All aboard the Switch train!
Metro Simulator 2 debuted on the Nintendo Switch on the 21st of February this year, thanks to Ultimate Games S.A., and I was lucky enough to take it for a test drive for review.
Metro Simulator 2 allows players to become subway train drivers in Moscow’s iconic subway system. Players can take charge and drive two trains with different control systems and a subway with 24 stations.
Going into this simulator, I didn’t really have much knowledge of trains at all. I had no idea how out of my depth I could possibly be, but I wanted to keep an open mind nonetheless. I am super glad I gave this game a try.
Thankfully, Metro Simulator 2 is an engaging and relaxing time for the most part, which I am pleasantly surprised to report. However, it’s not perfect by any means, so let’s discuss!
Graphically speaking, this game looks good for the Switch. It’s not the most textured or high-end-looking game on the console, but it’s also not the least graphically advanced game either. I found it rather interesting to see how the developers recreated the train cabins and controls. They are painstakingly accurate! It was super realistic and added so much to the experience of becoming a train driver. Honestly, when looking at all the controls, it is hard not to appreciate how much work the developers put into this aspect of the game.
Gameplay-wise, Metro Simulator 2 includes two different play modes: free-play and prepared scenarios with predetermined conditions and situations. To begin with, I jumped into the prepared scenarios and started with an old Soviet train. It was here I was greeted with numerous text boxes with some lengthy writing guiding me on how to start my train. I feel this lengthy text helped me greatly and actually educated me, which led to a fulfilling and engaging experience. However, I can most definitely see how this would also put many other players off by overwhelming them, because well, I also found it overwhelming. So, keep this in mind going into the game.
Once I got my train moving… yes, actually moving, I was shocked that I did it! I was rather nervous because I wanted to do a good job. Thankfully, the game still runs you through things to begin with. It shows you what controls to interact with by having little red icons above each control. I found these icons to be rather difficult to see because they’re small. It isn’t impossible to see them, but you definitely need to be paying attention, or you’ll miss them. There is an option to zoom in the camera, which did help, but this took me out of the experience somewhat. Once I got the hang of starting the engine and moving, I had to be sure to keep an eye out on my speedometer and traffic lights, among many other things, to provide a safe train ride. I even had to make sure I was following the schedule and staying on time!
Once I got all of this down pact, I found myself very relaxed playing this game. So much so that, in fact, I started to play some relaxing lo-fi hip-hop in the background as I was driving. Could this maybe be included in a future patch for the game? Having an inclusion of a radio in the cabin that you can play lo-fi hip-hop would be amazing! Over the course of the weekend, I sunk hours into driving my trains with lo-fi in the background, and it was truly a relaxing experience, which I can wholeheartedly recommend. I loved walking through the carriages to the other cabins in between rides; it was so relaxing and engaging.
How does the game run on the Switch? I played it on my regular Switch and my Switch Lite. I, however, don’t own an OLED model, so keep this in mind. When it comes to comparing how it ran on my Switch and Lite, there was no difference between the consoles. I feel that if you can, play it on a Switch that can dock to a TV, as it will make things easier to see. As I mentioned earlier, some icons were difficult to see, and this was made harder on my Switch Lite. That being said, however, the game looks great in handheld mode because it’s a smaller screen compared to a TV. It looks even better on my Lite because of the even smaller screen again!
I have somewhat mixed feelings about how this runs, though. When you’re in the cabin, everything feels smooth and looks good! When the train started rolling, however, I found the framerate would chug… noticeably. This, of course, took me out of the experience and made me wonder if it was just the Switch versions that ran like this. Perhaps this is an optimization issue that can be fixed in a patch but it is definitely worth noting.
Lastly, I want to mention the sounds in this game because…it is a simulator after all! Sound was good! When the train was rolling down the tracks, the thumping, humming, and grinding of the tracks and train sounded nice in my headphones and on the console speakers. I wasn’t a fan of the horns, however. They sounded a little too cheap, in my opinion. They didn’t make it feel like it was coming from a train, and it sounded rather… cheap.
Lastly, play value. I believe this game has a good value for play. You can get hours out of this by looking through the meticulous controls and with the free-play or scenario modes.
I appreciated this game in the sense that even a complete newbie like me could get the train moving. Is it perfect? No. It's let down in some minor aspects which can be easily tweaked. If you’re a train enthusiast, I feel like this is a no-brainer. If you don’t really care about trains; this isn’t going to change your mind.
