characters
Furthermore, in the regular story mode, you’ll meet new characters, and the storyline is quite good; it was also interesting enough to keep me amused until the end of the game. Additionally, the game offers an endless and ranking challenge mode, allowing you to challenge your puzzle-solving skills to the fullest.
Mini-games include making bento boxes, running a drink bar, and rolling sausage dice. They break up the main gameplay and are fun while they last. However, I could have done without the mini-games and had more stations to connect puzzles.
Visuals and Controls
Visually the game is bright and colourful. All the characters speak, though it’s gibberish and is reminiscent of how the characters in Animal Crossing speak.
You use the joy-con to control the game on the Nintendo Switch. I was surprised that the developer didn’t use the touchscreen as it would be a great way to play the game using your finger to lay the tracks.
Primarily, the controls work as they should, though a few times the game took a second to recognise that I wanted to lay a track from one particular station to another, though it’s nothing game-breaking.
Conclusion
Tails of Trainspot is an enjoyable puzzle game for all ages. The storyline is fun and engaging, and the puzzles are challenging without frustrating the player while completing them. For fans of puzzle games, I’d recommend helping to place the tracks and giving Tails of Trainspot a go.
Final Verdict: I Like it a Lot 