Trainz Trouble

its so cool its about controlling a train like a train commander!

Trainz Trouble is an older mobile app from 2014. It's a venerable 10 years old at the time of this review. This is a simple pathing puzzle mobile app (sold as "Trainz Crisis" on the app stores) where you're given a grid with various stop signals and rail switches. You have to tap on the rail switches and stops to ensure all the trains get where they need to go without running into each other or obstacles. Shallow stuff, but it seems the developer is hell bent on copy + pasting this mobile app onto Steam as much as possible... there's several copy + paste + renames of this mobile app on Steam and a lot of "DLC" (for a mobile app??). None of which is delivering a great deal of value to gamers.

From a technical perspective, as a mobile app, this doesn't meet basic minimum requirements that most PC gamers expect as standard.

The mobile app features low-polygon assets with cartoony, mobile app style shader effects, making this look like a barely functional mobile app from 15 years ago. This visual style is a method that lazy devs often use when they have a lack of interest/capabilty to create highly detailed, high poly models and instead use shader effects to disguise that shortcoming under the name of "art", or "We made it look bad on purpose", which really isn't something gamers should have to put up with. It's unclear why the developers weren't willing to arrange high quality, high polygon count contemporary assets and high resolution textures for the mobile app. It's far below the state of the art visuals gamers expect as a result of their decisions.

The controls can't be customised because the game has such a dumbed down, simplified interface that it's just iPhone screen tapping stuff. In fact, the mobile app port is so lazy they didn't bother changing the word "Tap" for the UI interactions. Lazy. Who do they think we are? The fact that the interface is this dumbed down might be seen as a problem in itself, however... this is a fairly shallow experience if you're the kind of gamer that likes to play games with deep, rich control schemes and interaction. You'll get none of that here.

Because this is a mobile app, it carries a number of deliberate design deficiencies. Compromises were made to cater to the iPhones that the mobile app was designed for. These are unfortunate handicaps and limitations that PC gamers shouldn't be forced to accept, but it's evident that PC was an afterthought for the iPhone developers who are to blame for this. The mobile app is deficient as a result of these choices, and would have been so much better without the handicaps that designing games for mobile phones forces upon a game. Once more, mobile devs have made gaming worse for everyone. I didn't spend thousands on building a gaming rig just so I could pretend it's an iPhone.

These technical defects push this mobile app below acceptable standards for any modern PC game.

The poor quality of this mobile app is reflected by how many people spent time with it. At the time of this review, SteamDB shows the all-time peak player number was only 7 players. This is a remarkably low number, and now, the only player activity occurs once or twice a month, presumably someone loading it up to see what it is then quickly uninstalling it. Considering there's over 120 million gamers on Steam and well over 100,000 games for gamers to choose from, the overwhelming lack of interest in this low quality mobile app is to be expected.

So, should you buy this mobile app? Is this one of the best of the 100,000+ games on Steam?

Trainz Trouble is relatively cheap at $2 USD, but it's not worth it. Given the defects and quality issues with the mobile app, coupled with the unrealistic price, this is impossible to recommend. This is also competing with over 11,000 free games available on Steam, many of them far better than this paid product.

This game might be a bit old but it's one of the best little train puzzle games out there, and it's very cheap too.

Fun and awesome puzzle with trains. Always love the puzzles more when trains are involved!!! Must try from the Trainz series. If you had played Train Crisis even more fun and nostalgia. Definitely recommended from me!!!

Its good for a short puzzle game

it hardest levels on this game easy levels

It literally doesn't work. It's a bad mobile game hashed together in unity and whichever intern was in charge of doing the minimal porting job to PC screwed up the menu so the buttons don't work. GG

This is a real good Train Puzzle game! And a great introduction for me to the Trainz Gamez (see what i did there?) but then again, this isn't actually a Trainz game, right? But real good nonetheless! but that one car in the UK that stops too close to the crossing gate, is that a bug or not? If it is a bug, I can get past it. Very good!

I'm done. Just done. This dumb-as-crap rage-filled game is broken as frick. I'm trying not to swear, but trust me, I would say every cuss word in the English dictionary 20 times if I could. There is ALWAYS this annoying-as-crap car in one of the UK levels that always stops too close to the crossing gate. Therefore, the train crashes into that car and the level is basically impossible because of that one bug.

I love it SOOOOO much fun puzzle game. Also if you are reading this and have not played the game.. well.......Play it!

Nice N3V Game! I first played Train Crisis on my old phone back when I was incredibly younger, and this brings back so much memories! Quite challenging puzzle game!

Need to start in windowed mode to 'unlock' the buttons of the game to play it in full screen mode (seriously?)

Aside from that, it's a real kids 'puzzle' game. So simple that a 3 year old toddler can play it.

Option to start game has been removed, please remove from sale Steam.

Garbage. Never works. It impossible to load up and is so glitchy. The I-pad version is better. Horrible clone of train crisis. buy train crisis instead.

This game is basically the decent Trainz game made by N3V as it doesn't have any game destroying bugs, like Trainz A Buggy Era has...

I don't review many games but I had to review this one. This is just so much fun. I am a 43 year old bloke sitting there routing trains round things and having an amazing time. I've played all sorts of games like this over the years and this is one of my favourites. It starts off simple but gets progressively harder. I do have to say that I finished all of the levels in a little over two days of on and off gameplay so it's not going to last you forever but it's just such a brilliant and fun game.

Totally recommended if you can get this game to start! I first bought it back in January 2016 and what I saw of it was addictively enjoyable with excellent graphics. Then around nine months later it abruptly stopped working and I am not the only one to have been affected by whatever has happened to this game. Shame because until then the game was scoring very highly with me but now it will not even start well what can I say. Except of course 0/5!

As you can see i have played the game for 5 hours and all completed

Good diversion for a brain teaser. Many of the later levels will need to be played dynamically, you will need to replay multiple times to work out planning so there is no sitting back and studying the rail plan until you have at least seen the trains run at least once to see where they go. The game steps up difficulty very nicely introducing new problems as you progress through the levels.

Only downsides i found with the game is it appears to be mobile game and i felt it was overpriced for the enjoyment. This game would be better suited to $1 or $2 market.
The PC port has a few issues the mouse not clicking to select the four countries available, although once you are in the game there is no problem with the mouse. Only way i have found to resolve this is to restart the game.
The only other issue is some of the edge tracks do not appear on the screen which caused me issues a few times until i got used to looking more carefully.

This game is based on the Android and Apple App Game called Train Crisis so if you have the option you can check that out as a demo to ensure you like the game

Cool & pretty small puzzle game.

Go for it if your looking for a bunch of brainstorming & reflex challenges.
(Oh and a lot of funny train's crashs and end of course retries ;)

Funny. The bad part is the "Ihull" sound and the ESC key closing the game

Fun game. Definitely worth the buck fifty I paid for it. I'm not sure I would have paid more than a couple dollars though, considering how basic the game is. Wait for it to be on sale, then nab it!
Basically, the game amounts to this: "How many moving pieces can you manage at the same time?" You've got trains running all over the place and you need to work the signals, throw the switches, stop the traffic, etc to make sure all of your trains arrive at the right station...without colliding, derailing, and exploding! Some of the maps are pretty easy, but a few are quite hectic. Overall, it's an amusing little game.

P.S. I hear that this game (or something quite similar) is free on Android...but I guess that only helps if you've got a smartphone and/or don't mind gaming on a stupid 4" wide touchscreen.