Developer – Green Tile Digital

Publisher – Green Tile Digital, Amplifier Studios

Platforms – PC, Nintendo Switch/ Switch 2 (reviewed)

Review copy given by publisher

How would you revitalize the world by train? Locomoto answers that question by having you steal a train and drive it around the land. Unlike a regular train theft, you aren’t in this for the money. You are building connections between locations and giving people the ability to travel. By giving people the ability to move between towns, you restore the local economy and revitalize the region.

Locomoto does a great job at easing you into the life of a train conductor. The options to customize your train and make it yours are endless. You get a sense of accomplishment that immerses you as the region slowly connects together. The quests feel repetitive and boring while the visuals suffer from a few flaws. However, the game’s cozy feeling and fun train work is great for enthusiasts looking for something new.

The story starts with you stealing a train with a friend. You pick up the new mayor for your town and begin a journey of revitalization. Along the way you discover new places and meet new individuals who want to travel. Help people reach new destinations and complete quests to improve your train. Eventually you get the chance to make your train dreams a reality while moving people and resources through the region.

It’s a cozy story with no real antagonist or struggle. Failure is almost impossible because the game is generous with its resources. Your quests are simple and you can take as much time as you want solving them. Every small objective you complete makes a big difference in the community and you feel the same way. Moving passengers around or completing tasks that others can’t gives you a sense of importance.

The game’s visuals emphasize the cozy lifestyle. Every animal is cute and you can edit your appearance to reflect that. Colors are bright and dominant, with darker colors given a lighter tint. Structures are simple and decorations have regular designs. Your furniture is also noticeable with some differences to help you tell different pieces apart. It helps you get attached to your surroundings and be familiar with the world you live in.

Customizing your train is slow but you eventually open up more options like car colors, wallpapers, and furniture. This lets you make the most of your current furniture while seeing how it fits with the passengers you take on. While the pace may feel slow at first, this gives you a better idea of how your passengers interact with the furniture. Does your seating actually give passengers a place to sit? Are you able to serve them refreshments when they ask for it?

The gradual approach to decorating your train gives you time to adapt and figure out what works. Balancing fancy layouts with practicality is tricky in the beginning but it’s easy to configure later on. It also avoids overwhelming you with choices or creating a train car that can’t be used. It’s a good way to ease you into the game without making you feel like you aren’t customizing fast enough.

You often have small fetch quests that require you to find something at a specific location. Others involve traveling to perform tasks. There’s also regular passenger movement where you help people reach destinations. You slowly feel like you are growing into the train conductor role, making a difference and getting rewarded for it. The pace may be slow but you aren’t overwhelmed and can adapt to future requirements.

However, the tutorial can be somewhat lacking in that it doesn’t explain things properly. Even if you are familiar with different types of cozy games, you might get stuck. For example, building items from a blueprint requires you to put them down in the exact order listed. Even if you put down the correct materials, it won’t work. Explaining aspects like these in more detail would help cut down on confusion to make it easier to play.

The quests are also simple and won’t challenge you much. While that may be perfect in the beginning, it feels repetitive after a while because there is no challenge. Even if this is a cozy game, delivering packages and carrying out simple tasks wears you out after a while. You feel like there should be more variety rather than simply moving people back and forth. Customizing your train with additions is fun but that doesn’t hold your attention forever.

It’s also clear that some of the text hasn’t been formatted well. Names have a large amount of spaces as if there should be something there. You also have a few visual glitches with legs moving through solid objects that snap you out of the immersion. While it isn’t a big deal, it is noticeable enough that you can’t ignore it.

Locomoto is a great cozy game that your inner train enthusiast will love. It’s easy to get started, easy to play, and the cozy atmosphere is everywhere. You must channel your love of trains for the game to remain interesting as the quests aren’t the most engaging. But if you enjoy cozy games and need something for the Switch 2, Locomoto is a good choice.