Transport Fever 2 is a meticulously designed logistics simulator which duties you with the well timed transportation of passengers and items by way of trains, vans, planes, and ships. There’s a easy satisfaction in getting one thing the place it must go as effectively as doable, and that sense extends to the gameplay expertise as an entire.
It is most likely value stating upfront that Transport Fever is the definition of an fanatic sequence. If you do not get jazzed by the thought of making an intricate, interlocking internet of programs, then Transport Fever 2 is not more likely to convert you. Nonetheless, in the event you’re something like us, you will end up disassociating for hours at a time, entranced by the potential for a brand new locomotive shaving a couple of extra moments off of your most worthwhile route.
The primary draw right here might be Free Play mode, which lets you generate a random map utilizing predetermined components, akin to local weather, geography, continent, and issue. A reasonably granular stage of element is feasible, and you may share notably cool maps with others utilizing the related seed, which is a pleasant contact.
You are given restricted funds to begin a profitable transport firm; the remaining is as much as you. By figuring out the wants of residents in close by cities, you’ll be able to flip a revenue by getting each residents and the assets they require from Level A to Level B. It will necessitate ludicrously elaborate logistical setups that’ll flip lush countrysides into warrens of rail, highway, and rampant city improvement. This proposition is made extra tricksy by the necessity to course of items and supplies at close by factories first earlier than transport the completed produce to maintain the needy townsfolk completely satisfied.
Whereas considerably overwhelming at first, Transport Fever 2 has been tailored for PS5 fairly efficiently. Earlier than lengthy, you will plot routes and increase your operations with a couple of well-placed button presses. All the pieces to do with highway transport has its personal part, so truck stops, depots, and bus stops will be discovered throughout the similar tab, as is the case with the opposite modes of transportation. Earlier than lengthy, we have been putting constructions and tweaking traces with out thought, capable of make adjustments and corrections as quickly as they occurred to us.
An ever-present side of the sport is its soundtrack, which, in the event you let it, will ear-worm its approach into your psyche and have you ever bopping alongside for hours at a time — or curled up within the foetal place in a padded room, relying on the day. Starting from the sort of easy jazz Ron Burgundy would placed on at an intimate afterparty, to spine-melting, soul-infused guitar solos, proper into one other spherical of honky-tonk piano. It is a wild trip; you by no means know what you will hear subsequent.
Strains are the essential constructing blocks of your burgeoning economic system, and studying to analyse and tweak them to a particular objective rapidly is a necessary talent. At its most elementary, a line is solely a route between locations. However, because of a comparatively simple UI setup, including stops, assigning further autos, and adjusting the upkeep fee is a breeze, and we took deep satisfaction in commonly reviewing our current routes.
As soon as a line is efficiently working, the cash begins to roll in, offset by the funds required for upkeep. Over time, a substantial amount of the enjoyment of the sport comes from recouping the upfront setup prices of what was previously a cash bonfire and is now a worthwhile logistics chain. As time progresses, new autos will turn into accessible, rising productiveness nonetheless additional. The small townships dotting the panorama will develop into thriving cities earlier than your eyes, proof of the fruits of your labour.
You are capable of pause or enhance the movement of time as required, besides, you will end up ready round at occasions, wishing your new fleet of wagons would simply get to work already. We do want there was an extra stage of development doable, as even on the quickest accessible setting, we discovered ourselves simply distracted from the expertise.
There is a surprisingly detailed and nearly totally voiced marketing campaign for gamers to dive into, with the whole factor serving as a deep and extra-long tutorial. You will be guided by way of durations of financial development in numerous epochs from fashionable historical past, from the 1850s onward, serving to to attach remoted rural areas to booming financial sectors.
One factor to notice is it is all completed in character and is supposed to be of its time, which ends up in some uncomfortable line reads that, whereas uncommon, raised eyebrows sufficient to be value mentioning. Within the second mission, for instance, known as Espresso and Colonialism, a stereotypical Western commentator waxes poetic concerning the supposed inferiority of the native Javanese labour pressure. An non-obligatory goal in the identical mission has you investigating whether or not or not some could be cannibals, which did not appear strictly vital in a recreation principally involved with trains.
Transport Fever 2 seems to be nice for the kind of recreation it’s, with a satisfying quantity of element to every in-game automobile mannequin, of which there are tons of. The surroundings, too, is agreeable to the attention, and also you would possibly suppose twice about demolishing a very scenic vista. Technically, it has some body fee points, and even in Efficiency Mode by no means actually felt prefer it was hitting a secure 60 frames per second. Granted, so much is occurring underneath the hood, and technique video games of this ilk are notoriously CPU intensive, however it’s nonetheless disappointing it is not extra constant.
Transport Fever 2 isn’t an ideal expertise, however it’s a stable and satisfying one, offering developer City Video games with an ideal framework to increase upon with future updates. It is effectively value taking an opportunity on if the premise in any respect intrigues you, and if nothing else, will provide you with an entire new perspective the following time you end up caught in visitors in your morning commute.
Conclusion
Transport Fever 2 is the kind of fanatic sim that can maintain its audience rapt for hours. For everybody else, although, it is tougher to advocate, as even with its single-player marketing campaign serving as an prolonged tutorial, it may be tough to parse. Regardless of an inconsistent body fee and a few questionable dialogue, it is an undeniably satisfying expertise for the strategic-minded, and one of the vital in-depth titles of its variety accessible on PlayStation platforms.