A train that travels across a frozen planet. Every now and then you have to stop and gather supplies, but the clock is ticking, because the batteries need charging. And charging only works while the eternal engine runs.
Sound familiar? Yeah, sorry. This is not Snowpiercer. I don't think Mr. Wilford will be anywhere around, and it is not 1001 cars long.
I am talking about Ever Rail, a survival crafting game by Aesir Interactive where you command a train across a frozen planet and try very hard to keep everyone alive and the engine running.
First impressions
Here is the thing. The intro actually had me.
You get a world already laid out for you. Outposts. A rail network. All of it built by robots we shipped out ahead of us, before humanity was even supposed to show up. Then something went wrong. Obviously. It always does. And now here you are: one train, one frozen world, circling it just to stay alive.
For a minute, it works. The ice, the timer already ticking down, it pulls you right in. Then you take control, and the whole thing goes a little... cold.
That stings a little, because I want this one to work. So let me be fair and start with what does.
The loop
The loop is good. And it is probably even better in co-op, which the game absolutely supports.
You drive the train. You keep the batteries charged. You keep your people alive. And every now and then you stop, get out, and gather resources. You poke around in those lost bases, fighting robots that are not really pleased to see you. Then, before the timer ends, you hop back onto the train and move on.
While on the track you can flip the switches and head off in another direction, or use a shield to repel dangers on your way, or take the glider out.
All of this is genuinely great and I enjoyed it. Right up until I took a stroll around the train, to check on the eight survivors I am supposedly keeping alive.
The empty train
All I got was the hull of an empty train.
Eight people I am supposed to feed, keep warm, keep alive. When I go looking for them, there is nobody there. Just an empty hallway that somehow still feels claustrophobic and does absolutely nothing to pull you in.
Now, I do not expect a fully developed game in a build that is about to head into early access in Q3. The devs are open about it. They want player feedback, and fair enough.
Yes, you can build. You can slap wall consoles together and extend the train car by car. That is not what the train is missing.
But when a game reminds you this hard of something iconic like Snowpiercer, the expectations are high. There is a real danger of disappointing people. You know how we gamers are. We are simple creatures. We complain easily, and about just about everything.
We get one look at a train on a frozen planet, our brain fills in the rest, and suddenly we want a whole living world in there. Chaos in the back cars. Someone hoarding protein blocks. A revolution two wagons down.
Instead it is quiet. Very quiet.
That is the one thing I would fix before going into early access. The graphics? They are fine. Some colour adjustments, a menu pass, sure. The tasks are there, so there is something to do. None of that is the problem. The problem is I have no reason to care about this train I am supposedly fighting to save. I need that reason in a survival game.
Thankfully the Steam forums are full of good ideas for exactly that. NPCs that actually do something. A wider train, one that feels like you could live in it. Places to work, places to hang out, maybe even some backstories down the line. Some sign of life out there in the world too: other survivors, places to trade, the last little bastions of humanity hanging on in the cold, waiting for you to find them.
Honestly? People dropping ideas in the Steam forums is a great sign. It means they are interested.
Verdict
Now, before I sound just mean, I want to be fair.
I played this solo, and everything about it says it should be played in co-op. Having some company on the missions or on the train just makes sense. But not everyone has friends on standby, and because the world did not hold me the way I hoped, I dropped it earlier than I wanted to. Even though I wanted to play much more.
The core loop works. That part is genuinely done. Drive, survive, scavenge, repeat. But right now I am doing all of that for a train full of nobody, for numbers in a status window. Give me something to fight for. Something I can see. Then this train can go anywhere.
So, would Ever Rail be worth your time? Honestly, I love the idea and the whole concept. It just needs more world around that solid core. If the concept grabs you, keep an eye on Ever Rail, and hopefully we can make this train 1001 cars long one day and let the eternal engine run.
You can find the EverRail demo on Steam.