''Tracks – The Train Set Game'', commonly referred to as ''Tracks'', is an indie

simulation video game Simulation video games are a diverse super-category of video games, generally designed to closely simulate real world activities. A simulation game attempts to copy various activities from real life in the form of a game for various purposes such ...

developed by British indie studio Whoop Games and published by Excalibur Publishing for

Microsoft Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...

. Originally released onto

Itch.io Itch.io (stylized in all lowercase) is a website for users to host, sell and download indie video games, indie role-playing games, game assets, comics, zines and music. Launched in March 2013 by Leaf Corcoran, the service hosts over 1,000,000 ...

in February 2017, the game was added to

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Early Access Early access, also known as alpha access, alpha founding, paid alpha, or game preview, is a funding model in the video game industry by which consumers can purchase and play a game in the various pre-release Software release life cycle, developm ...

program in September. ''Tracks – The Train Set Game'' sees the player build a wooden toy train track. The video game was fully released on 11 October 2019.

Gameplay

Taking inspiration from

wooden toy train Wooden toy trains are toy trains that run on a wooden track system with grooves to guide the wheels of the rolling stock. While the trains, tracks and scenery accessories are made mainly of wood, the engines and cars connect to each other usin ...

s, the video game has the player build train tracks out of wood, and then decorate them with miscellaneous objects. The game has both day and night modes.

Development

Currently being developed by Whoop Games, ''Tracks – The Train Set Game'' was originally released onto

video game distribution Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) system ...

website

on 14 February 2017. During this time, it was available as a free download. In June 2017, it was announced the game would be released onto

program, and was subsequently available on 28 September 2017 as a full retail version. It is being developed using

Epic Games Epic Games, Inc. is an American Video game developer, video game and software development, software developer and video game publisher, publisher based in Cary, North Carolina. The company was founded by Tim Sweeney (game developer), Tim Sween ...

Unreal Engine Unreal Engine (UE) is a 3D computer graphics game engine developed by Epic Games, first showcased in the 1998 first-person shooter video game '' Unreal''. Initially developed for PC first-person shooters, it has since been used in a variety of ...

The full release of the game, for both Microsoft Windows and

Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was first released in North America, parts of Europe, Austra ...

, was initially announced for 20 September 2019, but delayed to 11 October 2019. While in Early Access, the developers have continued to add additional objects, including barns and animals. The

Nintendo Switch The is a video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. Released in the middle of the Eighth generation of video game consoles, eighth generation of home consoles, the Switch succeeded the ...

version of ''Tracks'' was released in November 2020.

Reception

While in Early Access

''Tracks – The Train Set Game'' was met with praise from critics during development, with many noting the feeling of nostalgia and enjoying the art style.

Full Release

Internet personalities Matthew Watson and Ryan Magee from the

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

channel SuperMega praised the game for the amount of content and customization options, as well as for being nostalgic and relaxing.

Notes

References

External links

* (Excalibur Publishing) * (Whoop Games) 2019 video games Early access video games Excalibur Publishing games Indie games Model railroad video games Single-player video games Train simulation video games Video games about toys Video games based on toys Video games developed in the United Kingdom Windows games Windows-only games {{simulation-videogame-stub