Train Sim World 3 Review

You would think that after playing all the previous Train Sim World games (the original Train Sim World, Train Sim World 2 and a ton of the DLC), I’d be able to remember how to get a train moving again. Surely all my hours of playing would provide sound muscle memory? You would be wrong, as I stumbled into Train Sim World 3 not knowing my master key from my braking systems. In fact, in the first hour of playing, I had stalled my train for twenty minutes and unlocked the wrong doors at the station so that if my passengers wanted to leave, they would have fallen onto the track. 

But as with all my experiences, after I had been guided through the intensive tutorials from the lovely guides that are in place, it wasn’t long before I was zooming through the countryside, tooting my horn in joy. Yep, Train Sim World 3 is here – let us see what’s new on the track. 

I’ve been playing the Deluxe Edition of Train Sim World 3; an edition of the game which comes with one extra feature that railway fans will be very excited about. But first the good news – all your content and progress from Train Sim World 2 can be carried forward into this new game, all via an easy prompt at the beginning of the game. From there, it’s always good to start with the training, if only to familiarise yourselves with the controls again, along with the new trains and tracks. These twenty-seven training guides give you a great insight into the feel of it all. 

The new tracks to experience come in a variety of forms. First is the American California experience of the 85-mile-long Cajon Pass. Here you will be driving the behemoth ES44C4 which needs a step ladder to get up to the driving seat. Second is the longest route ever attempted by the Train Sim World devs, as they push out the 186-km Schnellfahrstrecke Kassel – Würzburg route. Here you will be driving the extremely fast ICE 1, which always reminds me of Star Trek for some reason. For me, it is the easiest train to drive.

Further, the Southeastern high-speed route has already come out but now they’ve extended it to include 86 miles of 140-mile-per-hour magic, with new bits of the route between Ashford and Ebbsfleet and Gravesend and Dartford. But if you have the Deluxe Edition of Train Sim World 3, you also have a wonderful route that whisks you back in time; back to the magic of steam engines and the route between Liverpool and Runcorn. This is my favourite of the new experience, as the idea of traveling through older times in an engine that feels enchanted is nothing short of amazing. 

It must be said that Dovetail Games know what they are doing with Train Sim World, and that is never more true than with Train Sim World 3. As usual, every single one of the trains looks great and the detail in all aspects is stunning. There is a ton to get involved in here, with guided train experiences, timetables you can jump into, and a form of missions to tackle as well. You’ll be able to spend hours and hours on the track, watching the world go by. You can even plan your own journeys using the game structures as a template, create your own liveries and share them.  

In terms of the visual upgrades with Train Sim World 3 and one of the first things that needs to be mentioned is that of the weather systems at play. The world seems fuller and with less plastic blue sky than before. The lighting is helping here, with some great shadows bouncing off the trains. Skies look amazingly realistic and when you get driving in a storm with full-on lighting effects and rain beating down on the driver’s windows, Train Sim World 3 all feels epic. It’s also busier in terms of the passengers, especially those found in stations like St Pancras, although disappointingly there still seems to be loads of twins everywhere, doing some very odd things for station goers. On the whole though, it’s the older styled visuals which are most loved and I’d certainly like to see some different times in history played out through the future of the franchise. 

In terms of the audio and it all seems accurately researched and dispatched across the game. This is something that the Train Sim World devs do very well, and playing with headphones on gives you all the audible delights you would expect. The voiceovers helpfully guide you through the instructions too, giving interesting history lessons as they play out. I particularly enjoyed the American voice-over actor for The Cajon Pass who reminded me of the cowboy narrator from The Big Lebowski film. 

The big question that comes with Train Sim World 3 is whether or not there is enough to tempt you in, especially if you’re coming in green. There’s no debating that the team behind it have done a brilliant job in making train fans’ wishes come true, with a wealth of tracks, trains, and things to do, more so when you consider the sheer amount of new content that gets added to the series. 

Train Sim World 3 is niche and so if you’re not into the joys of the railway and don’t particularly get on with driving trains, then don’t expect much enjoyment from it. Veterans though will be delighted. 

Train Sim World 3 is on the Xbox Store