Train Valley

Last updated

Train Valley
Train Valley logo.png
Developer Flazm
Publishers Flazm, Blitworks (Console Edition)
Designer Alexey Davydov
Programmer Sergey Dvoynikov
Artist Timofey Shargorodskiy
Composer Alexander Ahura
Engine
Platforms
Release
September 16, 2015
  • Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux
    • WW: September 16, 2015
  • iOS
    • WW: December 2, 2016
  • PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One
    • WW: July 27, 2022
Genres
Mode Single-player
Screenshot from a level in Train Valley. TrainValley-screen3.jpg
Screenshot from a level in Train Valley.

Train Valley is a puzzle-strategy train simulator video game developed by Flazm, released on September 16, 2015. [1] It is available for download on Steam and iOS. A sequel, titled Train Valley 2 , was released on March 29, 2018. [2] Train Valley: Console Edition was released on PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and Xbox One on July 27, 2022. [2] A third game, titled Train Valley World, was released in 2024. [3] A fourth game, titled Train Valley Origins, was released in 2025. [4]

Contents

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), [5] with a fifth, Germany (1830–2020), as downloadable content (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. [6]

Development

Flazm's first railroad game, called Railway Valley, was developed by Alexey Davydov in 2008, inspired by an older game called Shortline. [7] Four years later, two sequels, Railway Valley 2 and Railway Valley Missions, were released. [8] [9] They were downloaded 15 million times. [10]

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. [10] During the Steam Greenlight campaign in August 2014, they got support from over 10,000 players. [11] They then added a new sandbox mode, without money or time limits. [12]

Train Valley entered Steam Early Access on May 7, 2015, [13] and was fully released on September 16, 2015. [1]

Reception

Train Valley was rated Best Family Friendly Game at Casual Connect 2014 [12] and Best Game Design at Casual Connect 2015, [20] and also received an Indie Prize for Best Kids and Family Game. [21] It was also nominated for Best Indie Game and Showcase at DevGAMM 2014. [12]

The game received mixed reviews on Metacritic. [14] Reviewers liked the idea of placing players in different time periods and locations, [5] but found the challenges repetitive. [17] Train Valley was praised for being a game that was easy to learn but hard to master. [18] 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. [5]

References

  1. 1 2 Alice O'Connor (September 16, 2015). "Choo Choo! Train Valley Leaves Early Access". Rock, Paper, Shotgun . Archived from the original on March 27, 2018. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
  2. 1 2 @TrainValley (March 29, 2018). "Train Valley 2 is finally released in Early Access! If you are lucky owner of TV1 - Don't forget to use you discount coupon!" (Tweet) via Twitter.
  3. Mortensen, Eric. "Train Valley World Indie Video Game Review". geekyhobbies.com. Archived from the original on August 13, 2025. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
  4. Mortensen, Eric. "Train Valley Origins Review". geekyhobbies.com. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
  5. 1 2 3 4 McKeever, Chris (September 21, 2015). "Train Valley PC Review". GameWatcher. Archived from the original on April 3, 2020. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  6. "Version 1.1 + Germany DLC". Train Valley. Archived from the original on August 7, 2017.
  7. "Source of inspiration :: Train Valley General Discussions". Archived from the original on January 11, 2024. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
  8. "Railway Valley 2". Railway Valley. Archived from the original on October 21, 2018. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
  9. "Railway Valley Missions". Railway Valley. Archived from the original on October 11, 2018. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
  10. 1 2 "Who we are?". Train Valley. Archived from the original on September 3, 2017.
  11. "Train Valley has been Greenlit!". Train Valley. Archived from the original on August 7, 2017.
  12. 1 2 3 "Train Valley". Train Valley. Archived from the original on March 8, 2018. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
  13. "The game is out, here's thanks to all the players!". Train Valley. May 9, 2015. Retrieved July 13, 2017 via Steam.
  14. 1 2 "Train Valley (2015) for PC Reviews". Metacritic . Archived from the original on July 28, 2022. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  15. "Train Valley: Console Edition for Switch Reviews". Metacritic . Archived from the original on February 1, 2026. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  16. "Train Valley: Console Edition for Xbox One Reviews". Metacritic . Archived from the original on February 1, 2026. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  17. 1 2 "Рецензия на Train Valley". Riot Pixels (in Russian). January 25, 2016. Archived from the original on June 20, 2017. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
  18. 1 2 González, Alberto (September 27, 2015). "Análisis Train Valley". Vandal (in Spanish). Archived from the original on June 13, 2017. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  19. 1 2 3 "Train Valley". Train Valley. Archived from the original on April 1, 2018. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  20. "Train Valley Presskit". Flazm . Archived from the original on August 7, 2017. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
  21. "Indie Prize". Indie Prize. Archived from the original on July 19, 2017. Retrieved July 19, 2017.