While not all of them feature the same style of play, reflecting on the library of indie games out there I’m surprised to see that titles involving trains in some way are actually well-represented. While some are more sim-oriented, with you operating them, or even using them for battle, Rail Route and a few others are more focused on their intricate management. While its minimalist look may drive some people away, if you’re willing to give it some time it absolutely delivers a great sandbox-style challenge.

Starting with the fact that the game’s pretty extensive tutorial is handled with a storytelling element, there’s no question the developers just went their own way with the game’s design. As you’ll be taking the reins to control the local railways from an older operator who is set to retire, you’ll be walked through many of the game’s interfaces and intricacies as you come to understand how to both manage and operate the tracks and the trains running on them. While this makes things start out a little on the slow side, it’s honestly necessary, as once you begin trying to get more ambitious by adding more lines, trains, and then automation to the mix things get complicated, and without the fundamentals you’d risk getting overwhelmed even more. Once you’ve got a grasp of everything, then it’s a matter of exploring the many stations and scenarios that will challenge the new skill sets you’ve developed, and if you enjoy sandbox-style play this should be very appealing.

One of the aspects of play that isn’t quite as positive though is definitely the controls and interfaces. While they are manageable, and you’ll get used to them, they really do feel like they were designed for the PC and using a mouse. With a controller, the pointer controls and navigating between screens is still functional, but I also wouldn’t consider it ideal. Perhaps with the Switch 2 and mouse control support there could have been a happier option, but since this is a game made for Switch that unfortunately isn’t on the table. I’ll admit that there were instances initially where the minimalist look of the game also confused me as I wouldn’t be allowed to perform specific actions but was left confused as to why. With no visual feedback, or text helping me understand what I was doing wrong, it left me a little irritated, though over time I was able to get more used to some of the game’s underlying rules better.

While this isn’t a bad game, and for people who don’t mind its look and more open-ended sandbox-style nature it may be a great fit, it also made me reflect on another series out there in the same vein. The Train Valley series offers a very similar experience overall, allowing for active management of trains and things like building out stations and routes, but is also more structured overall in its design. While not offering up the opportunity to scale up and build more impressive lines like you can with Rail Route, I found that it did a great job of scratching the train and management itch, while also looking more visually polished and being more approachable. Depending on your tastes you may find either to be superior, but in my mind while I appreciate the path Rail Route chose to go down, I think it comes out as good but not particularly great.