Heat Death: Survival Train

Starting at $11.99Buy now

"Heat Death: Survival Train" is a sci-fi game where players build and customize their own battle train to explore a frozen, post-apocalyptic world. The train serves as a mobile base, complete with weapons, shields, and drones, allowing players to face hostile drones and survive harsh storms. With a dynamic and vast environment, players can discover new equipment and uncover the fate of humanity as they move their base to explore diverse landscapes.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

Reviews

80%

Audience ScoreBased on 166 reviews

gameplay13 positive mentions

grinding8 negative mentions

The game features rich graphics and an engaging atmosphere that draws players into the survival experience.
Building and customizing your own train adds a unique and enjoyable gameplay element, allowing for strategic planning and resource management.
The developers are actively listening to player feedback and making improvements, showing great potential for future updates.

Resource scarcity and high crafting costs create a frustrating gameplay loop, often leading to players feeling soft-locked or unable to progress.
The game can be overly punishing, with mechanics like stamina depletion and frequent storms making survival challenging to the point of annoyance.
Currently, the game lacks sufficient content and variety, leading to a repetitive experience that can feel short and unfulfilling.

gameplay
38 mentions
34 % positive mentions
58 % neutral mentions
8 % negative mentions
The gameplay is described as having a solid foundation with enjoyable mechanics, particularly in train building and resource management, but it suffers from frustrating stamina mechanics and a repetitive loop that can detract from the overall experience. While the game shows potential and offers a relaxing atmosphere, many players feel it lacks depth and content compared to other survival games, leading to mixed reviews on its long-term engagement. Suggestions for improvement include enhancing survival mechanics, adding more immersive challenges, and addressing resource scarcity to better balance gameplay.
- “Great game with big potential, graphics are nice, gameplay is relaxing and fun.”
- “Progression system is fine but the game shines in the creativity it allows you to make your own train and decide when to move, when to stop for resources, etc. Great gameplay loop that needs (and seems designed around) advanced options.”
- “Highly detailed elements make the gameplay enjoyable.”
- “The game has a lot of potential, but the gameplay can be very frustrating at times.”
- “I understand the developers need capital to continue its development, but $3 per hour of gameplay ($12 for 4 hours of gameplay) is ridiculous.”
- “You're really slow, you consume your energy/stamina too quickly and there is a strange mechanic with stamina that kills you when empty.”
story
30 mentions
20 % positive mentions
70 % neutral mentions
10 % negative mentions
The story in the game is generally considered underdeveloped, with minimal backstory and limited narrative elements primarily conveyed through sparse notes and logs. While some players find the mystery intriguing and appreciate the resource management aspects, many agree that the storyline lacks depth and coherence, leaving much to be desired as the game is still in early access. Overall, the narrative feels incomplete, with players hoping for future updates to enhance the storytelling experience.
- “The story is cool and makes it interesting.”
- “Engaging resource management, fun building, enjoying the slow snippets of story unfolding.”
- “Intriguing story, still pondering on what the ending can be.”
- “The story is next to non-existent, with only a few logs here and there.”
- “No backstory for your main character other than you woke up and can't remember anything.”
- “The story is limited to finding 'notes', usually a single sentence per note, nothing riveting or engaging.”
graphics
18 mentions
56 % positive mentions
28 % neutral mentions
17 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are generally praised for their richness and beauty, especially considering its early access status, with many users noting the smooth performance and appealing aesthetics of snowy landscapes. While some players find the visuals to be above average for an indie title, there are mentions of minor bugs and inconsistencies. Overall, the graphics contribute positively to the immersive experience of building and maintaining a survival train.
- “Brilliant graphics and design work.”
- “The graphics are beautiful.”
- “Assuming that eventually gets balanced, the cozy aesthetics of driving your train through snowy landscapes and watching storms from indoors is a nice thing to see, and I hope that this game continues to develop.”
- “There are still a few bugs with graphics and the building menu.”
- “Graphics are not great, they are ok!”
- “If you have played Voidtrain, that game has quality, content, gameplay, balance, progression, story, art style, and much more 10 times over than this game by a long shot.”
grinding
9 mentions
11 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
89 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious, particularly in the mid to late game, where resource scarcity and the need to farm hostile drones can lead to frustration. Suggestions for improvement include implementing a crafting queue to streamline the process and reduce wait times. Overall, the grinding experience is seen as a significant drawback, detracting from the enjoyment of the game.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “It gets a little tedious after a while, so what I would recommend for the mid to late game unlocks is a little scavenger drone station for the train.”
- “The only method of gaining materials after progressing through what's available, which isn't much, is farming hostile drones.”
- “Problems that will arise is the grinding, the lack of material and the way the game switches up from calm train game to absolute death trap.”
stability
6 mentions
50 % positive mentions
-17 % neutral mentions
67 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's stability is generally praised, with users reporting no major glitches or performance issues. However, some players note that the early access state feels premature, leading to potential soft-lock situations and unbalanced mechanics that can hinder progress. While the game runs smoothly, the lack of options to recover from mistakes can be frustrating.
- “There are no glitches or problems at all.”
- “The game isn't buggy and works fine, but the early access feels too early. You can dead spiral and soft-lock yourself, making it difficult to progress if you become too weak to leave the station.”
- “The stability of the game is impressive, providing a smooth experience without any major issues.”
- “Just three levels and useless buggy robots.”
- “I didn't get a super buggy mess, completely unbalanced mechanics, or performance problems.”
- “Not glitches or problems at all.”
atmosphere
5 mentions
60 % positive mentions
20 % neutral mentions
20 % negative mentions
The atmosphere is widely praised for its immersive and relaxing qualities, featuring soothing sounds like a gentle winter breeze and the crunch of snow. Players appreciate the sense of solitude enhanced by the discovery of journals, which hint at a deeper narrative, while the arrival of storms adds a layer of tension and depth to the experience.
- “The atmosphere is fantastic, the constant sounds of a gentle winter breeze and the near perfect sounds of stomping through the crunchy, dry snow come together really well.”
- “I like the atmosphere of being alone but finding journals along the way, clearly indicating people were trying to get away from something.”
- “Great atmosphere and chill gameplay, love it.”
- “But when storms roll in, it does darken the atmosphere, which is something.”
optimization
4 mentions
50 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
50 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization shows promise, with some users noting the need for improved textures and graphics. While there are no major performance issues reported, players feel that resource management could be better balanced, requiring multiple restarts to find an optimal strategy. However, many have experienced flawless performance during gameplay.
- “I didn't encounter a super buggy mess, completely unbalanced mechanics, or performance problems.”
- “The performance is flawless for me.”
- “This game has huge potential that I hope the devs will explore, but it needs a few steps: the textures and graphics can be optimized.”
- “It feels like you need to restart several times before you have an optimized way to spend the limited resources the game gives you early on.”
music
3 mentions
33 % positive mentions
-33 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
The game features no music or ambient sound, which some players appreciate as it enhances the peaceful atmosphere typical of survival games. Many users find the absence of a soundtrack preferable, as it aligns with their enjoyment of a tranquil gaming experience without distractions.
- “But even if not, I rather enjoy peaceful games like this, without droves of enemies, massive explosions, or disturbing soundtracks that I usually end up muting anyway.”
- “There is no music or ambient sound in this game.”
- “There's also no music, which is fine for me - it's a survival game, after all.”
- “But even if not, I would rather enjoy peaceful games like this, without droves of enemies, massive explosions, or disturbing soundtracks that I usually end up muting anyway.”
monetization
2 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
Reviewers generally do not view the game's monetization as a "cash grab," contrasting it with the prevalent low-quality offerings from AAA developers and early access titles. Instead, they appreciate the game's quality and feel it stands out positively in the current gaming landscape.
- “I do not think this game is a 'cash grab' scam like some are claiming.”
- “I'm just so used to the sea of complete garbage from AAA developers and cash grabs, unregulated by Steam Early Access, that I forgot how nice a game could be.”
replayability
2 mentions
50 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
50 % negative mentions
Reviewers express that the game has potential for replayability, but currently falls short due to its linear design and checkpoint-based unlocks, which restrict player choices and exploration. Improvements are needed to enhance the fun and replay value.
- “One major concern is the lack of replayability, as the game is quite literally on rails. You only unlock certain features after reaching specific checkpoints, which further limits your options early on.”
emotional
1 mentions
300 % positive mentions
-200 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
Reviewers appreciate the emotional depth conveyed through the game's thoughtful design and attention to detail, suggesting that the developers genuinely care about the player's experience. While the story may not resonate with everyone, the overall presentation and mechanics evoke a sense of investment and care from the creators.
- “The graphics are beautiful, and the building system is well thought out. The scavenging system is engaging, and while I may not be the best judge of the story, I felt that the developers truly cared about the emotional aspects of the game, which made me appreciate it even more.”
- “There are many little aspects to this game that made me feel as if the developers truly cared and really thought this out before publishing in early access.”
- “Even though the combat is still developing and lacks variety, the emotional depth of the game shines through in its design and attention to detail.”