Everybody has that franchise that calls to them for some reason. For me, that has always felt like Train Sim World, for whatever reason. I feel like it always releases around some other games I am into, and by the time I get around to playing it, there are just so many trains to add on. I like trains, I like sims, and I like the world; why wouldn’t I be into this? Up until this point, I have MAYBE clocked 2 hours in the series in 6 and 3, which a friend had, so finally, I get to dive into the series fresh and excited.
First things first, Train Sim World 7 has a robust tutorial offering plenty of stages to learn the multiple trains available at launch. The game has multiple ways to enjoy it. Personally, I was excited to play the more passenger- and commuter-friendly trains, but you do have cargo and freight liners you can jump into, as well as some diesel or steam options. Much of piloting each of these translates between them, with slight swaps in the location of buttons and throttles, but pretty much every component is represented in the interior.
I assume, speaking from my ignorance, that this is the most important aspect anyway to true connoisseurs. I assume the piloting of a train is fairly universal, but you want that wow factor of opening the door to the cabin and being able to flip the switches to get set. My biggest issue is that the controls were reversed. You can simply use the levers and buttons, but as a controller player, a few, such as the throttle and brake, are hotkeyed to the triggers but on the reverse sides of where they appear half the time. This leads to some confusion when figuring out the controls, and I didn’t see a way to fix this.
Doing the tutorials, I fell back into my second issue (and as a new player, this is significant to me): the beginner settings are not great. You get three options to play on, with the top two being fairly similar in their minimalism. The thing with the beginner settings is the override of basic features. The game tells you that some settings are disabled; however, they never tell you why. One of these issues was that this mode overrides brake and throttle settings, which makes interacting with the train manually not work. In one case during the tutorial, I NEEDED to do it manually, which refused to work until I started troubleshooting.
There were other issues as well when using this mode, such as the quick button to lock and unlock doors not triggering. There was also a problem with getting up from the driver’s seat, only for all the controls to lock and for me to be unable to interact with anything on the train console. Changing to the higher mode isn’t so different, but the big change is that you lose the game giving clear instructions for starting up the vehicle, which I definitely wasn’t ready for. In a subsequent playthrough, I had a similar issue with the doors but realized I never turned the train on, something that the drives I did in beginner mode did. I was nervous that I was being an idiot at that point, so I double-checked and, nope, it was still happening.
This means you can soft-lock yourself in the tutorials until you switch. For me, it was a diesel that had a spring-loaded brake that needed to be held for several seconds in release to build up power for the train once you put it in motion. Thankfully, while there are plenty of tutorials to go through, they jump around a lot, so when I did get stuck, I moved over to doing some commuter-type missions, the first of which the tutorial walks you through. Small victories, but changing the difficulty actually saw me achieve more growth in figuring out the components, and it is just all around more fluid. In a few hours, I was surprised to see how much I had taken to the mechanics. You still wouldn’t want me as your driver, but I wasn’t bad.
With any Sim, the entry-level introductions will be part of it, and I get that, but the fact that they are so self-contained is frustrating. There could have been a more mission-based structure, with several of the components featured through a long-form task. One of which is attacking cargo, then driving a kilometer, then reversing, and done. Another is driving forward, learning to change cabs, driving the other way, and being done. Some could be annoying to figure out, especially when just learning them, and often for the most technically nuanced thing, like being slightly out of range to couple cars to pull.
The thing is, Train Sim World 7 has a beautiful world outside the windows to your cab, slowly or rather rapidly passing by. There is rich detail in the mountains looming in the distance and even the rivers flowing nearby, and it can take a very long time to get to experiencing this in the way it is meant to. I also feel by isolating the learning experiences, they can be harder to take into the main game, or even remember. There is a bit of sensory overload trying to cram a lot of detailed logistics into a rapid-fire set of exams. The game also has zero issue constantly hitting me with issue notifications, but never pop-ups I can engage with to remind me of what I need to do or of the little things that can help. Just food for thought.
When the game is running at full throttle though, that’s when Train Sim World 7 delivers one of the most zen experiences I have ever had. I mean, most of the game is hopping into the driver’s seat and going. I drove along the English countryside, picking up and letting off people (I got excellent at that); I drove a longer commuter train across an entire country, and I carried some freight. All of which is just adjusting my speeds and marveling at the world around. It took a little getting used to, as the menus really don’t explain WHAT each mode does, so through trial and error you find what you want. Once you do, though, you are limited by NOTHING; if there is a commute you want, you can and will find it. As an avid watcher of Train Cruise on NHK, I cannot wait for the Tadami Line: Aizu-Wakamatsu–Tadami route add-on.
On that note, the sound design also hit me hard. When I traveled to Tokyo, you get around by subway, and the sounds of the ride at 11:30 PM, half asleep, full, and content from revelry, are like a sweet lullaby and a comforting voice all in one. Now approaching Shinjuku-sanchome Station, it would say as we approached my destination, the sights and smells of familiarity wafting in. There is no music in the game, but the sounds… I never knew how these things were ingrained in me until they were unlocked for me now.
What was surprising to me is that there is so much more to do than just drive trains, which I wouldn’t hate about the game if there wasn’t. You can explore on foot through every model of train you drive, but also stations and railyards as well. This is important for some aspects like hooking up additional cars, though that can be done with a cinematic view as well. Again, if it stopped there, it would be a great touch, but it doesn’t. One scenario I played had me setting up microphones around a train to help the Train Sim World team capture those wonderful noises.
Scenarios split a sort of difference between training and actually driving, giving vertical slices on the tracks, though a few proved annoyingly challenging to figure out one or two minor things since you get very minimal guidance. When I was getting frustrated, which happened a lot, there was also a mode to play as the conductor and not the operator. This allowed me a much more calming experience since even at its most complex it still wasn’t, you know, trying to manage a machine that could easily kill us all if I flipped it. Which I never did, by the way. Thank you very much!
Verdict
Do you want me as the driver on the next train you get on? No, you most certainly do not! Am I a better driver than I was when I started Train Sim World 7? Yes, but in a formal debate you would have a hard time grounding that claim. None of that matters, though. Turn the knob to forward, put the brake in release, crank the throttle for speed, then sit back and watch the world that drifts by your window, beautiful, majestic, and calming. I’m still not fully sure how many issues I encountered were technical or me just not playing very well, but I put up with them because it was worth it. For that feeling of freedom you are afforded, I would do anything.
Remember to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Bluesky to keep up to date on everything we have going on!
Reviewed on PlayStation 5, also available on Xbox Series and PC via Steam and Epic Game Store
*A key was provided for this title by Dovetail Games for the purposes of this review.
Developer/ Publisher: Dovetail Games
Release Date: September 15, 2026
Pros
+Beautiful landscapes and scenery
+Audio design for every train sound
+Plenty of modes on offer to diversify gameplay
+Once you are driving trains, the experience is zen-like
Cons
-Beginner mode not great
-Tutorial is both lengthy and sometimes confusing
-
Train Sim World 7
