It’s been a year since Train Sim World 2 invited young rail enthusiasts to master Rush Hour scenarios on PS5, making the sudden arrival of the sequel Train Sim World 3 more unexpected than a cancellation in north-west London. However, with critical improvements to the engine and user interface, this is the best simulation developer Dovetail Games has created to date – and with some great routes included at launch, it also represents better value for money than a UK train ticket.
Those of you upgrading from previous releases will appreciate the UI improvements almost immediately as the whole package feels snappy and premium. There’s a great new ambient soundtrack that shapes the menus in the background and combines the sounds of the weather (more on that later) with subtle chords – it really puts you in the right frame of mind, as you try to relax on the rails. You can now search and filter locomotives, and you can even jump into an activity based on how much time you have.
A major change is that trains have been disconnected from their parent routes, and this has been made possible by a new training ground inspired by a famous German test track. This quaint Bavarian-esque sandbox can accommodate all of your current locomotives and really gives you the freedom to explore them in 3D space and appreciate all their details. More importantly, it provides crucial training exercises and the opportunity to familiarize yourself with their functions in a pressure-free environment.
Once you’re ready to complete some schedules, the standard version of Train Sim World 3 comes with a trio of routes to master: the heavy freight-based Cajon pass, the impressively massive Schnellfahrstrecke Kassel-Würzburg, and the expansive Southeastern High Speed. Franchise fans may disagree with Dovetail’s decision to effectively repackage an older add-on, but Ebbsfleet’s expansion to Ashford in the latter includes a ton of track—and this was already one of the best routes in the game.
In fact, as a trio there is quite a bit of variety here. Personally, we’ve never been a big fan of the chunky US freight schedules, so the scorching trek of the Cajon Pass from Barstow to San Bernardino doesn’t really turn our Master Key on – but it’s a different blow to different people, and there are some many different ways to buy this sequel to make sure you get the content you want. It should be noted that you can also import older routes – and you can transfer your progress to boot.
However, Schnellfahrstrecke Kassel-Würzburg is a revelation. Encompassing more than 186 kilometers of glorious German scenery, this route effectively takes you from the top of the country to the bottom, reaching speeds of up to 280 km/h. This is an incredible route, passing over viaducts and through tunnels while mastering the much sought-after ICE 1. In fact, the opening salvo for this particular route’s campaign lets you do a speed test, meaning you can just fly from one end to the other without worrying too much about signals or speed limits.
It’s a fantastic demonstration of what Dovetail has been working towards as it feels like a real journey – like you’ve actually traveled somewhere. There were times in previous Train Sim World titles where it felt like you were fulfilling goals without actually going anywhere, but major visual improvements mean that the outdoors can now look completely different at the start of a journey than at the end.
The new volumetric cloud system contributes to this, which has a huge impact on the greatly improved lighting. It means that clouds can form or disappear dynamically and in real time, meaning the landscape is constantly changing. Sometimes it looks bright and clear outside; other times it looks dull and gloomy – and you’ll also encounter a spectrum of different permutations in between, which, when combined with the day-night cycle, help create the sense of passing time.
This is important because some train journeys can take more than an hour, and this idea that time moves by train helps build the illusion that you are on a journey. It should be emphasized that this feeling is further enhanced by the addition of dynamic weather, meaning you can start a shift in dry daylight and end it at night in a snow storm. All of this, of course, affects how the trains handle and the type of signals you encounter.
So overall the game is much more immersive, and it looks better, with those all-important lighting changes making the presentation more lively. However, despite the significant improvements, it’s still uneven – after all, this is a niche product with a relatively low budget. Even on the PS5, there are still significant issues with LOD or level of detail, meaning assets are brought in as you approach them. As you can imagine, this is especially problematic in a game where you pretty much always move through the landscape at high speeds.
Likewise, the sheer complexity of the game means there are a lot of bugs. Whether it’s basic things like trophies that can’t be unlocked or more specific issues with signaling, you’ll find times when the game just doesn’t work the way you expect. One of the biggest mistakes in our opinion is that sometimes the game doesn’t present important concepts – despite some pretty robust tutorials across the board – forcing you to Google for solutions to problems that the title never even tries to learn.
But it’s also fair to say that Train Sim World 3 knows its audience, and when you buy a simulator as deep and as complex as this one, you probably accept the idea that you might have to dig for more information when you get stuck. . It’s an area that Dovetail could improve upon, but at least the Training Center gives you more opportunity to experiment and work your way around a locomotive before you get to the good stuff.
Conclusion
Train Sim World 3 is Dovetail’s most immersive railroad simulation yet. For the first time since the series debuted, the game really sells the illusion that you’re on a journey – and impressively huge routes like Schnellfahrstrecke Kassel-Würzburg help with that. While the release still has obvious visual flaws, the new lighting, volumetric clouds, and dynamic weather system take presentation to the next level — and the UI improvements shouldn’t be underestimated either. The target audience for a title like this will never be particularly large, but few other franchises strike a balance between simulation, virtual tourism and zen-like relaxation like this.
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