If you’ve played Transport Tycoon or Chris Sawyer’s Locomotion and found yourself gravitating to trains more often than other modes of transport, then Team17’s upcoming Sweet Transit game might be just for you.
Take a look at the trailer below!
Sweet Transit is an upcoming city builder with railways right at the heart, and as a fan of the aforementioned games, I was extremely excited to take the demo for a spin. It is worth noting that the game is still very much in development; however solo developer Ernestas Norvaisas has let players sink their teeth into a lovely sneak peek as the game enters early access.
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The premise of the game is simple. You’ll start out by setting up a small town hall in a place of your choosing, before building accommodation and facilities to support your population. Then you’ll begin linking up nearby services by rail, to transport produce around your network. From that point on it’s all about expansion, and you can do it anyway you want - only using trains, of course. As a city builder, you can also construct buildings and the general infrastructure that surrounds your railway. You can add parks and recreational activities to boost the happiness of your population. Having a happy population will ensure they have a good work ethic, and in turn produce more goods for your transit empire.
As you constantly expand your railway empire the AI constantly adapts and reroutes trains to the correct destination. This initially caught me off guard, as the AI can often be the downfall in games like these. When I was hooked on Chris Sawyer’s Locomotion, one of my biggest bugbears was trains rerouting themselves, getting stuck or just heading backwards down a one-way track. I did run into the odd signalling hiccup every once in a while with Sweet Transit, though this was completely self-inflicted, and the issues always helped perfect the railway even more.
It was refreshing to have a game to keep up with the rapid rate of expansion without crumbling when you connect five new trains to an already existing rail network. It’s remarkable to watch the network function as you intended and make it as efficient as possible. In no time you’ll have a thriving metropolis with rail links far and wide.
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Expansion does come at a cost though, so it’s worth keeping an eye on your finances and goods stockpile to know what you can or cannot afford. Finding the perfect balance between expanding the rail network and expanding your cities is paramount. Maintaining a good level of production helps ensure your trains are stocked up on coal and your general population is happy.
Graphically, the game owns a simple and colourful art style, allowing you to easily identify specific trains on routes. The style takes me back to Chris Sawyer’s Locomotion, so it’s great to essentially have a spiritual successor to that.
All in all, Sweet Transit is a wonderful city and train sim with tons of potential, and whilst the demo content is understandably minimal, you can still play for hours on end. I’m sure the developer Ernestas Norvaisas intends to add more trains and rolling stock, as well as scenarios in various locales around the world. Sweet Transit is currently available in Steam early access, but slated for a full release in mid-2023. So what’re you waiting for? If you love train sims, perhaps it’s time to start channelling your inner Francis Bourgeois and build a railway empire of your own in Sweet Transit.
Featured Image Credit: Sweet Transit / Credit: Team17