Toy Trains VR – Quest 3 Review

2 0

Toy Trains VR is incredible. There I’ve said it right from the get-go. End of the review, c’mon everyone let’s go back to playing Toy Trains VR.

What? You want to read more about why I believe this is one of the best uses of VR out there? Well as the review train pulls into Thumb Culture station, make sure you’ve got your ticket as we head out on this journey.

Let’s Keep This Review On Track

Something Random both developed and published this track-building puzzler. However, they did not condone the use of train puns. That being said, I’m going to do my best to throw as many puns into this review as possible. Let us know in the comments how many you found. Don’t worry they shouldn’t derail the review.

Gameplay

What Something Random have created with Toy Trains VR is nothing short of a miracle. They definitely found the right platform for this game. Being in VR allows you a greater immersion into what you are playing.

Toy Trains VR has a heart warming story. Essentially your parents have gone on a trip leaving you at your grandparents, but they haven’t forgotten you, they’ll be sending you regular postcards. The receiving of a postcard splits up each level along the way. The level then responds to the content of that postcard. It’s really a straight forward formula, but it’s delivered incredibly well. As you track your progress through a manual that floats in mid-air. You get a sense that all may not be as it seems with your parents writing.

You start the game off with a little tutorial. This introduces you to the miniature people as well as the miniature world you will spend your time manipulating. You interact by speech bubbles, and to move forward you just grab little labels and pull.

Once you are into the real meat of the game, you have to connect a number of buildings to the main building site. Each level is split into usually 3 sections, where you get new buildings popping up for you to build your train tracks to. It’s great at keeping you on track with your objectives.

The Catalogue

To build your tracks, you have your catalogue. This handy contraption is where all your pieces live. From small straights to the eventual tunnels, they are all grabbable straight from this catalogue. Just reach up and pull them from the pages, then line them up and plop them on the ground.

Thankfully the game won’t let you place them in the wrong place and will instead just flop on the ground. If you picked the wrong piece just throw it in the bin. Literally. Well not literally, but you have a bin down by the side of you for wrong pieces.

At the end of each level you get the opportunity to decorate and fancify your level. From campfires to fountains, you can place these all over your level giving it just that little bit of beauty.

Solving Puzzles

With each level comes a number of different ways to solve the puzzle. Toy Trains VR gives you the freedom to express yourself, but also it allows you to go full steam ahead and place pieces in the wrong place. You may well have a great solution for the first part of the level, but when it comes to the final section you’ve taken up a lot of space with track. Which just makes it harder. If this happens you will need to remove pieces. Whilst at the same time be aware that to finish the whole level all of your buildings need to feed to the construction site. It’s not easy.

If solving all the puzzles wasn’t enough for you, then there is always the Sandbox mode, allowing you the freedom to create the train set of your dreams! All tools included.

Graphics & Audio

Toy Trains VR looks great, with its bright colours and beautiful environments each level feels different from the previous. The small trains that you can pick up are wonderfully modelled and at no point was there any clipping or any graphical glitches. Being in VR you are able to pick up items and bring them right up close to your face which was great fun when grabbing an aeroplane and flying it through the air!

The loft where you are situated has some great little additions to make the area believable. From the cat laying in a chair, to the hoover behind you, you would believe that it was created from a member of the development team’s loft. Add to that the open roof light letting you see all the way into the stars.

Audibly, there is nothing to fault with Toy Trains VR. From the little peeps from the trains to the people making a chattering noise. Everything is spot on and exactly what you’d expect.

Longevity

With unlimited (maybe not quite) ways to complete a level you could be coming back to Toy Trains VR all the time. It definitely sunk it’s hooks into me and won’t let go. I keep thinking about how to complete the different levels in a more efficient way. Add to that the sandbox and phew, time sink heaven! Thankfully the game is incredibly fun to play through at the same time.

Final Thoughts

With what is possibly one of my favourite VR experiences, Something Random have created an absolute winner. Toy Trains VR lives up to the hype, it delivers on every element of the game design and the devs should be commended for making such an awesome game!

Toy Trains VR pulls into the station and gets the Thumb Culture Platinum Award!

Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this review.

YouTube | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Discord | Podcast

About Author

Stuart

Been playing games since I can remember, from spectrum all the to current consoles. Always been interested in video game news and recently got the opportunity to head up a great team of eager people. I’m generally a man of many words but I try and be succinct and to the point in everything I write.

See author's posts