Rolling Line

About

Rolling Line is a single player and multiplayer open world city builder game. It was developed by Gaugepunk Games and was released on April 27, 2018. It received overwhelmingly positive reviews from players.

Build your own model railway tracks and scenery or explore pre-made layouts, including 1000s of player-made layouts on the Steam Workshop! Play in virtual reality and on PC!

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96%

Audience ScoreBased on 2,153 reviews

graphics64 positive mentions

story9 negative mentions

Extensive creative freedom to build and customize detailed model railway layouts with diverse scenery and track options.
Immersive dual perspective gameplay allowing players to shrink down to miniature scale and ride trains in first person, enhancing realism and engagement.
Strong and active developer support with frequent updates, plus a vibrant modding community providing a wide range of free user-generated content including locomotives, liveries, props, and layouts.
Runs well on low-spec PCs and supports both VR and non-VR modes, making it accessible to a broad audience.
Relaxing and addictive gameplay that appeals to both casual players and serious train/model railroad enthusiasts.

Steep learning curve and unintuitive controls, especially in VR mode and the PC interface can be cumbersome and frustrating initially.
Limited built-in content and features compared to its potential, with some key elements like terrain sculpting, realistic physics, and advanced train automation still under development or lacking.
Occasional performance issues and crashes on larger, highly detailed layouts; some bugs and glitches remain, such as train coupling inconsistencies.
User interface and building tools can be clunky and awkward, including the drawer-based asset system which requires frequent back-and-forth movement.
No multiplayer support yet, which limits cooperative play and adds to community requests.

graphics
139 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
46%
52%
2%
The game features a charming, clean low-poly art style that emphasizes simplicity and readability over photorealism, making it visually appealing and lightweight enough to run smoothly on modest hardware. While some find the graphics simplistic or cartoonish, many appreciate the cohesive, whimsical aesthetic that supports creativity and customization, and the extensive modding scene helps enhance visual variety. Overall, the graphics successfully capture the feel of a model railway sandbox, balancing performance with an inviting, stylized presentation.
- “The visual presentation adopts a clean, low-poly aesthetic that keeps scenes readable and uncluttered, while still providing enough visual charm to make landscapes feel inviting.”
- “The design: the graphics of Rolling Line are pleasant, they have the low-poly style but at the same time a huge amount of detail goes into the assets of this game, from the trains themselves to the block pieces to create your own map, the colors are very coherent and everything seems to make sense, from the menus, music and overall art.”
- “The simplistic artstyle and low-poly models mean this game can run on a toaster with ease, and allows you to do insane amounts of detailing and massive layouts without incurring much of a performance hit.”
- “The graphics are purposely horrendous!”
- “Blocky graphics, simplistic controls, awkward vehicle placement, and a banner in the middle of the screen that won't go away.”
- “Graphical issues such as clipping, lack of lighting effects at night, all the cabs being the same, wheels not moving on trains.”
gameplay
47 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
32%
62%
6%
The gameplay is described as simple, easy to understand, and enjoyable, with smooth mechanics and controls that appeal to both new and experienced players. The abundant workshop content and ongoing developer updates add meaningful depth and customization, enhancing the overall experience. While not overly complex or intense, the gameplay offers charm and solid digital model railroading, especially appreciated by train enthusiasts.
- “With more than 1500 hours of gameplay, I can say this is a very good game.”
- “The developer is very active on this game and adds new and meaningful gameplay additions to the game.”
- “The gameplay is great, the UI is phenomenal, and playing it in VR is such an incredible experience!”
- “It has some gameplay to it, but it's very simple and light.”
- “I would recommend this to everyone, but keep in mind there isn't much intense gameplay.”
- “But the gameplay is honest and simple, a baby can figure this out.”
story
32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
9%
63%
28%
The game has no traditional story, objectives, or missions, focusing instead on open-ended train simulation and creative play. Players appreciate the freedom to create their own experiences, such as making videos, but those seeking a story-driven game may be disappointed.
- “Finished storyline.”
- “Storyline.”
- “No story.”
- “Bad story.”
- “There is no objectives or scenario as of yet, but if you can create story and setting inside yourself.”
optimization
31 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
32%
58%
10%
Rolling Line is praised for its excellent optimization, running smoothly on low-end hardware and maintaining high performance across both PC and VR platforms, largely due to its simple art style and customizable visuals. While performance can dip with extremely large or detailed layouts—especially with many lights or large textures—the game includes useful tools like view distance limiters to mitigate these issues. Overall, it balances flexibility and performance well, delivering a smooth experience even on modest systems.
- “On the matter of optimization, this game is probably one of the smoothest running games I own, 60 fps cleanly on any map with the help of the in-game view distance limiter, which allows you to keep the detail on a large scale layout without crashing every 3 seconds because 90,000 assets are trying to load in at once.”
- “The simplistic art style and low-poly models mean this game can run on a toaster with ease, and allows you to do insane amounts of detailing and massive layouts without incurring much of a performance hit.”
- “Visuals are optimized and customizable; I could run extremely detailed giant maps on almost max settings smoothly on 6800 XT.”
- “Lights that turn on cause a huge negative performance impact.”
- “Performance struggles with larger maps, and building maps feels a bit hard to do in VR; haven't tried it in desktop mode though.”
- “My major problem with the game is the optimization for models with large textures and large community layouts (such as IRM, Beer Line, etc).”
music
23 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
26%
61%
13%
The game's music is praised for its calming, relaxing, and ambient qualities that enhance the soothing atmosphere of gameplay, complemented by high-quality train sounds and sound effects. Players appreciate the option to add custom music alongside the included soundtrack, which helps create an immersive and enjoyable experience. However, some criticism arises from the undisclosed use of generative AI in music creation, which concerns certain users regarding transparency and artistic integrity.
- “The soundtrack is great and the sounds of trains come to life.”
- “The music really puts me into a mood when I play, it's a great way to relax and unwind.”
- “You can add your own music to chill to or use the supplied music.”
- “Game's music was made using generative AI, which is not disclosed anywhere on the store page and only seen in the game's audio options menu.”
- “AI has no place generating music and I do not see any reason to use it to do so.”
- “If I had one complaint about the game, it'd be the music's a bit too jarring.”
humor
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is described as lighthearted and playful, often centered around amusing train sounds, crashes, and whimsical map creations. Players find moments of genuine laughter, especially when interacting with the trains and crafting funny scenarios, adding a charming and enjoyable layer to the sandbox experience.
- “It is a very fun sandbox game in my opinion, allowing the player to create very detailed or funny maps.”
- “I like the funny crash noises.”
- “The controls feel great, and I found myself laughing as I was riding a train that I placed on the tracks.”
stability
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
9%
58%
The game runs smoothly and is well-optimized across various setups, providing a polished experience with minimal crashes or stutters. However, some minor bugs and glitches persist, indicating it is slightly unpolished but generally stable. Overall, stability is good and expected to improve over time.
- “Runs great on my setup (Cachyos Linux - no VR). I had no stutters or crashes during my session, which made the whole experience feel polished and cozy.”
- “The game runs great and is optimized very well.”
- “I've never had any bugs or glitches; it's a complete game that everybody can pick up fast.”
- “3 stars in my opinion with all the bugginess.”
- “But still quite buggy and therefore I put it away for some months.”
- “The game is a little buggy and not fully polished.”
grinding
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
62%
38%
Users consistently describe the grinding aspect as tedious and laborious, often feeling overwhelming due to repetitive tasks like placing tracks and managing inventory. This makes it difficult for some players to fully enjoy or engage deeply with the gameplay.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “However, everything is so tedious it's impossible for me to get into it.”
- “Placing stuff like tracks and props, picking items from drawers that basically act like your inventory feels tedious at times but then again is a part of building a model rail.”
atmosphere
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
25%
The atmosphere is praised for its dynamic day-night cycles, lighting, and weather effects that create immersive and relaxing environments. Combined with charming visuals and extensive modding, the game offers a deeply creative and nostalgic experience.
- “Day and night cycles, dynamic lighting, and subtle environmental effects further enhance the atmosphere, especially during quiet moments when trains glide through carefully placed scenery.”
- “The relaxing atmosphere, the charming and cute stylization of the worlds, the endless modding community, it has it all!”
- “The weather and atmosphere is an astonishingly complete touch.”
emotional
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users find the game emotionally wholesome and calming, particularly enjoying immersive elements like train manipulation and the VR environment. However, some users are hesitant to fully engage due to unresolved issues, such as the point-to-click mechanic. Overall, the emotional experience is described as relaxing and enjoyable.
- “The game, at least to me, was very situational, meaning there were aspects that I absolutely loved like the train manipulation, the sheer size of them in VR, and just how chilled this game made me feel.”
- “A wholesome little game.”
- “#wholesome”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The reviews consistently rate the game's replayability as low, indicating limited incentives or reasons for players to revisit it after the initial playthrough.
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Users appreciate that the game has no microtransactions and receives constant updates, though some express disappointment that certain features present in older games have not yet been implemented despite modern technology.
- “No microtransactions and constant updates.”