Voidtrain Review (Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5 & PC)

I’m aboard a locomotive-less platform, bound for the great gloom and without the fuel to power the freight, frantically searching for wood and scrap metal whilst simultaneously battling to stretch the end of the slack. It’s a cold, almost lonely abyss, and frankly, if I didn’t have the company of an ultraviolet creature with what I believe to be magical powers and a Merlin hat, I’d probably have thrown myself into the void a long, long time ago. Yet, even with all odds against me, and even without a destination to travel to, I’m still here, repeating the same descents into zero gravity as I have been since the beginning. The train is, well, it’s rolling in the right direction. Sorry, the only direction that it can travel, that is. And as for everything else, well, I’ve certainly been in trickier situations.

It’s a quiet place. Heck, if it weren’t for the acoustic undertones and annoyingly contagious smile of the train’s only proper attendant, it wouldn’t be all that far from purgatory. But, there’s something special about this place—a seemingly endless track; a train that has the capacity to acquire troves upon troves of upgrades; and a mysterious intergalactic void that fosters copious amounts of otherworldly curiosities and technological advancements beyond my wildest dreams. It’s all here, somewhere, waiting for me to capture it and, more importantly, utilize it to evolve the locomotive. The process is painfully slow, true. However, the more I obtain, and the more I throw myself into the unknown, the farther I get to that ever-elusive destination. I just wish I knew where that destination was. At this point, I’m not sure if I ever will.

Endless Rails

Voidtrain is a first-person survival-crafting game in which you, the engineer who has been miraculously absorbed by a curious portal, manage and develop an on-rails locomotive in a zero gravity environment. As such, the goal that you have (at least in the beginning) is rather black and white: disembark from the shoddy plank of wood that you call a train, and collect wood and scrap metal to create items, including a smelter, a workbench, a container, and a research table. What comes after all of this is, in all honesty, reminiscent of a traditional rags-to-riches sim à la Stranded Deep. If that doesn’t ring a bell for you, then just know this: materials amount to research points, and research points amount to locomotive upgrades, decor, and workbench blueprints. And yes, the goal is to build a train. It’s DREDGE, but on the rails, basically.

Of course, if you were hoping to climb aboard a game that spells everything out for you, then you might want to give this one a wide berth. The truth is, while the game does feature some dialogue and narration, the bulk of the experience isn’t quite as linear or as “on-rails” as you might expect. No, if anything, it’s a game that shows you the basics, and then simply asks that you branch out and construct till your heart’s content. There are materials to gather, landmarks to explore, and, weirdly, enemies to thwart. But, the latter isn’t important here; it’s about building your locomotive and acquiring the necessary upgrades and tools to traverse the oceanic gloom.

If, by now, you’re wondering whether or not there is a point to any of this — no, there isn’t. Or at least, it’s easy to be fooled into thinking that there is something waiting for you on the other side of the tracks. The simple truth here, though, is that while there are goals for you to achieve, the journey bends to your limits and yours alone. It’s cozy, albeit a little dull at times, and it is incredibly slow. But, that isn’t to say that it’s bad. Different, is the word I’m looking for. We’ll stick with that.

The End of the Line

An on-rails experience at heart, the game doesn’t allow you to travel much further than the end of your tether—a bind that refrains you from disconnecting from the train. And to be honest, a lot of the game is exactly that: aimlessly soaring in tandem with the train and gathering materials before bringing them back to the platform to fashion more upgrades, compartments, tools, and even weapons to fend off enemies that, without flaunting any spoilers, make an appearance a little later down the line.

There is a bit of combat to onboard here, too. Granted, it isn’t quite as fleshed out as the train-building system, and the gunplay can be awfully spongey and wooden. That said, the brief bouts that you eventually encounter when you’re not on the locomotive are, in all fairness, a sight for sore eyes, and not to mention a welcome addition to an otherwise A-to-B journey. It’s still an on-rails affair that sticks to the length of its tether, but the fact that it occasionally opens up a portal to allow you to stretch your legs and explore platforms and accrue troves of rarities is a testament in itself.

All in all I’d say that there is a brilliant game here. Sure, it’s slow and a tad repetitive, and it doesn’t do much to elevate the basic bone structure of its plot. That said, it is a durable experience that feels both oddly rewarding and satisfying to work through. It isn’t a perfect game, but it does more than enough to keep you motivated throughout the duration of its void-wide interrailing adventure.

Verdict

Voidtrain delivers an on-rails experience that, while not the crème de la crème of locomotive-powered survival-crafting expeditions, harbors some great ideas and a satisfying progression hook that makes you want to explore and edge closer toward that all-important platform. It’s a little slow and tedious to begin with, I’ll admit. However, it’s one of those things—an experience that you gradually learn to love as you spend more time with it. The more you obtain, and the greater the upgrades you research, the better the journey becomes. It’s finding the time and patience to unlock those platforms, that’s the tough part.

If you can muster up the energy to gradually increase your repertoire of steam-powered mechanisms and materials, then you should be able to find a solid endgame here. More to the point, if you enjoy crafting games like Stranded Deep or Subnautica, as well as survival games that make a habit of keeping their best secrets hidden behind progression-locked milestones and a plethora of upgrades, then you will probably enjoy tethering yourself to this freight train for a dozen or more hours.

Again, the gunplay here is a little wooden, and the platform-hopping segments can become a little dull and repetitive after so many hours of traversing the skyline. However, if you can gloss over the minor flaws and focus on the breadth of the journey—the construction and maintenance of a well-oiled train, that is—then you should find more than enough to keep you railing on for days, weeks, perhaps even months.