Train Sim World 5 Review: All Aboard the Premier Train Playground
Dovetail Games has released its latest Train Sim World, already onto the seventh iteration in the long running train sim series. If you’re not familiar with it (and how could you not be, at this point?) Train Sim World is basically a train playground. You are the conductor, and you can play with all sorts of trains–from steam locomotives to modern diesel giants. If you’d rather drive around an electric commuter train getting passengers to their stops on time, you can do that, too. Train Sim World 7 is about trains, it excels at what it sets out to do.
Train Sim World 7 is the premier train sim game, without a doubt. It’s hard to outdo the sheer amount of fidelity and attention to detail that goes into each one of the trains. If you’re a diehard simulator fan, this is the type of game you want to gravitate towards. What is mean is: this is a “simulator” in the strict sense, not the goofy sense–though that trend has been reduced lately.
But because of the level of detail, each train requires knowledge of that engine’s quirks, etc. For instance, starting an electric train by engaging its pantograph, charging brakes, etc. is a different experience from a diesel engine, or even a steam driven locomotive. I’m not a train expert, though I am a casual enthusiast. I have to admit that I’ve been stuck in a train more than once trying to figure out why having the brake off and the throttle up isn’t making the train go.
Luckily, if you’re a beginner (or a near beginner, like me) there are lots of options to help get that train moving forward. There is a training center that helps familiarize you with all sorts of trains and their operations–from passenger loading, to freight coupling. If you’re completely against wanting to learn how to operate a train–from putting in selector levels, charging batteries, etc–you can completely bypass this by turning on the Beginner Controls layout. This simplified layout doesn’t drive the train for you, but it simplifies operations by mapping throttle and brakes to controller triggers, allowing you to play Train SIm World 7 like an arcade racing game. And new to Train Sim World 7 are AI conductors that simplify passenger door operations to make those passenger transit routes as chill as you want them to be.
What you decide to do in Train Sim World 7 is pretty much up to you. There are a lot of ways you can play. You can learn a real life route, and run it like a real conductor. You can stay freight oriented and use Train SIm World 7’s new freight hauler mode which tasks you with choosing the appropriate locomotive and delivering cargo at your own pace. Or you can get into the 24 hour simulation and navigating the challenges of keeping to a schedule while having to deal with passengers and freight traffic. There are quickplay options that help you hop into quick and short sessions, too, if you’re like me an just want to get in and touch some trains.
The thing I love about Train Sim World 7–and the series overall–is the immersiveness. I love that i can walk around my locomotive, walk through the passenger sections, open up cabinets to see what switches and panels are there. You can even just forgo the whole train conductor thing and just ride the rails as a passenger, letting your computer be your own portal into a slow TV style relaxing afternoon.
Train Sim World is a long running series. I started playing Dovetail Games’ version of train simulations way back with (the still somewhat popular) Train Simulator Classic, which release way back in 2009. Dovetail games has kept up a decent cadence of game releases, especially when it comes to their Train Sim World series which started almost a decade ago–and has had almost yearly releases since.
Some people might be shocked to see that Train Sim World 7 has over four thousand dollars worth of DLC right out the gate. It’s not so crazy when you consider Train Sim World compatibility, and how DLC bought from a previous pack moves forward. That means any DLC that you might buy for Train SIm World 7 should transfer to next year’s Train Sim World 8. There are a few specific expectations to this related to earlier titles, but your DLC purchases are pretty future proof if you decide to stick with the franchise. I think that’s a pretty baller move on developer Dovetail Games’ part. Important to noe that this only works on the same platform, but it still makes sense from a consumer standpoint when you’re dealing with yearly releases.
Now Train Sim World 7 might sound perfect, but it’s actually full of little frustrating quirks that have stuck with it since I last played an entry in the series way back in 2023. But Train Sim World 7 brings a list of new issues. The biggest complaint I have is the live weather system. I love that Train SIm World 7 has weather events, but the game can go from sunny to violently stormy in what seems like an instant. The AI conductors also seem to forget to do their jobs sometimes, leaving the player (who already might be unfamiliar with the games’ systems) having to troubleshoot what’s going wrong.
If you wanted to play with trains, Train Sim World 7 is your best bet. There really isn’t anything comparable–at least not to the level of immersiveness and attention to detail that Dovetail Games puts into each of the locomotives. This is a game that relies pretty heavy on the “sim” part of the title, and even with its assists it’s a hard game for casual fans to get into. If you’re a Train Sim World 6 player and are wondering if you should move onto this year’s release, the weather system is a compelling reason–even if the weather does tend to change abruptly.
Train Sim World 7 is available now.
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