NOSTALGIC TRAIN
- June 12, 2018
- Tatamibeya 畳部屋
Get on Steam"Nostalgic Train" is a first-person Novel ADV/walking simulator set in the Japanese countryside, created with UE4. After waking up with no memory, you explore an old station and single-track railroad, trying to solve the mystery of the invisible people of Natsugiri. The game features Story and Free modes, offering a slightly sad and fantastical experience in a beautifully rendered environment.
Nintendo Switch
PC
Playstation 4
Playstation 5
Windows
Xbox One
Xbox Series X|S
PlayStation
Xbox
Reviews
- The game features incredibly designed environments that are visually stunning and atmospheric, providing a beautiful representation of a Japanese village.
- The story, while complex, offers an eerie and mysterious narrative that keeps players engaged and intrigued.
- The game is a unique blend of walking simulator and visual novel, appealing to those who enjoy immersive storytelling and exploration.
- Gameplay is repetitive and lacks engaging mechanics, often reducing the experience to simply walking and reading long texts.
- The user interface and controls are clunky, with issues such as no key remapping and insufficient controller support, making navigation frustrating.
- The story delivery is awkward and the writing quality is poor, leading to confusion and diminishing the overall narrative experience.
- story18 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 67 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The game's story is described as intriguing yet overly complex and poorly delivered, with excessive text and a repetitive structure that detracts from the experience. While some players appreciated the eerie atmosphere and the well-told, albeit brief, narrative centered around themes of friendship and reincarnation, others found the storytelling awkward and the gameplay frustrating, leading to a lack of engagement. Overall, the story has potential but suffers from readability issues and a cumbersome presentation that may leave players unsatisfied.
“I really enjoyed this game; I was really surprised by its story.”
“The environment is beautiful, the story is eerie and mysterious, and it keeps me interested in exploring.”
“In contrast to what you may think when you see the screenshots from this game, the story is quite sombre in tone.”
“The story is far too complex for such a dry delivery.”
“Not only is the search process frustrating, it actually affects the flow of the story, which is fatal for a visual novel like this.”
“The story mode lasts for 3 to 4 hours, which doesn't sound too long, but halfway through I was begging for it to end because the gameplay was so painful!”
- gameplay10 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The gameplay is primarily a walking simulator with minimal interaction, focusing on finding light orbs, which many players find tedious and unengaging. The experience is further described as lacking in action or puzzles, leading to a narrative that fails to captivate, resulting in a gameplay duration of about 3 to 4 hours that feels much longer due to its monotonous nature. Overall, players express disappointment in the gameplay's depth and enjoyment.
“Gameplay is a mixture of walking simulator (like Dear Esther) and visual novel.”
“Just don't expect any action, puzzles, etc. Gameplay was about 3 hours, but I explored a lot and took screenshots, so it was a little longer for me.”
“The story mode lasts for 3 to 4 hours, which doesn't sound too long, but halfway through I was begging for it to end because the gameplay was so painful!”
“Just don't expect any action, puzzles, etc. The gameplay was about 3 hours, but I explored a lot and took screenshots, so it was a little longer for me.”
“There isn't much 'gameplay' in this game.”
“The whole gameplay consists of finding light orbs, which is exactly as boring as it sounds.”
- graphics4 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The graphics are visually appealing but lack the immersive quality expected for the genre, with the PC version offering superior visuals. However, players noted the limitation of not being able to change the graphics resolution.
“The graphics are nice to look at for a while, but not immersive enough for a game of this genre, I think.”
“The PC version has better visuals.”
“You cannot change the graphics resolution.”
- atmosphere4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is described as beautiful and unique, evoking a dreamy, nostalgic quality reminiscent of the visual novel "Air." Set in a timeless Japanese village, it immerses players in themes of friendship and reincarnation, appealing particularly to those interested in Japanese history and culture.
“A beautiful little game, very atmospheric.”
“The atmosphere in this game is quite unique.”
“The whole game reminds me of the 2000 visual novel 'Air' by Key (or its 2004 anime adaptation) because of its summer setting, dreamy atmosphere, and story that revolves around friendships and reincarnations.”
“Those who like to immerse themselves in the atmosphere of a Japanese village forgotten by time and those who are interested in Japanese history and culture, like me, will find this game interesting.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game is praised for its engaging narrative that explores deep themes of loss, balance, acceptance, karma, and death, all set against the backdrop of stunning Japanese countryside scenery.
“It is, however, very engaging with absolutely beautiful Japanese countryside scenery and an equally beautiful, though emotional, tale of loss, balance, acceptance, karma, and death.”
