ExoTrain rolls into Early Access with one particularly compelling idea at its core: your train isn’t simply transportation, it’s your entire base. As you trek across an alien world, the locomotive becomes both your home and production facility.
The mystery surrounding the setting is definitely a thing. You’re employed by some distant company on an unfamiliar planet, only to discover that those who came before seem to have mysteriously vanished. Unfortunately, the game leaves many of those questions unanswered. From the notes found around various outposts to even your own background, the information given is limited and sometimes a little incoherent. This is an area that hopefully gets fully flushed out as development proceeds.
The foundation, however, is promising. Building and expanding the train feels satisfying, and the concept of carrying a mobile base across a hostile landscape has plenty of potential. It’s easy to imagine how future systems, technologies, and discoveries could transform that loop into something special.
At present, though, the destination arrives a little too quickly. Beyond establishing your train and exploring the tracks in front of you, there simply aren’t enough meaningful goals to chase. The game shows flashes of what it wants to become, but it needs additional content and stronger long-term progression to keep the wheels turning.
ExoTrain leaves behind the impression of a solid framework rather than a complete adventure. If future updates can flesh out its story, expand its progression, and provide players with a clearer driving force, this train could be headed somewhere worth revisiting.
ExoTrain is therefore placed in Cryostasis.
The engine is idling.
We’ll board again when the wagons are fully loaded.
Pronouncement: Placed into cryostasis.