In 2024 I wrote this short tripa small hand-drawn game where a cat drives a train. Well I’m back bumpy ridea western game where a bear (I think?) drives a train. I don’t know why the animal-driving-train genre is booming, but I’m obsessed with this one.

bumpy ride Developed by Cosmoporium Games. Its Steam demo recently got an update that includes a tutorial and unlimited in-game play days. In that era, various animal passengers would be picked up from one station and delivered to another. In addition to wanting to reach their destination on time, animals also like to follow train traffic signs. For example, drive slowly when there is a “slow down” sign, or blow the whistle when there is a “please whistle” sign.

The tracks you follow are set in a vast desert landscape that, although cartoonishly rendered, is very reminiscent of the developing West of the 19th century. Wooden towns appear among the tumbleweeds and cacti, ranging from small outposts with just a few houses to larger, larger cities nestled along cliffs and rivers. In the demo, some paths are blocked by rocks, and the game says you need TNT to clear them. You can’t do this in the demo, but it was fun to imagine rolling into a TNT warehouse and walking around with a bunch of dynamite. The weather and the time of the day changed, and the sky became an endless expanse of stars, reminding me that I was alone in the wilderness. red dead redemption.

There isn’t much to do mechanically in the demo, but can The game’s solid interface makes it extremely satisfying to play. Control the train using the levers on the right side of the screen, pull the levers to accelerate, decelerate, stop, or go backwards. The whistle is controlled by a pull-down tab at the top of the screen. I spent a lot of time pulling this tab just for fun. Track directions are toggled through a pop-up interface, which is equally satisfying, and I often found myself frantically checking the map to make sure I was heading in the right direction, especially when the first available direction revealed itself and I wasn’t sure where a set of tracks would take me. You will also need to constantly refill your train with water, stopping at appropriate locations on towers placed around the map to pour water into the appropriate cars of your train.

Satisfied passengers pay money and can use that money to upgrade to new trains, add more seats for passengers, and install barkers that give passengers a little more light. I couldn’t satisfy all the passengers. Especially the first time I memorized a map and instead of taking it to my destination, it took me on long scenic tours into the night. But once you know where you’re going, bumpy ride It was a simple and wonderful experience, admiring the scenery while adhering to traffic laws and listening to upbeat music.

Cosmoporium plans to release the game later this year, and its Steam page promises more areas, train cars, and a level-up system that includes “new upgrades, staff, and skins.”