Railbound

Genre: Puzzle

Players: 1

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Review:

Railbound is a Puzzle game released on PC and Nintendo Switch in 2022 and ported to Xbox One in 2023. This game has players laying down tracks with the goal of getting all train cars to a locomotive in numerical order.

Despite such a simple premise, Railbound gets a lot of mileage out of this basic concept – it can be tricky to figure out how to get train car 1 to the locomotive first when train car 2 is closer, trickier still when your pieces of track are limited, and yet even more so when the game adds additional train cars, or other gameplay elements like tunnels that teleport from one place to another, or crossing gates that must be opened with a switch before train cars behind it can proceed.

The simple gameplay does a great job of keeping this game accessible, while the excellent level design and puzzle design keeps things engaging for more skilled puzzle-solvers. And those who seek a challenge can unlock more difficult extra levels not needed to proceed through the game.

The presentation here is quite nice too, featuring simple, cartoony 2D visuals with a cel-shaded 3D train that fits perfectly with the rest of the game’s style, to the point where you might not even realize it’s the only 3D element unless you’re looking closely. This is backed by a lighthearted synthesized soundtrack that works well enough for the game.

Really, my main complaint with Railbound is that its $13 price tag seems a bit high for a Puzzle game this simple. However, even with that being the case, I still think this is a well-made Puzzle game that’s well worth a look for Puzzle fans, particularly when the game goes on sale.

tl;dr – Railbound is a Puzzle game that has players laying down tracks with to get train cars to a locomotive in numerical order. It’s a simple premise done well with excellent puzzle design, and while this game’s $13 price seems a tad high for what’s on offer, it is still a superb Puzzle game well worth a look.

Grade: B-

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