Train Valley Origins Review

The first Train Valley game was released almost ten years ago. I have been a big fan of the Train Valley franchise ever since the first game. The idea of guiding trains to their destination may not sound all that interesting, but in action the games are really compelling. I was actually kind of surprised when I saw that the newest title in the series, Train Valley Origins, was coming out. As a big fan of the series, I was excited to check it out. 

Each game in the Train Valley series has kept the same core gameplay, but has its own emphasis and has tweaked the mechanics. The original Train Valley was mostly about guiding trains to their target station. You were responsible for building tracks between the stations, and then turning the switches to make the trains travel along the tracks to get to a destination station. The key was to juggle several trains at the same time while trying to avoid them crashing into one another. 

A few years later Train Valley 2 came out. Train Valley 2 took a lot of the mechanics from the original game and built on them. While you still had to guide trains to their final destination, the game had a tycoon/business element to it. You send trains between different stations to deliver goods that are refined into new materials. You basically maintain a supply chain of different train stations. Train Valley 2 was my favorite game in the series as this business/tycoon mechanic was really satisfying. Last year the third game in the series, Train Valley World, came out. This focused even more on the tycoon elements as you had to focus less on guiding the individual trains, and instead focus more on building the trade routes between the different stations. 

I talked about the previous games in the Train Valley series as I think it is a good way to talk about the gameplay of Train Valley Origins. If I had to compare Train Valley Origins to the previous games in the series, I would say that it feels like a combination of Train Valley and Train Valley 2. Of the two I would say that it shares more in common with the original game than Train Valley 2. Basically the gameplay feels like if you took Train Valley and added in some of the quality of life upgrades from Train Valley 2. Unfortunately all of the tycoon elements (delivering materials) of Train Valley 2 have been removed. 

The core gameplay of Train Valley Origins is built around constructing tracks between stations. Building the tracks is quite easy. You just choose a start position and then drag to each space that you want to place a track. Building tracks requires cash which you earn by helping trains reach their destination. Obviously there are some limits to placing tracks as you can’t turn the tracks too sharply. When two tracks intersect, a switch is created. Each space in the world can only switch between two different tracks. Therefore if you need the ability to move a train to tracks going in three or more directions, you need to put thought in how you design your tracks. 

After you build your tracks, you have to guide the trains to their destination. Periodically trains arrive in one of the stations with an icon on them. You need to guide them to the station that matches the icon on top of them. This involves turning each switch to create a path to the target station. You can choose when you want a train to leave a station. If you wait too long the train will just leave on its own. When you have multiple trains out on the tracks at the same time, you need to guide them so they don’t crash into one another. You can click on a train to stop it, and can even send them in reverse. If you need time to plan, you can also pause the game. 

The goal of each level is to get a designated number of trains to their destination. Each level has a few additional challenges to complete in order to earn stars. Each level has three different time goals for completing the level. There are two additional challenges for each level. These change up how you approach a level. Some involve you sending trains quicker which forces you to handle more trains at the same time. Some levels challenge you not to stop or reverse trains. Others make you build a certain number of bridges/tunnels or avoiding destroying items on the map with your construction. Finally some require you to send a certain number of trains through a specific area on the map. 

Honestly I have really enjoyed playing Train Valley Origins. I don’t think it is quite as good as Train Valley 2, but it likely is my second favorite game in the series.  I do miss the tycoon/supply chain elements of creating more advanced goods from Train Valley 2. Other than that though, it still has all of the mechanics I have always really enjoyed about the series.

The game is really simple to pick up and play. Like the other games in the series, it really excels at being a laid back game. You can easily place track pieces by dragging along the path you want to complete. Moving the trains around involves clicking on the switches to create the path that you want. While some of the time challenges can be kind of tight, if you use the pause feature you can always plan out what you want to do. The time challenges are optional anyway. If you like the laid back feeling of the previous games, you will feel right at home with Train Valley Origins. 

I think the thing I like the most about Train Valley Origins is it still retains that puzzle feel. The levels are designed in a way where you need to try and find the best way to create routes to quickly and efficiently move trains to their destination. There is planning required to create paths between each station that don’t require you to constantly make trains go in reverse to get to their destination. Like the rest of the Train Valley games, it is really satisfying figuring out the best way to construct the routes. I wouldn’t consider the game to be particularly challenging (more on this later). I still got a sense of accomplishment when I created good routes and was able to safely direct quite a few trains at the same time. 

Train Valley Origins was a really enjoyable experience. I will say that I was disappointed that the tycoon elements of Train Valley 2 weren’t included though. I liked the gameplay loop of taking a basic good and having to transport it between different stations in order to transform it into a more advanced goods in order to complete the objectives of the level. Instead you are just moving trains between different stations. It feels like it is completely random what stations trains want to move between. The gameplay is still really fun, but it just feels like something is missing without the tycoon mechanics of Train Valley 2. In a way the gameplay can feel a little samey after a while. Each level has its own little challenges, but the gameplay remains mostly the same between each level. 

For the most part I would say that Train Valley Origins is on the easier side. I currently have gotten five stars on the first 30 levels. Outside of maybe one level, it wasn’t really all that hard to get five stars. I have played all of the previous Train Valley games though, so that may have something to do with it. Because of this, I already had a good idea on how best to approach each level. This made it easier to figure out how to build the tracks. I also used the pause button quite a bit as I am the type of player that likes to plan out what to do without having to worry about the time running in the background. If you barely use the pause button, some of the time challenges will probably be pretty challenging.

Otherwise the other challenges are interesting in that they make you approach levels in ways you normally wouldn’t. These are fun challenges, but they usually aren’t very challenging. The game being on the easy side is not necessarily a bad thing. It works well with the more laid back feel of the game. If you have played other games from this genre before though and want a challenge, you may be disappointed. 

As for the length, Train Valley Origins seems to give you quite a bit. So far I have finished 30 of the 40 levels. It has taken me around 7-8 hours to complete the first 30 levels. I have five starred each level though, and I am the type of player that probably pauses more often than I need to. I would guess it would take at least ten to fifteen hours to beat all of the levels. The game is supposed to get a level creator in the first major update. It currently isn’t in the game so I can’t comment on it. I am excited to see what the level editor has to offer since it could potentially add a ton of extra content to the game. 

For the most part Train Valley Origins is what I expected it to be. It doesn’t drastically change the gameplay from the previous games, but it didn’t really have to. It kept the same fun laid gameplay the series is known for. Each level feels like its own little puzzle as you try to figure out the best routes to connect all of the different stations. Leading several trains to their final destinations at the same time while avoiding crashes is still quite satisfying. I do miss the tycoon elements of Train Valley 2 though, which prevent it from being quite a good as the second game. The game does feel kind of easy at times as well. You should get quite a bit of enjoyment out of the 40 levels though, and even more once the level editor is added in a future update. 

My recommendation for Train Valley Origins is pretty simple. If the series has never really interested you or you didn’t care for the first two games in the series, I don’t see Train Valley Origins changing your mind. If you are a fan of the series though, I think you will really enjoy Train Valley Origins, and should pick it up.